You are correct. I always thought that the Saudis were practicing a form of UBI, just without the lable. They only added a 5% VAT in 2018 and just this year b

You are correct. I always thought that the Saudis were practicing a form of UBI, just without the lable. They only added a 5% VAT in 2018 and just this year bumped it to 15% on a "temporary" basis. Both fuel and electricity costs have increased and new payments exist for government services. Saudi is trying to regear the economy and social safety nets away from oil dependency while they still have the income from oil dependency and that is the mission statement of Saudi Aramco today. Looking at actions of the company or the country any other way will cause distortions.