With the implementation of a 5% VAT in Oman it is estimated that this year will be estimated to bring in OR300 million . According to the 2021 Oman budget there is a fourteen percent drop in spending and along with it a nineteen percent decline in revenue after the finances were hit hard by the low crude price and epidemic. There was an announcement made last year that there would be an imposition of a five percent VAT as a means to bring a hike in the economy and to widen the budget deficit.
From the measures taken in the 2021 budget , the total financial hike is approximated at OR3.5 billion ( $9.1bn). The proceeds from VAT and excise tax will be about OR413m this year and the revenue collected from income tax on companies is seen at OR400m . The remaining revenue will be about OR1.4 billion. The Minister of Finance had also revealed effective plans to reduce the budget deficit to 1.7 percent of GDP by the year 2024 and bring about a financial surplus in 2025 , which he evaluated would be around OR65m ($169m). In the budget announcement there was a fourteen percent drop in expenditure from 2020 to OR10.8bn ($28.1bn) , and the revenue for this year will fall to OR 8.6bn ($22.4bn) , a decline of nineteen percent . The budget deficit is estimated at eight percent of GDP in 2021 , or OR2.2bn ($5.7bn). According to projections from the International Monetary Fund it is
Estimated that the economy of the sultanate has declined to 10 percent in 2020 .
Compared to neighbours the bond spreads in the nations have increased in 2020 and while financial buffers remain sufficient in Kuwait,Qatar,Saudi Arabia , and the United Arab Emirates , they are estimated to be significantly weaker in Bahrain and Oman. The largest oil exporter outside of OPEC , Oman has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic along with lower crude prices. This scenario has raised the possibility of assistance from its gulf neighbours . There are three bonds maturing through 2023 for the Sovereign.For this year there are $1.5 billion issuance matures in June.
