White Land Tax: Evidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Taxes on land and property contribute to one of the revenue sources in all countries. Notably, there are countries, which do not rely on property taxation as a source of revenue such as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (henceforth KSA). The main revenue of KSA derives from oil, which constitutes 73% of the total government’s revenue. On 23rd March 2015, the government has announced a 2.5% rate of “white land tax” under the Royal Decree M/4, dated November 2015, which may change the landscape of property market in KSA. Ideally, it will be imposed on vacant land Abstract