LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Bahrain: Government
built 630 days ago
Bahrain is a monarchy led by King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa with a population of approximately 725,000, approximately 430,000 of whom are citizens. King Hamad is the head of state. His son, Crown Prince Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, is heir apparent; and his uncle, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, as prime minister, is the head of government. The king appoints a cabinet of ministers. Members of the Al‑Khalifa royal family hold about half of the cabinet positions, including all strategic ministries. In 2002 the government adopted the current constitution that reinstated a legislative body with one elected chamber, the Council of Representatives (COR), and one appointed chamber, the Shura Council.
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Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy headed by the King, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; the head of government is the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalīfa bin Salman al Khalifa, who presides over a cabinet of twenty-three members [14]. Bahrain has a bicameral legislature with a lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, elected by universal suffrage and the upper house, the Shura Council, appointed by the king. Both houses have forty members. The inaugural elections were held in 2002, with parliamentarians serving four year terms; the first round of voting in the 2006 parliamentary election took place on 25 November 2006, and second round run-offs were decided on 2 December 2006[15].
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Bahrainis demonstrate in front of the Manama police headquarters, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, for the release of detained activists they allege have been tortured. A new Human Rights Watch report puts Bahrain among nations getting away with human rights violations due to alleged manipulation of elections. The Bahraini government is to submit a human rights report to the U.N. in Geneva later this month
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Historically, Bahrain has imposed no taxes on personal income. However, in 2006, for the first time, the government announced that it would levy a 1 percent tax on Bahraini nationals' salaries to fund an unemployment scheme. Most companies are not subject to corporate tax, but a 46 percent corporate tax rate is levied on oil companies. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 5.5 percent.
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MANAMA - Bahrain's total surplus for last year would be about BD272 million ($722m), according to a study by Global Investment House. The government had estimated a deficit of BD194m for the year. For last year budget, oil revenues had been estimated at a conservative level of $40 per barrel. However, oil prices remained higher throughout the year with an average price of $69.1 per barrel.
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Bahrain has taken the pioneering move to allow foreign investors 100% ownership of land in predetermined areas. Investors setting up their operations in Bahrain may choose to lease government land through the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, or to purchase land in one of several designated sites open to foreign ownership. International investors may ... own residential property in a number of tourist developments.
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