Starting a business and taking off is a huge achievement, along with it setting up the finances is crucial to determine the success or failure of the enterprise. Corporate tax planning is one of the important factors to be considered when starting up a business, and supports the companies to make significant savings.
UAE’s economy was originally based on oil and income generation is excessively reliant on this industry. To diversify this scenario, the government established quite a few special purpose zones and Free Trade Zones in the Emirates to boost the economy and encourage the growth of other industrial sectors.
UAE a federation of seven Emirates (Provinces): Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai, Fujairah, Ajman, Umm Al-Qaiwain and Ras Al-Khaimah does not have any specific federal Corporate Income Tax (CIT) regime in place. The tax norms are determined on an Emirate-by-Emirate basis. At present CIT is only imposed on corporate companies involved in extraction and production of natural resources such as oil and gas in the United Arab Emirates. CIT rates are up to 55%, levied on companies, its branches and permanent establishments as per the Emirate-based tax decrees on only few specific category of organisations. Besides the tax decrees on oil and gas companies, some Emirates have specific banking tax decrees which enforce CIT of 20% on the branches of foreign banks.
UAE has many 30 Free Trade Zones (FTZs), the FTZs operate on their own rules and regulations. Usually the FTZs offer tax concessions and tax holidays to businesses for a period of up to 50 years. The FTZs are exempted from corporate tax initially for up to 50 years and can be extended further.
UAE is trending to become one of the most developed infrastructure and the government is spending more and more on the country’s infrastructure expansions. The government has to maintain the capital investments and introducing some duty on local and international businesses can help it preserve its glory. Implementing tax and duties will not only create income for the federal and local government on the other hand will necessitate suitable corporate governance for all the enterprises operating within the UAE.
UAE has implemented value Added Tax (VAT) effective from 1st January, 2018. The enterprises are now required to file VAT return which will benefit the UAE government to know the ethical practices and operational insights of the organizations running in UAE. The government authorities can also filter out the companies functioning with ulterior motive and can eliminate them from hindering the economy.
Every organization needs to implement precise accounting and auditing methodologies, Spectrum Accounting can formulate an effective corporate tax plan and can shrink the administrative burden to a huge extent. Many family run businesses do not have any accounting practices in place as such, however an experienced accountant can help these small enterprises save lot of money and ensure that tax benefits are rightfully used for the progress of the companies.
If you would like to speak to our expert about tax planning, then why not get in touch with a member of our core team today.
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