Manama: Kuwait is planning to impose taxes on Kuwaiti owners of more than two cars and on expatriates who have more than one car. The new charges for the Kuwaitis will be gradual, beginning at KD100 ($353, Dh1,297), and will escalate as the number of cars increases.
The regulations for the foreigners living in the northern Arabian Gulf state will be announced later, the interior ministry assistant undersecretary for traffic said.
“We have a study on ways to limit the number of vehicles and ease traffic congestions in Kuwait and we will soon submit it to Shaikh Mohammad Al Khalid, the interior minister,” Abdul Fattah Al Ali said.
“The study includes a proposal to limit the number of cars a Kuwaiti national could own to two and a foreigner to one. Charges will be imposed on extra cars for both citizens and expatriates,” he said, quoted by local daily Al Seyassah on Saturday.
Details on the curb on cars owned by foreigners will be revealed later, he said.
“The car ownership for foreigners will be linked to their salaries and expatriates will not be able to own more than two vehicles in all cases,” he said.
“The study has indicated that a large segment of Kuwaitis and expatriates own a high number of cars,” he said.
The official who has been conducting an outstandingly aggressive policy to restore order on Kuwaiti roads and impose compliance with the rules and regulations said that Kuwait had 1.2 million cars.
“This is too high a figure for Kuwait by all standards. We have to address the situation. This study is not the only way to address congestions, and there are several short-term and long-term plans and strategies as well as a network of new roads that should help with the breakthrough,” he said.
Al Ali said that traffic flow has improved thanks to the relentless campaigns launched to check violations and abuses.
“One of the reasons behind the heavy traffic, particularly at rush hours, was the high number of foreigners who drove cars without driving licences or used vehicles that broke down on the road and stalled traffic,” he said.
“The campaigns have allowed us to check tens of thousands of foreigners who dared to break the rules and drive without a licence or who disrupted traffic because of their cars unfit for the road,” he said.
Al Ali has for months championed and implemented a zero-tolerance policy towards offenders that including deporting foreign drivers deemed dangerous for Kuwait’s roads.
A large number of Kuwaitis had their cars impounded and their licences suspended for failure to comply with the regulations.
Harsh criticism of Al Ali in the media and social media has not made him change his mind about imposing discipline on roads that had become ominously dangerous for drivers.
The official also dismissed criticism levelled by the opposition about his stance towards foreigners who repeatedly broke the law as “a necessary measure to keep Kuwait’s roads safe from those who not only do not respect the law, but also repeat their offences.”
