Expat remittances will not be hit by taxes, Central Bank of Oman (CBO) Chief Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali has said publicly for the first time. Despite numerous government measures taken this year to help balance the books in the wake of slipping oil prices, including scrapping the petrol price cap and reining in public sector bonuses, expat remittances will not be affected. A remittance tax was seriously proposed by members of the Majlis Al Shura back in November 2014; however, the idea was quickly dismissed by the State Council. Al Zadjali noted that expats’ remittances had recorded a slight increase of 1.1 per cent during the first half of this year, touching more than OMR2.13bn. (Times of Oman)