UAE's Ministry of Finance says it is studying selective tax with Saudi Arabia, and Aramco becomes the world's most profitable company in 2018. Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/videos
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00:00The UAE is getting ready to tax more items after the country rolled out excise tax in
00:06late 2017 and then value-added tax, VAT, in 2018.
00:11That's right, get ready for a fresh round of taxes.
00:14The ministry did not elaborate on when any new taxes may be rolled out and the study
00:18is still happening now with Saudi Arabia.
00:20If you've been buying cigarettes or energy drinks in the UAE, however, you've probably
00:23noticed that their prices doubled in October 2017 following the implementation of a 100%
00:29excise rate on them.
00:30For carbonated drinks, the tax rate was at 50%.
00:33Experts say it is still unclear what exactly else may be taxed, but around the world, in
00:38Muslim countries, for example, a sin tax or the so-called sin tax, which is the excise
00:42tax, tends to be rolled out on alcohol and pork, and globally, sugary items tend to be
00:47taxed as they are seen as unhealthy and contributing to an unhealthy lifestyle.
00:51In other regional news, Saudi Aramco was the most profitable company in 2018 with a net
00:57income of $111 billion.
00:59That is more than the combined profits of Apple and Samsung.
01:03Both Moody's and Fitch, the ratings agencies, gave Saudi Aramco's debt their fifth-highest
01:08investment grade level.
01:09The credit ratings offer insight into the financials of the Saudi giant for the first
01:13time ever as the company prepares to both issue debt and publicly list shares.
01:18For more details on these stories and more, please do check us out at gulfnews.com forward
01:22slash business.
01:23This has been the Daily Business Wrap.
01:25Thank you so much for watching.
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