Remittance tax?

The proposal of Democratic Bloc Deputy Abdulnabi Salman to tax remittances by expatriates may have been borne out of a good intention. The proposal is seen to eliminate the adverse effects of money transfer by expatriates on Bahraini economy.

Fine.

What the good lawmaker failed to consider, however, are the adverse effects of imposing remittance taxes on expatriates. He needs to immerse himself in more rigorous study. Does he seriously believe a remittance tax would be beneficial to Bahrain in the long run? Expatriates, especially the low-income majority, will be forced to tap black market means of sending their money home in order to spare themselves from paying the remittance tax since they are already paying pretty steep service charges. Only unscrupulous businesses stand to gain from this ill-thought proposal.

I second GDN’s Les Horton’s proposal that if there should be a tax on money going out of the country, then it should be across the board especially that it is common knowledge that many wealthy Bahrainis are actually investing their money elsewhere.
These honorable lawmakers are turning a blind eye on the contributions of expatriates to every facet of life in Bahrain but are quick to point an accusing finger to them to exonerate themselves of their crimes of misgovernment.

Well, a consolation is published today in the Tribune where it was noted that a number of lawmakers spoke against the proposal fearing it would affect the national economy and the government’s initiative to attract foreign capital.