Kuwait to introduce corporate tax as low oil prices bite

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait's government is proposing a 10 percent corporate tax on profits and the privatisation of some publicly-run services and facilities to close a widening budget deficit brought on by a plunge in global oil prices.

The Cabinet suggests services at Kuwait's airport and some facilities owned by Kuwait Petroleum Company should be privatised.

The proposals are part of a nearly 60-page document outlining broad economic reforms the Cabinet says are needed to boost non-oil revenues.

The Cabinet on Monday approved the reform measures, but Kuwait's elected parliament will also have to give its backing before changes are enacted.

It is the first economic reform package announced by Kuwait since oil prices began sliding in mid-2014. Neighboring oil-exporting countries, like Saudi Arabia, have already reigned back subsidies and enacted similar reforms.