The story: Saudi Arabia expects to achieve a 90B SAR (23.9B USD) budget surplus in fiscal year 2022 amid cuts to government spending, including the defense budget. However, Saudi officials have not stated the oil price used to calculate the government budget. Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan expects that the Kingdom’s first surplus since 2014 will trigger a review of the current value-added tax (VAT) rate, which was hiked last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The coverage: The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced on Dec. 12 that the 2022 Saudi general budget has been issued by royal decree...