KUWAIT CITY: Marmore report stated that the Parliamentary Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of Kuwait has approved bills for imposing tax on remittances of expatriates, based on their income level. The tax rate suggested starts at a modest one per cent for remittance under KD99 and goes all the way to five per cent for remittance beyond KD500.
Remittance outflow from Kuwait in 2016 stood at KD 4.6 billion ($15.3 billion) with nearly 27 per cent of that sent to India, followed by Egypt at 18 per cent, Bangladesh at seven per cent and Phillipines, and Pakistan at theree per cent.The bill approved by the financial committee has been opposed by the legislative committee citing constitutionality. If the draft bill is approved, it will then be referred to the government and in case if it is accepted by the cabinet, it would become a law. Kuwait would then be the first country in the GCC region to impose remittance tax.
