How Tax Policies Affect Qatar's Foreign Direct Investment

Qatar is a small, yet wealthy nation located in the Arabian Gulf peninsula. Qatar’s currency is pegged to the United States (US) dollar partly due to its strong foreign currency reserve from predominantly from oil and gas exports. However, following the recent blockade of Qatar by other neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries which went on for nearly three years, Qatar experienced decrease in foreign direct investment compounded by the recent global novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As Qatar plans to reduce its independence from hydrocarbon revenue against the backdrop of global environmental awareness, it plans to attract foreign direct investment for which having a strong tax policy can be important. The country has two tax regimes i.e., State of Qatar regime and Qatar Financial Center (QFC) regime and while both regimes encourage foreign investments in Qatar, each has their own sort of limitations which may prevent companies from doing more business in Qatar. This thesis examines legal and tax rules of both QFC and State of Qatar tax regime as well as investment laws and at the same time identifies some of the key problem areas found in Qatar’s tax regime and investment laws. As such, this thesis makes some of the recommendations on how making improvements on Qatari tax policies can indirectly impact the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.