Ministry of Finance settled the controversy concerning the schedule for implementing Value Added Tax (VAT) system, when the Undersecretary of the ministry Khalifa Hamada diminished any possibility for its postponement by affirming that Kuwait will implement the joint tax agreement by early 2018, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

KUWAIT CITY: Regarding the government’s stance concerning the implementation of the VAT system, Hamada told Reuters that, “Of course we will implement it. We have signed the agreement, so what else is left after that?” He revealed that the regional tax agreement among the GCC countries is in the process of being referred to the parliament for endorsement, stressing that, “The parliament will decide whatever it wants to decide”.

Earlier, reports indicated that Ministry of Finance will delay implementation of VAT by at least a year due to difficulty in its implementation in a country and region where taxes are almost nonexistent. The GCC countries have long been planning to adopt the VAT system as a way of increasing nonoil revenues. However, economists and concerned officials in some countries had privately indicated that simultaneous introduction of VAT system in all GCC countries may not be feasible.

News Source: Arab Times