Saudi Shura approves amendments to tax on oil firms

The Saudi Shura Council on Tuesday approved amendments to the income tax imposed on foreign oil companies operating in the Kingdom, state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing the Council’s Assistant Speaker, Yahya Al-Samaan.

Under the new decree, companies investing over SAR 375 billion will be subject to a 50 percent tax, while a 65 percent tax will be imposed on producers with invested capital of over SAR 300 billion.

Last March, King Salman issued a royal decree to cut the tax on oil producers between 50 percent and 85 percent based on the firms' investments, Argaam earlier reported.

A royal decree retroactive to January 1 set an income tax rate of 50 percent for Saudi Aramco. Previously, the company had paid 85 percent.

The new amendments come in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the Kingdom’s income away from oil and stimulate foreign investments, the SPA report said.

These amendments also match globally-recognized tax rules, Al-Samaan added.