There will be no increase in salaries to cope with the levying of the value-added tax (VAT), Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, told the Federal National Council on Tuesday.

Al Tayer said the tax will have a minimal socioeconomic impact on people and investments.

In the medium term, the impact of the tax will be 0.11 percent and as the economy grows it will go further down, Al Tayer added. The minister told reporters after the House’s session that the government is ready for implementation of VAT, while the “readiness of the businesses is their own responsibility”.

Al Tayer told the House that the impact on current and future investments in the country is expected at 0.68 percent, adding that VAT is aimed at “achieving financial sustainability” for the government. The minister was answering questions about the implementation of VAT from the beginning of next year.

This is an excerpt from an article from Gulf Times and you can read the complete article here.