Job Discussion Forums

[AbeCross]

This looks ominous:

http://www.saudi-expatriates.com/2016/12/budget-2017-tax-on-expats-and-companies.html

Will EFL employers start deducting in January 2018?

[Sheik Yerbuti]

I think a levy on dependents is fully justified. Most contracts
discourage or prohibit having your clan tag along, but in this
case it could be thought of as a fine, not really a "levy."

[sicklyman]

you're confusing the recent imposition of the dependent fee with the proposed VAT to be implemented in Jan 2018. Neither are deducted by companies. Maybe you're thinking that companies will reduce their salary offers to expats to compensate for the added price of employing them. That might happen, but I doubt very much you'll see a deduction to that effect on a payslip.

The dependent fee is bonkers because it's not scaled and takes into account nothing of the background of expats, some of whom have been born here and lived here for decades and effectively have no 'home' country other than Saudi Arabia.

Try this for a balanced response IMO: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/07/30/What-we-gain-and-lose-from-Saudi-Arabia-s-expat-dependents-fees.html

[scot47]

Cities in Saudi Arabia have districts where there are large numbers of undocumented and stateless inhabitants. descendants of those who came years ago, they have no papers, no citizenship and no legal existence. Hindawiya and Karantina in Jeddah are the areas I know. Riyadh has them too.