Saudi Arabia is taking drastic steps to shore up its finances after the oil price crash and the coronavirus pandemic upended the economy and threatened Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's grand plan to reduce its dependence on crude exports
The world's biggest oil exporter this week announced a raft of measures designed to raise funds, including a sharp reduction in cash handouts to Saudi citizens and a tripling of the sales tax rate to 15%, starting in July.
The decline earlier this year led the central bank to put out a statement affirming that it would keep the Saudi riyal pegged to the US dollar.The economic backdrop remains grim: The International Monetary Fund expects Saudi Arabia's economy to contract by 2.3% this year. Global oil demand dropped by nearly 30% last month, and an annual decline of 10% is expected this year, according to the International Energy Agency.
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