The Minister of Economy and Finance, H E Yousuf Hussein Kamal addressing the senior budget officials’ meeting yesterday. The Minister said Qatar will soon issue a new taxation law, in which the taxation will be reduced to 10 percent. The law is to be implemented from 2010.

DOHA: The Minister of Economy and Finance, H E Yousuf Hussein Kamal, yesterday said Qatar planned to cut corporate tax to 10 percent starting from next year.

“A new taxation law is about to be issued, in which the taxation will be reduced to 10 percent; the law is to be implemented from 2010,” he said.

He added that another law was being framed in which the management of the state’s public finances would be re-organised in a comprehensive way in accordance with structural changes.

Kamal was speaking at the opening of the second meeting of Senior Budget Officials (SBO) from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

He said in his opening address that Qatar was re-organising the structure of its government and had started to develop its policies for the financial sector, administration and legislation.

The financial policy goes in line with the economic policy of the state, which is aimed at achieving in the long term the national vision 2030, he said, noting that the state was preparing for the post-oil stage in order to reach an level of acceptable economic growth, economic and financial stability, a suitable investment atmosphere and an open economic environment.

The financial policy always goes in line with the economic policy of the state which is aimed at achieving in the long-term the national vision 2030, he said, noting that the state is preparing for the post-oil stage in order to reach an acceptable economic growth, economic and financial stability, a suitable investment atmosphere and an opened economic environment.

The Minister of Economy and Finance also pointed out that as part of its effort to mitigate the impacts of the global financial crisis, Qatar has supported its financial institutions, by increasing their capitals and buying real estate portfolios or shares of local companies.

Referring to the global financial crisis, Kamal said it raised questions on how far this crisis has and will affect the economies of the Middle East countries and North Africa and what lessons could be learnt from the crisis.

Representatives from 26 countries are gathering in Doha to discuss the effects of the economic and financial crisis on the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries at the two-day Senior Budget Officials Meeting hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The meet focuses on various aspects of the current economic and financial crisis. The nature of problems created by the crisis and its policy responses in various countries occupy an important place.

The three sessions yesterday discussed a variety of topics such as the crisis and the response to it and the budgetary management of the policy responses to the crisis.

The meeting will focus on different aspects of the financial crisis and the nature of its problems as well as the policy conducted by the affected countries to tackle the crisis, mainly the plans followed by Qatar to face the challenges of such a global crisis.

The Peninsula