According to the World Bank, Kuwait’s growth is expected to rebound back to 3.5% in 2016. The rebound is expected due to the increase in exports and oil output. There are also USD 115 billion investments in the oil sector for the next five years, which should boost Kuwait’s oil production. If you want to know more details about market research Kuwait, you can read it below.
Profile
Kuwait is a country in the Middle East region. It has a population of 4.34 million people with 17,820 square kilometer land area. The currency of Kuwait is the Kuwaiti Dinar. The GDP of Kuwait is USD118.27 billion, with USD 27,237 GDP per capita. The economic structure of Kuwait is composed of three areas, services (51.07%), industry (48.40%) and agriculture (0.53%).
Trade Policies
Kuwait is a member of WTO (joined on 1 January 1995) and GATT (joined on 3 May 1963). Kuwait is also a member of GCC, which means it imposes no tariff for imported products from other GCC states (some sensitive products are still subject to tariffs) and imposes a tariff set at 5% for imported products from nson-GCC states.
FDI Policies
Kuwait has shown its commitment to encourage FDI with its 2013 FDI Law. Since the revenue from oil is declining and there is a need for economic diversification, the government of Kuwait aims to increase foreign investments. The FDI Law makes it easier for foreign investment to enter, with the emphasis on job creation, labor training, transfers of technology as well as income diversification, among others.
Currently, there is a free-trade zone (Shuwaikh free-trade zone). There will be two more in the near future. While the FDI Law does make it easier for foreign investments to enter Kuwait, there are several areas that foreign investments are not allowed to enter. For instance, state-owned sectors and industries related to national security.
Business Taxations
The last part in this market research Kuwait is the business taxations. There are eight business taxations in Kuwait: corporate income tax, dividends, capital gains tax, VAT, Zakat, social security contributions, National Labor Support Tax, and Contribution to the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.
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Corporate Income Tax
This tax is set at 15% of the operating profits.
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Dividends
In general, dividends are exempt from tax. However, the rate is set at 15% for banks, investment companies, and investment funds.
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Capital Gains Tax
Capital gains tax is set at 15% of net earnings.
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VAT
At the moment, the rate of the VAT is set at 0% albeit it will increase to 5% in 2019.
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Zakat
The zakat tax is set at 1% of the operating profits. It is imposed on the yearly net profits of both public and closed Kuwaiti shareholding companies.
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Social Security Contributions
This tax is levied with respect to employees that are either Kuwait citizens or citizens of other GCC states. The rate is set at 11.5% of the employer and 8.5% of the employee gross salaries.
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National Labor Support Tax
The rate of National Labor Support Tax is set at 2.5% of the operating profits. It is imposed on companies that are on the list.
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Contribution to the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences
The rate of this tax is set at 1% of the operating profits.
