Hamoud Abu Taleb
Okaz
The landmark decision taken by the Council of Ministers to impose tax on unused urban land was historic. Saudi society was expecting the decision with great hope after the Shoura Council had endorsed the new legislation. It shows that Saudi Arabia is capable of taking quick decisions on important issues if it wants, overcoming bureaucratic hurdles.
People did not expect quick decisions on an issue like this within a reasonable period because of bad experiences in the past. But things have changed in the Kingdom following the formation of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs after nullifying a number of bodies.
Change in priorities discussed at the Cabinet is another positive development.
The new Cabinet decision has removed the general notion that the powerful real estate lobby would use its influence to prevent any move to impose land tax. Such doubts came to the fore because of people’s previous negative experiences. But the new decision removed the psychological barrier enabling them to believe that land sharks could no longer cause any harm to them.
Although the decision would not bring down real estate prices to reasonable levels in the nearest future, the extent of happiness expressed by the public shows that it would help resolve the Kingdom’s housing crisis in the long run. Even those Saudis having substantial income faced difficulty to purchase land for home while government projects, including schools and hospitals, were delayed due to non-availability of suitable land.
We have seen the emergence of a real estate mafia and growing real estate prices was the talk of the town. The Cabinet decision gave hope to the public that it would put an end to their longstanding worries and bring about a qualitative difference in their lives.
Apart from the white land tax, the government’s move to retrieve encroached public land during the past five years (which amounted to 1.5 billion square meters in 12 cities and townships) would enable the Kingdom to close the issue of land once and for all. Hope the government would continue its efforts to retrieve more land from violators to distribute them among citizens after developing it.
I am sure the future generation would see this positive development as one of the wonders that could take place only in a country like Saudi Arabia.
