Remittance tax back in the news as MPs bring new proposal for 2.5% tax on expat remittance

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

The tax on expatriates' money remittance is back in the news as Parliamentarians Osama Al-Shaheen, Hamad Al-Matar, Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi, Shuaib Al- Muwaizri and Khalid Al-Otaibi bring a new proposal on taxing remittances.

This bill proposes foreign banks and money exchange companies to collect 2.5 percent of the amount remitted as tax regardless of the currency.

"The bill aims to enhance the public budget, contribute to ongoing efforts to generate more job opportunities, and limit the transfer of money to other countries. Taking into consideration the facts revealed by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Paradise and Panama documents showing that millions of Kuwaiti dinars were smuggled out of Kuwait and kept in tax haven countries abroad," MP Osama Al-Shaheen said.

At present, the exchange companies are collecting fees for remittances, but the State gets nothing. The State will benefit from at least KD 100 million national revenues per year once this bill is implemented, Al-Shaheen explained.

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