The Saudi Ministry of Finance has resumed its deceitful and misleading tactics towards the Saudi public in regard to non-oil revenue files in recent years without providing further details or clarification on the sources of diversity mentioned in its report, sources familiar with the matter revealed.
The Saudi Ministry of Finance claimed in its report that non-oil revenues had doubled over the past year, but it did not name these revenues, which are actually the taxes that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS)and his government impose on Saudi citizens. These taxes have increased by more than ten times in recent years since MBS took office. It is known that eight years ago, or until 2015, taxes made up 2.7% of the state’s total public revenues. However, during the MBS ruling, taxes rose to 35.4%. Significant tax increases occurred in the first half of 2023.
For instance, compared to 226.8 billion riyals for the same period in 2022, taxes in the first nine months of this year totaled 277.9 billion riyals, or nearly a third of revenues. This increase does not reflect increased growth; rather, it places new and significant burdens on Saudi citizens.
Economic experts explained that this tax doubling indicates that MBS’s policies have not succeeded in diversifying revenue streams in previous years, indicating the failure and deception of the Vision 2030 promises that the Saudi Crown Prince has continuously bragged about and discussed.
The most glaring example of MBS’ corruption and failures comes from the Saudi government’s announcement that it was postponing, freezing, and delaying several projects in order to avoid financial strain on the budget. This was made public by the Minister of Finance following the country’s 4.5% annual GDP contraction in the third quarter.
The public debt of the Kingdom has increased over the last eight years as well. At the end of 2015, it was only 5.8% of GDP, or 142.2 billion riyals. In 2016, the debt crossed the trillion mark for the first time, reaching 1.024 trillion riyals, or 24% of GDP.
Given these concerning developments and the fact that the Saudi Crown Prince has not completed most of his proclaimed projects—most notably the city of NEOM—economists have declared that the Kingdom’s economy faces significant challenges, which are reflected in the unchecked rise in government spending. As a result, the citizen remains the victim.
