Corporate tax in the UAE

The introduction of corporate income tax in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was inevitable as the Emirates planned its transition from an oil-dominated economy. A consultation document issued by the UAE government in April 2022 stresses that the new corporate tax regime to be introduced in 2023 will be built around international best practice and is designed to reinforce the UAE’s position as a global centre for business and investment. The UAE has previously signalled its commitment to the OECD’s BEPS project which includes an objective of a global minimum effective tax rate.

The proposed new standard rate of corporate tax (CT) in the UAE at 9% is one of the lowest in the world (only Barbados Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have a lower rate) and well below the global average corporate tax rate of 23.5%. Even so the introduction of the UAE’s...