The Kuwaiti government has drafted a new law that could mean that individual incomes are taxed for the first time in the country, according ...

The Kuwaiti government has drafted a new law that could mean that individual incomes are taxed for the first time in the country, according to local media reports that say that a 10 per cent flat rate of income tax, which will be applied regardless of nationality, is to be introduced. Kuwait currently depends on oil sales for around 90 per cent of its revenues and is keen to secure stable sources of revenue for the future when oil stocks begin to dwindle, according to the reports. Kuwait has a large expatriate population, over one half of its 2.4 million total population, attracted, in part, by the country's lack of income tax. The new income tax law will be referred to parliament after the election of a new assembly on 29 June and is by no means certain to be passed. Kuwait's Finance Minister Bader Al Humaidhi has been quoted in the Arabic media as saying that the government has "no intention" of taxing individuals' income. What is certain, though, is that the Kuwaiti cabinet has approved a new law slashing corporate tax to 15 per cent from present rates of up to 55 per cent.