Ad fee hike faces pushback
KUWAIT CITY, June 19: The Legal and Financial Affairs Committee at the Municipal Council, chaired by Fahad Al-Abduljader, held its meeting Wednesday; during which it agreed on the referral of two items on its agenda to the executive body as follows: - Letter of Vice Chairman of the council Khaled Al-Mutairi and members Walid Al-Dagher, Fahd Al-Abduljader, Nasser Al-Jadaan and Nassar Al-Azmi regarding the removal of violations on sports club walls; - Review of licenses for shops and investment projects to verify the implementation of approved terms and conditions, to provide the committee with reports for each governorate.
The committee also proposed amending advertising license fees to prepare a detailed report in this regard. It is worth noting that the proposal was submitted by a company specializing in advertising and publicity. This company owns and operates outdoor advertising spaces, including screens, facades, and glass sides. Given the varying sizes of these media -- from large to small screens -- the company's business was negatively impacted by the advertising license fees stipulated in Advertising Regulation No. 599/2023.
The amendments increased advertising screen license fees from KD36 to KD75 per meter. Furthermore, the fees for glass facades and sides were increased from KD25 to KD50 per meter, thereby affecting the cost of selling advertisements on these media. In its letter to the committee, the company indicated that the increase stipulated in the new advertising regulations was implemented without taking into consideration the screen size; hence, the significant impact on large screens. The company stated that its demand to review the fees for billboards, facades and glass sides stipulated in the advertising regulations stems from its commitment to improve the investment environment to serve all stakeholders.
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