Kuwait endorses 2025-26 budget with bigger deficit

• Lower than expected oil income
• Deficit exceeds budgeted shortfall
• Non-oil revenue set to rise

Kuwait has endorsed its budget for the next fiscal year 2025-26 with a higher deficit because of lower expected oil income.

An emiri decree published in the official gazette set allocations for ministries and other government offices for the budget which starts on April 1.

Spending was put at KD24.5 billion ($80.8 billion) and the deficit at KD6.3 billion, above this year’s budgeted shortfall of KD5.6 billion.

Details of the decree, published in local newspapers, showed oil revenue forecast far below the previous year’s.

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Revenue from the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its affiliated companies was put at about KD23.06 for 2025-26, nearly KD2 billion less than in this fiscal year because of lower average oil prices.

KPC allocates most of its earnings to the state coffers, including at least 10 percent to the Future Generations Fund.

The Arabic language daily Al-Anba said non-oil revenue is expected to increase by almost 9 percent to about KD2.9 billion from nearly KD2.68 during 2024-25.

Finance ministry figures show the increase would be achieved through a surge in tax earnings, mainly from the planned 15 percent tax on multinational companies which Noora Al-Fassam, the finance minister, expects to fetch KD250 million.