Oman has approved a new economic stimulus plan (ESP) which aims to put the sultanate’s economy back on track after the impact of the coronavirus.
The ESP, approved by Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on Tuesday, is based on five main axes and includes incentives pertaining to taxes and fees, incentives to improve business and investment environment and incentives to boost small and medium enterprises.
It also includes incentives for the labour market and employment and the banking sector.
Among other key points of the ESP are exemption of income tax for all companies that operate in economic diversification sectors with effect from January 2021 until the end of 2022 and an income tax reduction from 15 percent to 12 percent for SMEs for the tax years 2020 and 2021.
There will also be an tax exemption for hotels for the tax years 2020 and 2021 and a postponement of repayment of loans taken by Omanis who have been laid-off and those whose wages were reduced until the end of September.
The EPS also targets further economic diversification, with emphasis on agriculture and fisheries resources, mining and mineral products, in addition to service, cultural, logistics and educational activities.
In a bid to increase foreign investment, overseas companies will be automatically granted three licences to bring in an expatriate workforce.
The plan also includes the allocation of RO20 million in the 2021 budget for training job seekers and qualifying them to join the labour market.
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