The Ministry of Finance announced that Qatar’s national budget for 2019 features a small rise in government spending and the first surplus in three years thanks to higher oil prices and a new tax imposition.
Spending is projected at 206.7 billion riyals ($56.8 billion) in 2019, up only 1.7 percent from the budget plan in 2018. That contrasts with a projected 20.5 percent jump in revenue to 211 billion riyals.
As a result, the government expects to post a 4.3-billion-riyal budget surplus in 2019, swinging into the black after an estimated 28.1-billion-riyal deficit this year.
Much of the expected revenue windfall is due to higher energy prices; next year’s budget assumes an average oil price of $55 a barrel, up from $45 in the 2018 budget.
Qatar is also imitating Gulf neighbors in boosting taxation. A tax will be imposed by the beginning of 2019 on some health-damaging goods, including a 100 percent levy on tobacco and energy drinks, and a 50 percent levy on alcoholic beverages.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates introduced 5 percent VAT this year to reduce their dependence on oil revenues, but Qatar wants more time to assess the effects of VAT, a finance ministry statement said.
Source: (Arabic CNBC Website, Edited)
