“The new regulations aim to increase revenue and supply necessary stimulants to generate more revenue,” said Muhammad Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general of the council.

“The distinctive features of the new system include the definition of the sources of revenue such as natural resources, fees, wages, taxes, loans, refund of loans, investment returns, sales, fines and proceeds from the sale of state properties and rentals, donations, endowments, compensations and any other source decided by the Council of Ministers, which is the responsible body for the ideal investment of state resources,” Al-Ghamdi added.

He said the council would shortly discuss the draft of the statutes governing the collection and the spending of donations for charity purposes.

Commenting on the upcoming charity regulations, Mazen Battarjee, chairman of the Jeddah Al-Birr Society, said the new regulations on charities that are being considered by the Shoura Council would regulate charity collection in the Kingdom apart from serving as a boost to charity activities.

The draft regulations stipulate that donations cannot be collected without a license from the authorities. It also stipulates that non-Saudis will not be issued licenses to collect donations. A licensed charity organization should open a bank account and deposit all donations in that account. No donation should be deposited in individual accounts. The organization should publish its name and an account number in newspapers, according to regulations under consideration.