No tax on foreign workers' remittances: Saudi FM

Saudi Arabia will not impose a tax on the money which foreign workers in the Kingdom send back to their home countries, finance minister Ibrahim Alassaf told reporters on Tuesday.
Some countries in the Gulf have been considering such a step to raise money and curb outflows of funds as low oil prices strain their finances.
But Alassaf said the Saudi government's economic reform plan, announced on Monday, had approved two taxes: a value-added sales tax, which is expected to be introduced in 2018, and a tax on harmful substances such as tobacco or sugary drinks.
The VAT rate has been approved at 5 per cent but a study has been undertaken on possibly raising that rate gradually, he said.
On Monday, the government published a five-year National Transformation Plan, part of a wider set of reforms launched in April as 'Vision 2030.'
The plan, which sets targets for government agencies and includes spending on new initiatives in housing, healthcare, mining and renewable energy, will cost an estimated 270 billion riyals ($72 billion) to implement. 
Alassaf backtracked from an initiative listed in Monday's plan to impose income tax on foreign residents, who make up about a third of the Kingdom's 30 million inhabitants. 
Saudi Arabia is considering a proposal to tax expatriates, Alassaf said, but no decision has yet been made. Such a move could help raise new revenues and encourage the hiring of Saudi nationals by raising the cost of employing foreigners. 
"There will be no tax on citizens. As for residents' tax, it is a proposal, nothing has been approved yet and it will be examined," Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said in a panel discussion in Jeddah to discuss the reform plans.
Saudi Arabia has already promised to introduce value-added tax and a so-called "sin tax" on sugary drinks and cigarettes. It has also started reducing lavish energy and water subsidies.

• Saudi Arabia