Bahrain To Begin Levying GCC's Selective Tax

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

28 December 2017

Bahrain's Cabinet has approved the introduction of the Gulf Cooperation Council's so-called selective tax on unhealthy commodities from December 30.

The announcement came via the state news agency, which confirmed that, as previously announced, tax at 50 percent would be levied on soft drinks, and a 100 percent rate would be levied on tobacco products and energy products.

The selective tax, which is to be rolled out eventually by all countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia – was approved on June 16, 2016, alongside a GCC value-added tax, which is being adopted from January 1, 2018, in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The other GCC states have yet to confirm timeframes for the introduction of VAT in their nations but Kuwait and Oman have reportedly ruled out the introduction of VAT next year.

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