Oman’s budget expenditure estimate down by 15.6% to OMR11.9b

Muscat: Omani government expenditures and revenues for 2016 are estimated at OMR11.9 billion and OMR8.6 billion, respectively, leading to an anticipated deficit of OMR3.3 billion.
This was announced on Friday by Darwish bin Ismail Ali Al Balushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs.
The minister also said that the actual deficit for 2015 is expected to reach OMR4.5 billion. This year’s expenditures are 15.6 per cent less than in 2015, which was OMR14.1 billion, while revenue estimates declined by 25.86 per cent, compared to the previous year’s OMR11.6 billion budget revenue estimates.
Detailed statement
The Ministry of Finance will issue a detailed statement on the 2016 State Budget, he said.
Last week, the Omani government said that prices of petroleum products, mainly petrol and diesel, will be raised as part of a deregulation beginning in mid-January this year. Further, there will be a rise in corporate income taxes, while measures will be taken to increase fees charged by the government for various services.
Yet another measure is being undertaken to reduce government expenditures and seek ways to raise income from non-oil sectors. These measures are aimed at covering a shortfall in budget revenues, since oil prices reached a five-year low.
Monitoring of prices
Following the enthusiasm of the Council of Ministers to minimise the impact of these changing procedures, a government statement said, the Council of Ministers instructed the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) to intensify its monitoring of prices, “to avoid the occurrence of any unjustifiable increase in prices that might go beyond the direct impact of these procedures.”