Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi tax revenues surged 30.68% during the third quarter of the current fiscal year, compared to the year-ago period.

The total value of the Kingdom’s tax revenues reached SAR 20.36 billion in Q3-17, compared to SAR 15.58 billion in Q3-16, according to the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) report about the country’s budget performance.

The growth in tax revenues was attributed to a rise in tax that was applied on goods and services, of which applying charges on oil productions, and tax on harmful products by 100%, the MoF’s report added.

Tax on goods and services jumped to SAR 11.73 billion in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, from SAR 5.66 billion in the corresponding period in the year earlier.

Revenues from taxes which were applied on trade and transactions (customs duties) levelled up 23%, reaching SAR 6.1 billion in Q3-17, compared to SAR 4.97 billion in the same period in Q3-16.

At the level of the first nine months of 2017, Saudi tax revenues rose 5.88%, hitting SAR 65.18 billion, compared to SAR 61.56 billion from January to September 2016.

Tax which was applied on goods and services soared 35% to SAR 25.5 billion in the first nine months of 2017, compared to SAR 18.95 billion in the year-ago period.

Saudi Arabia applied selective tax on tobacco’s products and soft drinks in the beginning of June 2017.