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Where are you going after the UAE?

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Thanks for clarifying. Regarding GAAR, I think the strategy you mentioned could work to make︂ use of "bonus" pay and dividends, etc. in addition to salaried pay to effectively reduce︃ the CIT.

I think this does start to spell the beginning of tax-free in UAE︄ though. Eventually, they will probably begin to increase their CIT and begin to introduce PIT.︅ Once any government gets a taste of tax revenue, its appetite will become insatiable, if︆ history is any indicator. lol
 
Dividends are paid after corporate tax has been paid, so that would only work if‌ you can get the small business relief (no corporate tax for 3 years if the‍ revenue is below AED 3M).
The bonus would also be subject to the GAAR.
 
The government‌ websites aren't great. It's 6 month of salary of at least 30k per month and‍ a visa with a "high-value" profession (the list is long, you can be a magician).⁠ Then you can apply. A legalized university degree may be required.
There are other ways,⁤ too, such as owning real estate, but the salary route is the simplest. You can⁣ employ yourself in your own company.
 
Hmm, I guess this still leaves room for some "consulting" or⁤ other service-related fees you can invoice from one of your other companies to your UAE⁣ company to help reduce the profits below the CIT threshold.
 
The UAE is implementing transfer pricing following the OECD model, so in theory, with such‌ an approach, you'd be looking at the same problems as in any other country.
Also, if you have a company in another country that has a lower tax rate than‍ your UAE company, why would you want to use a UAE company at all?
 
I believe there are some countries that won't tax you on foreign-earned income such as‌ HK. It's just another possibly useful addition to your stack. For transfer pricing, I guess‍ it depends on how you structure the other company outside of UAE, they may not⁠ technically be 'associated'.

But yes, I do see your point. If you have another company⁤ that does allows for 0% CIT in another jurisdiction, a company in UAE wouldn't be⁣ entirely necessary. One thing I might think of is that there is still 0% PIT⁢ and a residence permit for you to use on banking applications elsewhere.
 
As far as I know, the 0% tax thing‍ with HK companies is similar to the US: HK companies without operations are not taxed⁠ in HK, but they aren't formally resident either.
So their idea would be that the⁤ activity should be taxed somewhere else - where? Do you need a resident director on⁣ paper only and HK would accept this as not having any taxable activity in HK?⁢ Then you might get away with it in the UAE.
Otherwise you'd be back to︀ the risk of having management and control or a PE in the UAE, with the︁ risk of the HK company being subject to corporate tax in the UAE. (Obviously this︂ is very hypothetical, it seems extremely unlikely that the UAE would be enable to properly︃ enforce this anytime soon.)

Yes, but then it's either the risk of UAE corporate tax︆ mentioned above (unless you can explain that the company is not managed from the UAE),︇ and/or you would have to pay out a salary instead of dividends if the company︈ is in a country with a higher corporate tax rate (the UK or Estonia could︉ be good candidates for this).
 
Spread the risk or stay under a certain tax⁠ threshold (<375K AED or <3M revenues)?
 
Totally happy staying in Dubai.

Even at the low rate of 9% there are 100s‌ of legitimate ways to reduce taxes, UAE salaries are typically higher than elsewhere, quality of‍ life is great, keep under the radar, don't be flashy and it's an amazing place.⁠

When I'm back in the UK it's such a depressing place I actually can't wait⁤ to get back to Dubai.
 
That's finally a fantastic reply. I don't understand all the panic about the 9% considering⁤ exact the options you mentioning.
 
US woman detained in Dubai‍ for 'screaming' at man
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ker-arrested-dubai-morality-law-b2379669.html

problem is not tax rate...but dealing with⁢ Government people and facing weird law.......Before this You do not need to deal with this︀ type of things...as 2-3 days per year.....Only you deal with immigration officer ..that's it.. now,︁ you need to spend a lot of time and energy dealing with complicated rules and︂ regulations which "change everyday ". This can be very time-consuming and frustrating..Complete tax free︃ Dubai is heaven...IMHO for White passport holder, Now Dubai is not worth the headache ...better︄ to Register USA LLC live in Thailand, Bali, Monaco or any Caribbean country...Totally tax free...What︅ is a need to paying 9% tax when you still can run your business total︆ Tax free....

Between do Look into this two post hap¤#"hap¤#"hap¤#"hap¤#"hap¤#"hap¤#"
Best tax free setup for Web︇ development business...for Dubai resident
https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/th...business-for-dubai-resident.41974/post-266532
 
I've noticed an increasing number of people from Dubai, mainly from the EU, choosing to‌ come to Bulgaria. They seem comfortable paying the 9 percent tax and are now willing‍ to pay 10 percent here due to significantly lower maintenance costs.
 
This car rental︃ thing happened to me in Dubai as well. They tried to scam me for 5000︄ aed deposit (supercar rental in JBR). Played games and delayed giving the deposit back. I︅ did my research after a few contacts on whatsapp and sent them a pretty long︆ and detailed email of my next steps if they do not return it by xy︇ date. They shat their pants and all of a sudden became responsive and gave the︈ money back.

Have in mind, there were 0 threats in the email, just steps I'm︉ going to take to escalate this further. It wasn't a money thing but a principles︊ thing from that point and they figured it's better to pay back than to deal︋ with me.

Anyways, if they introduced a 9% tax, I'm pretty sure there will be︌ personal income tax as well within a few years, no matter what they say. As︍ long as things will work well for me in Dubai, I'll keep my company there︎ for now. But as a backup, I'll keep researching to find better options or at️ least alternatives so I am ready if the move will be needed.

It's not about‌ Dubai even and can't be mad at them. Western governments do these types of things‍ all the time. They say one thing and give promises, but later they 'change their⁠ minds'. I am personally not worried about the 9% tax, but all the accounting, paperwork,⁤ audits, and stuff we will have to do from now on. There are ways to⁣ lower the tax you pay. Salaries, all expenses through the company, all travels, business dinners⁢ etc.
 
IMO any tax rate is bad in UAE, mostly because of crazy expenses, and also‌ their authoritarian and oppressive legal system. I wouldn't like to make a mistake in my‍ tax declaration and find myself in the wrong side of the law in a country⁠ that is culturally 400 years in the past.

I lived and owned several companies in⁤ UAE many years ago, and it gave me peace of mind that there were no⁣ taxes, so 0% risk of facing their legal system in that regard.

Furthermore, the risks⁢ and expenses don't really bring any rewards; no social security, no path to citizenship, nothing.︀
 
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