Move to impose 5% tax on firms

Manama : The House of Representatives on Tuesday will review and vote on a proposal to impose a five per cent tax on commercial establishments making an annual net profit of BD500,000 or more. This is the second time in three months the proposal is being presented by MP Hamad Al Dossary after it was withdrawn earlier for detailed study.

Al Dossary, the head of the Committee who proposed the tax, explained that the proposal will have to add an Article to Law 21 of 2001 (commercial companies) for enforcement the tax. The Council’s Public Utilities and Services Committee, had earlier endorsed the proposal to impose a five per cent tax on companies making a net profit of BD500,000 or more per annum.

The matter was reviewed by the Council in March end, when an argument erupted between supporting and opposing MPs. This pushed Al Dossary to request the withdrawal of the proposal and to postpone voting on the committee’s report.

However, the committee insisted on its initial opinion and approved the proposal considering “a good contribution to the State exchequer.