Saudi Arabia, Oman Discuss Oil Markets

A general view of Muscat, Oman. (AP)
A general view of Muscat, Oman. (AP)
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Saudi Arabia, Oman Discuss Oil Markets

A general view of Muscat, Oman. (AP)
A general view of Muscat, Oman. (AP)

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman discussed on Monday with his Omani counterpart Dr. Mohammed al-Rumhi coordination within OPEC + and their vision on oil market developments.

While oil prices are witnessing fluctuations as a result of the uncertainty in global economy, the Kingdom is seeking to secure global supplies to match the volume of global demand, leading to the stability of oil markets.

The ministers discussed means of boosting cooperation in various energy fields, including renewable energy, the circular carbon economy and sustainability, the Saudi Energy Ministry tweeted.

This comes in line with the close bilateral cooperation ties in all fields, especially the economic field, it added.

On January 4, OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed to stick to its planned increase in oil output for February because it expects the Omicron coronavirus variant to have a short-lived impact on global energy demand.

The OPEC+ agreement allowed for a 400,000 bpd production increase in December from all members, of which about 253,000 bpd is shared by the 10 OPEC members participating in the deal.

Oman is a crude oil producing country and an OPEC+ member, with an average actual production of 1.1 million barrels per day.

Saudi Arabia is a large oil producer with an average daily production of 11 million barrels. It is the world’s third largest producer after Russia and the United States, and the largest oil exporter with an average of 7.4 million barrels per day.

The volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Oman amounted to $3.36 billion in 2020, while the value of Saudi non-oil exports to Oman reached $1016 billion, according to official media.



Trump Says He Will End All Taxes on Overtime if Elected 

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump motions while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump motions while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP)
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Trump Says He Will End All Taxes on Overtime if Elected 

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump motions while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump motions while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP)

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will end all taxes on overtime pay as part of a wider tax cut package, if he is elected in the Nov. 5 election.

"As part of our additional tax cuts, we will end all taxes on overtime," Trump said in remarks at a rally in Tucson, Arizona. "Your overtime hours will be tax-free."

Trump, who faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in what polls show to be a tight race, has previously said he would seek legislation to end the taxation of tips to aid service workers. Harris has made a similar pledge.

"He is desperate and scrambling and saying whatever it takes to try to trick people into voting for him," a Harris campaign spokesperson said in response to Trump's proposal on Thursday.

At a campaign event this month with union workers, Harris accused Trump of "blocking" overtime from millions of workers during his 2017-2021 presidency.

In 2019, the Trump administration issued a rule increasing the eligibility of overtime pay to 1.3 million additional US workers, replacing a more generous proposal that had been introduced by President Barack Obama, Trump's Democratic predecessor.

The Trump administration raised the salary level for exemption from overtime pay to $35,568 a year, up from the long-standing $23,660 threshold. Workers’ rights groups criticized the move, saying it covered far fewer workers than the scheme introduced under Obama.

Under Obama, the Labor Department proposed raising the threshold to more than $47,000, which would have made nearly 5 million more workers eligible for overtime. That rule was later struck down in court.

Overtime pay at these income levels overwhelmingly benefits blue-collar workers, such as fast-food workers, nurses, store assistants and other low-income employees.

"The people who work overtime are among the hardest working citizens in our country and for too long no one in Washington has been looking out for them," Trump said on Thursday.

Under Labor Department rules, eligible workers must be paid at least time-and-a-half for hours worked above 40 hours in a single work week.

As of last month, American factory workers in non-supervisory roles put in an average of 3.7 hours of overtime a week, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.

Not taxing overtime would result in less government revenue, at a time when Trump's plan to permanently extend the tax cuts he passed as president would expand the US deficit by $3.5 trillion through 2033, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. The US budget deficit in the first 11 months of this fiscal year is $1.9 trillion.

It's unclear how much revenue the government receives from taxes on overtime pay.

Trump's proposal would be a first for the federal government. Alabama this year became the first state to exclude overtime wages for hourly workers from state taxes as a temporary measure that won legislative support in part to help employers fill jobs in a tight labor market. The exemption is for 18 months only.