It has long been recognised that an important part of securing growth will require tax reform. The current taxation system operates as a high tax regime co-existing with a system of negotiated exclusions for certain aspects of particular sectors. These cover Tourism, aspects of Manufacturing and Agriculture, Free zone, Petroleum and Shipping activities to name a few.
Members will recall that in its deliberations on the Green Paper the Special Committee of Parliament on Tax Reform had recognised that a critical component of this reform process has to encompass an overhaul of the existing tax incentives system. The Green Paper on Tax Reform proposed to change this system by committing to lower rates across the board and incentivising production whether the firms were large, medium-size or small.
The legislation that I have laid today: Fiscal Incentives [Miscellaneous Provisions] Act 2013; and lncome Tax Relief Act [Large-scale Projects and Pioneer Industries] Act 2013 – together with Customs Tariff [Revision][Amendment]Resolution 2013  and  Stamp Duty [Amendments of Schedule] Order 2013 to be tabled later provide the framework for the new Omnibus Incentive Regime. Critically, the tabling of the bills today meets an important  structural benchmark agreed with the IMF that involved a deadline for the preparation and tabling of legislation providing for a consolidated, generalised incentives regime…READ MORE
Download the Minister of Finance’s Presentation on the Omnibus Incentive Legislation