ABHA, 21 July — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, said yesterday that Saudi Arabia has no plan to impose income tax.
“We have never thought of imposing taxes and it is not the state’s policy,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after laying the foundation for a new building of the College of Tourism and Hotels here, Prince Sultan, however, urged Saudi businessmen and establishments to pay zakah. “It is their religious duty to pay the zakah,” he said.
Prince Sultan made the remarks when asked whether the government had any plan to impose taxes on businessmen and companies who fail to pay zakah.
Referring to recurring military plane crashes in the Kingdom, the defense minister said: “It’s just fate and divine decree. Aviation accidents are bound to happen despite quality training and maintenance. We cannot guarantee that a plane will not crash.”
On whether the government had any plan to establish new military cities to re-deploy forces, the prince said: “We have established military cities as a matter of strategy and the strategy will not change.”
Prince Sultan ruled out converting the Abha regional airport into an international airport. “The Abha airport is now functioning at optimal levels and there is no complaint from tourists,” he said, adding that it was better for the country’s security to have fewer international airports.
Prince Sultan, who returned to Jeddah last night after a four-day visit to the Asir region, emphasized the government’s plan to implement development projects in all parts of the Kingdom. He highlighted the significance of the Abha tourism college in the wake of a government drive to promote domestic tourism.
Prince Sultan, who is also chairman of the Higher Tourism Authority, said he was happy with tourism projects in the Asir region.
“We will go ahead with more tourism projects and other development projects,” he added.
He said the newly established Water Ministry was the brainchild of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard. “The crown prince proposed the idea three years ago.”
Earlier yesterday, Prince Sultan watched a model of the College of Tourism and Hotels in Abha which will train 1,200 students in the first phase. The new building of the college, covering an area of 62,500 square meters, will include administrative offices, classrooms, a library and public utility facilities.
