Foreign investors can now avail the benefit of paying less investment tax if they employ more Saudis in their companies, said Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority here Sunday. “The more Saudis you employ the less tax you pay, the more you re-invest the less tax you pay, the more you spend on research and development the less tax you pay. Ultimately, the foreign investors can reach a point where they will have to pay no tax at all,” he said at a press conference to formally announce the holding of the four–day Sagia's Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF 2010) from Jan. 23, 2010. He said that the Ministry of Finance had also announced tax credit for investments in the Kingdom's less developed regions. “We will use ‘tax credit' as a tool for the promotion of foreign investments in these areas,” he said. He went on to say that Saudi Arabia would slash the tax base by year-end and the deduction would be based on a certain percentage of the amount spent on Saudis employed by a project, the funds utilized on research and development, etc. Al-Dabbagh said that the GCF 2010 aims at dealing with various topics including health, innovative ideas, human resources and alternative energy. Those scheduled to speak at the GCF 2010 include Michael Dell, the founder of Dell, John T. Chamber, Chairman and CEO of Cisco, Dr. Delos M. Cosgrove, a cardiac surgeon and president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The Saudi speakers include Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance and Dr. Muhammad Bin Sulaiman Bin Muhammad Al-Jasser, SAMA governor. “We are proud to have Ghada Al-Mutairy, a young Saudi lady who won the US Award for Medical Research, as one of the speakers,” he said.
