Oman Shura member proposes tax on expats

Muscat: A proposal being discussed in Oman by a Shura council members could put a tax on expats.

The proposal, which would charge a 3 per cent monthly fee on expatriates — based on their salary, would result in companies replacing expats with Omanis, said Nabhan Al Battashi, the chairman of General Federation of Trade Unions, told Gulf News yesterday.

Al Batashi added that most high-level positions in Oman’s private sector are dominated by expatriates, although he added it’s not fair to levy a monthly fee on expatriates whose salaries do not exceed 200 riyals. He said it would be better to charge those in higher positions.

“There is no comparison between an expatriate worker who earns 100 riyals and another who earns 10,000 riyals,” he said.

Tawfiq Al Lawati, a Shura member representing the Mutrah province, told the Times of Oman, an English daily, that a proposal to revise the renewal fee for expatriate workers aims to generate more revenue for the government amid the slide in oil prices.

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