The White Land Tax Program has completed its preparations to launch the second phase of the land tax application in an additional 17 cities, including five cities before the end of this year 2020, in addition to starting its implementation in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. The program explained that the five cities that will begin applying the system this year are Madinah, Abha, Khamis Mushayt, Taif, and Jizan, and that the rest of the cities will follow suit next year.
Three main objectives of the program
This step comes in accordance with the results of the studies conducted by the program team over the past period as part of the pursuit of the program’s three main objectives, which include increasing the supply of developed land to achieve balance between supply and demand, providing housing land at reasonable prices, and protecting fair competition and combating monopolistic practices.
Targeting land exceeding 10,000 square meters
The second phase targets developed land belonging to a single owner in a single approved scheme as long as its total area exceeds 10,000 m2. Implementation of the phase will begin in the coming period after completing all necessary regulatory procedures; the first cities to see the implementation of the second phase of the program will be Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.
5500 payment orders in the four cities
The total area subject to fees in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Mecca al-Mukarramah exceeded 411 million m2, and the total number of payment orders issued by the program since its implementation reached approximately 5,500, while the total area subject to the system that has been developed, or work is ongoing to develop, or has been transferred ownership of has reached 90 million m2. Moreover, more than 1.4 billion riyals of program revenues have been disbursed for the delivery of services in 54 projects and housing plans under the Ministry.
Payment of fees includes contracts and concessions
The program witnessed support and interest in achieving its goals that serve the citizen and the sector in general, among which is the issuance of a significant order last August, stipulating that the payment orders for white land fees be subjected to contracts, concessions, and penal permits, and state revenues that have the force of execution, which means that the issuance of payment orders for white land fees is final and obliges them to be paid, and the state has the right to resort to enforcement judges to collect the fees from the accounts or properties of the owners of those lands, or seize the property, as the Council of Ministers previously decided to form a committee composed of several parties to review the results of the time-frame for implementing the program. Fees for white land, proposing what you consider appropriate regarding it, and submitting an annual report to the council regarding it.
The four stages of the program
It is reported that the White Land Fee Program includes 4 stages, the first targeting undeveloped lands with an area of 10,000 m2 or more located within the range determined by the Ministry, the second targeting developed lands belonging to a single owner in a single approved plan as long as the total area exceeds 10,000 m2, the third targeting developed lands belonging to a single owner in a single approved plan as long as the total area exceeds five thousand m2, while the fourth stage targets developed lands belonging to a single owner in one city, as long as the total area exceeds ten thousand m2.
