Bring the rich into tax net and let subsidies go on, says expert

Manama 

An economics expert yesterday told DT News, taxing the rich is a better option to maintain economy than stripping the subsidies.

“Collect the revenue equal to the amount of subsidies through taxes, and let the discounts continue as usual,” said accountant and finance professor Salah ud Din.

He said taxing the rich is a centuries-old formula, which has been proved successful in many developed countries. This is what Bahrain needs in the long run, he said.

“Food, water and electricity are the basic necessities of life. You cannot show discrimination when it comes to basic necessities. They are same for Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis,” he said.

He said it is not technically possible to implement subsidies support only to the Bahraini citizens. “If the expat community is affected, it will definitely have repercussions in Bahraini community, in one way or the other. Secondly, two prices for the same commodity won’t work for long. It will drive expat workers away from the Kingdom,” he said.

 Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis form a majority of Bahraini labour force, and the lifting of subsidies will make their survival in Bahrain difficult, he added.

 “Even the government officials have acknowledged the role of expats in building Bahrain. Therefore the government must do its role of safeguarding the survival of the expat community,” he said.