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The group of GCC nations is still hugely reliant on oil and gas revenues, with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait the most dependent on hydrocarbons.
A report by Alkhabeer Capital found that hydrocarbons have helped the GCC economies outperform their global peers, growing by about 24% a year from 2008-2013.
Hydrocarbon revenues in Qatar and UAE account for close to 60% of the total revenues of the countries, however in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the figure is close to 90% and 93%, respectively.
This is in contrast to other resource rich economies such as Norway, where revenues from oil account for just about 30% of government revenues.
“The low contribution of the non-hydrocarbon sector primarily reflects the policy decision of maintaining a low or zero-tax environment to assist private sector activity,” said the report.
“Although there has been speculation of introduction of GCC-wide value added tax, we do not expect such a decision in the foreseeable future.”
