Ride-hailing apps operating in Saudi Arabia including Careem and Uber alongside other tech firms might face hefty tax bills worth $100 million, according to Bloomberg.
Careem which was acquired by rival Uber for $3.1 billion is still operating separately.
Bloomberg knew from people with knowledge the matter that this tax bill is over a legal controversy on owed value-added tax (VAT) calculations as well as penalties for late payment.
The tech giants are trying to negotiate with Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority on the tax policy changes outlined.
Among other things, the Kingdom also plans to offer 'new incentives, revamp regulations and create special economic zones to attract more investment and convince multinationals to relocate their regional headquarters to the kingdom', Bloomberg reported.
It's worth mentioning that Saudi Arabia seeks to inject its economy with $7 trillion (SR27 trillion) in government spending and investments by 2030 as the KSA plans to be rank in the top 15 global economies, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced.
The Kingdom also targets to attract foreign investment of more than $100 billion (388 billion riyals) and raise the annual domestic investment to 1.7 trillion riyals.
These funds are under an initiative launched by the kingdom's de facto ruler; National Investment Strategy (NIS), which comes as part of efforts to diversify the oil-dependent economy, a key enabler to achieve the Saudi goals of Vision 2030.
