RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s government estimates a new tax on tobacco and sugary drinks will raise between 8 billion and 10 billion riyals ($2.1 billion to $2.7 billion) annually, Al Arabiya television quoted the General Authority of Zakat and Tax as saying on Monday.
The government has previously said it will introduce the tax, part of efforts to close a budget deficit that totaled 297 billion riyals last year, in the second quarter of this year. A 50 percent levy will be imposed on soft drinks and 100 percent on tobacco and energy drinks, according to an official statement last December.
