RIYADH — The Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan has said that tripling value-added tax (VAT) to 15% was the best among the bitter choices the government took during 2020. Al-Jadaan, among three ministers, spoke about the achievements made by Vision 2030 during the past five years. Al-Jadaan leads the Financial Sector Development Program, Privatization Program and Fiscal Sustainability Program. The dialogue session included the Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah as the head of the Health Sector Transformation Program and Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib as the head of the quality of life program and the Adviser at the Royal Court Muhammad Al-Tuwaijri, who heads the national transformation program. The Minister of Finance said that the Kingdom saved more than SR400 billion from government spending and the private sector contribution rose from 45% to 51% in 2020. "Saudi Arabia will reconsider the value-added tax (VAT) upon achieving certain objectives, such as the Kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP) growth, economic broadening, and a steady rise in oil price," Al-Jadaan added. On the other hand, the Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib, said that the Vision aimed to "improve the lifestyle in the Kingdom's cities" by raising the attractiveness of living in cities, by focusing on sports, entertainment and tourism facilities. Al-Khatib added that the Quality of Life Program within the Saudi Vision 2030 has a budget of more than SR60 billion, and 17 different sectors are linked to it. The minister said that the launch of Saudi tourist seasons in 2019 reduced traveling to neighboring countries by 30%. The minister added that he is optimistic about the resumption of activities after handling the coronavirus pandemic. He said that the Vision and its programs contributed to paving the way for the establishment of 1,000 small and medium companies in the entertainment sector in the Kingdom. Al-Khatib noted that the Kingdom has issued 450,000 visas for visitors from outside Saudi Arabia within 3 months before the coronavirus pandemic. The Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah revealed that 200.000 people register daily in the Kingdom to receive the vaccine against COVID-19.
