Dubai vs. Singapore for Remote Operation from India

[akshayrh]

Hello. I have an online blogging business. I pay close to 37% tax in India on my income.

And also Indian new RBI policies are making international transactions hard.

I'm looking to incorporate an LLC in either Singapore or Dubai for tax saving and ease of transactions.

I consulted 3 well-informed CAs regarding this.

1. A CA who told me to start company in Dubai. Mainly due to tax purposes. He said when you're repatriating funds, stay in Dubai, enjoy, and bring back funds with no taxes. Not sure how.
2. A tax firm who deals with both SG and Dubai told SG is the best. Maybe it is because they deal with SaaS companies for whom brand image matters, but it doesn't matter to me. Repatriation from SG will surely attract taxes in India. So SG is for only simplicity purposes but not a lot of tax planning.
3. Another CA told it's not recommend in Dubai because you need to have come local connects in Dubai to make it easy to operate from India. Also there'll be a lot of regulatory crackdowns as Dubai is in Gray list. But I'm not doing money laundering.

Im almost going with SG.

But not sure.

Please someone shed some light on this.

 

[troubled soul]

For tax saving Dubai is best option. Singapore is best for vc , investment fund type of Operation as there is no capital gain tax. Keep in mind that regular business income have tax for Singapore company....

 

[Sols]

akshayrh said:
I'm looking to incorporate an LLC in either Singapore or Dubai for tax saving and ease of transactions.
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Unless you are also moving there, there are no tax savings. If you control the company from India, a Place of Effective Management is created in India, whereby the company becomes taxable in India.

But you might be able to avoid some of the new RBI regulations around currency exchange and capital control by having a bank account outside of India.

akshayrh said:
1. A CA who told me to start company in Dubai. Mainly due to tax purposes. He said when you're repatriating funds, stay in Dubai, enjoy, and bring back funds with no taxes. Not sure how.
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This is technically correct, but not quite as easy as that summary makes it sound. You have to stay in Dubai for at least six months and become tax resident there and become tax non-resident in India. The second part is just as important as the first.

akshayrh said:
3. Another CA told it's not recommend in Dubai because you need to have come local connects in Dubai to make it easy to operate from India. Also there'll be a lot of regulatory crackdowns as Dubai is in Gray list. But I'm not doing money laundering.
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Unfortunately, UAE being on the FATF grey list affects everyone, including those who operate completely legitimate businesses.

If your choices are UAE or Singapore, UAE offers the lowest taxes while Singapore is the more reputable option that's suitable for growing a business.

But as long as you live in India, there are no (legal) tax savings.

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This is the probably the answer to your question.

 

[Fred]

@Sols mentioned it already when you remain living in India you get away with a Dubai Setup die to Residence Visa, Emirates ID, local UAE phone no and local substance we for example provide to our clients.

If you do the same with SG you get reported straight to India as you don't get that easy and straightforward a Residence Visa in SG and of course not the necessary substance.

If you really wanna move go whatever you like more - if you don't wanna move go with UAE.

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[troubled soul]

Dude , As Indian Just move to Dubai. there is a huge Indian expat community in Dubai. You never feel like you left your home. Most people use Urdu/Hindi in Dubai.
It will be fun. Thanks me later

 

[akshayrh]

I'm not looking to move anywhere. I'm just looking for some tax savings and ease of international operations. I guess to operate out of Dubai physical presence there is pretty much recommended I guess although you can appoint a resident director. But as per my communication with TaxMantra a firm, they can help me and according to them ease of operations in SG is easy if as I'm not willing to move out of India.

 

[JackAlabama]

akshayrh said:
I'm not looking to move anywhere. I'm just looking for some tax savings and ease of international operations. I guess to operate out of Dubai physical presence there is pretty much recommended I guess although you can appoint a resident director. But as per my communication with TaxMantra a firm, they can help me and according to them ease of operations in SG is easy if as I'm not willing to move out of India.
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As other said. You most likely end up being resident in UAE while non-resident in SG.
Both options possible but maybe only one makes sense?

 

[troubled soul]

akshayrh said:
I'm not looking to move anywhere. I'm just looking for some tax savings and ease of international operations. I guess to operate out of Dubai physical presence there is pretty much recommended I guess although you can appoint a resident director. But as per my communication with TaxMantra a firm, they can help me and according to them ease of operations in SG is easy if as I'm not willing to move out of India.
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SG does have income tax while Dubai does not have any. Do proper research check every thing in detail. Do not blindly trust anyone. Check on official website.

 

[JimBeam]

Half of Dubai are people from India so I think you'll have better chances there for getting things done, opening a bank account etc.

 

[chyper]

Fred said:
when you remain living in India you get away with a Dubai Setup die to Residence Visa, Emirates ID, local UAE phone no and local substance we for example provide to our clients.
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Fred, if I go with your setup, is the are anyway to bring the money back to India tax free without actually living in Dubai?

I'm mostly interested in investing those money in Indian stock market / mutual funds. I was thinking about FDI from Dubai company to Indian company, then invest in stock under that company but don't know how that would play out, any insights?

 

[JimBeam]

I guess you could easily open personal IBKR account with your Emirates ID and buy stocks from that account (like you're UAE resident).
Alternatively, you might open broker account for your company and buy stocks as a UAE company (but in that case you'll need to mess up with accounting).

 

[chyper]

JimBeam said:
I guess you could easily open personal IBKR account with your Emirates ID and buy stocks from that account (like you're UAE resident).
Alternatively, you might open broker account for your company and buy stocks as a UAE company (but in that case you'll need to mess up with accounting).
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India don't allow non Indian to participate in stock exchange thus IBKR don't offer such services.

Importantly I'm more interested in Indian mutual funds.

Last edited: Aug 1, 2023