A Kuwaiti politician has proposed legislation to impose a minimum 5 per cent tax on remittances by foreign workers, according to local media reports.
Member of Parliament Osama Al-Menawer introduced the bill on Thursday, which “mandates banks and financial institutions processing the remittances of expatriates to collect a tax on money transferred to other countries”, the Arab Times newspaper reported.
“The Ministry of Finance shall specify the tax amount, which will not be lower than 5 per cent if the transferred amount exceeds 50 per cent of the annual income of the expatriate worker.”
In 2018, the Kuwaiti government rejected a similar proposal after parliament’s financial and economic affairs committee voted to introduce a tax on remittances by non-citizens. Earlier this year, Mr Al-Menawer also introduced a similar bill to tax foreign workers on their remittances.
Outward personal remittances from Kuwait dropped to 1.3 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($4.3bn) in the first quarter of this year, from 1.4bn dinars in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Trading Economics, which quoted Central Bank of Kuwait data.
Global remittance flows to poor and middle-income countries stood at $540bn in 2020, 1.6 per cent less than the total for 2019, the World Bank said in its migration and development brief earlier this year.
Remittances are set to rise as the global economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, the multilateral lender said.
Despite the impact of Covid-19, the decline in remittance flows in 2020 was smaller than the 4.8 per cent drop recorded during the 2009 global financial crisis, the World Bank said.
In 2019, Kuwait accounted for $15.2bn in foreign remittances, up from $14.3bn in 2018, according to World Bank data.
Under Mr Al-Menawer’s draft legislation to tax remittances, a foreign worker's annual income should be calculated by including all the money deposited into their bank accounts.
“The tax amount will be calculated by the end of every year and the collected tax will be added to the public treasury,” the bill says.
“Expatriates whose salaries are less than 350 dinars per month are exempted from this provision.”
Foreign workers in Kuwait make up about 65 per cent of the country’s population of 3.6 million people.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
