KUWAIT CITY: Funds of the Tax Department in the Ministry of Finance during Fiscal 2016/2017 exceeded KD 200 million, reports Al-Rai daily quoting an informed source. The source said the department collected KD 175 million as of November 2016, indicating this is a remarkable achievement because the amount included payment for accumulated taxed estimated at KD 75 million.
Meanwhile, the national revenue from taxes is expected to increase in the next few years as the era for collecting taxes has started in an expanded form which includes three categories tax collected from profits of companies, Value Added Tax (VAT) and selective tax. Last month, Ministry of Finance Undersecretary Khalifa Hamada said the country will implement the GCC agreement on imposing VAT in 2018. This statement shattered hopes of postponing implementation of the agreement.
Meanwhile, the government is serious in its bid to encourage retirees to participate in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Fund without any deduction from their pension, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources. Sources explained the inclusion of retirees to the fund is aimed at increasing the categories of beneficiaries especially since the KD 2 billion capital of the fund is enough to include retirees, recognizing their contributions to the growth of their country, and to give them another source of income to help them cope with the rising cost of living.
In another development, sources said the Ministry of Commerce launched the business environment portal a few days ago. Sources added those applying for a license to establish a company can do so through the portal where the process will be completed within a few hours.
