On 20 March 2017, the Capital Market Authority of Oman issued Circular E/3/2017 clarifying the application of withholding tax on dividends recently introduced by way of Royal Decree 9 of 26 February 2017.
The circular clarifies that the withholding tax applies only to dividends paid by Omani joint-stock companies, and to dividends paid in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Companies Law and withholding tax does not apply to dividends paid to nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States (which include, in addition to Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE).
The domestic withholding tax rate of 10% will apply to the gross amount of dividends, unless a lower rate is available in an effective tax treaty.
