Minister of Finance considers expanding list of goods covered by the excise tax and reviewing some government fees

The Ministry is currently working in coordination with the relevant authorities towards implementation of some measures that would increase non-oil revenues during 2023, as stated by the Minister of Finance H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, while presenting the general budget 2023. Some of these measures include expanding the list of goods covered by the excise tax and reviewing some government fees. Estimates of revenues resulting from the possible implementation of these measures during 2023 were not added to the budget based in line with the Ministry’s conservative approach to public revenues estimates.

The 2023 budget estimates total revenues in 2023 at QR228bn ($65bn), an increase of 16.3 percent compared to the 2022 budget. Minister Kuwari chaired a press conference announcing Qatar’s general budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which sets spending at QR199bn ($54.6bn), a 2.6 percent decline from the general budget for 2022.

He stated that spending on salaries and wages will increase in 2023 while spending on major projects will decline. Spending on salaries and wages will increase by QR4bn (6.3 percent) compared to 2022, which is estimated at QR62.5bn.