Oman’s deficit seen falling on higher oil income, VAT

Oman’s deficit seen falling on higher oil income, VAT

Published 28 Apr,2021 via Muscat Daily - Emirates NBD estimates Oman's budget deficit at RO1.6bn or 5.4 per cent of GDP for 2021, a significant improvement on last year's 17.1 per cent deficit.

With the support of improved oil prices and the implementation of value added tax (VAT), Oman is expected to record a significant growth in total revenue this year which would help the sultanate sharply narrow its 2021 budget deficit, according to Dubai's biggest bank.

‘The [Omani] authorities estimate that the VAT will raise RO400mn per year. This, together with higher oil prices than we expected at the start of the year, should see revenue exceed RO10.4bn in 2021, higher than the budgeted RO8.6bn revenue,' Emirates NBD said in a research note posted on its website.