Welcome to the second year of UAE corporate tax.
In particular, welcome to those entities whose fiscal year ended in May 2024, who will be the first to report and settle any tax payable by February 28, 2025.
It is worth highlighting this because many businesses are still unaware of what is required of them and by when it is needed. For the uninformed, penalties and interest await.
Moving from business owners, let us now understand the role of appointed periphery service providers.
There is a concept called duty of care that comes into play here. These parties should provide a reasonable standard of preventive advice. That said, they are not responsible for their guidance being taken correctly or being acted upon in a timely manner.
One final point given the complexities: their advice is unlikely to cover every single nuance of compliance or potential pitfall.
Remember, there is much we do not know, because some of the points of law have yet to be communicated by the relevant authorities. Even when the information is released, it takes some time to review, interpret and be in a position to knowledgeably comment.
Moreover, some business entities might have rare aspects that require particular investigation before deciding on what actions might be taken.
Let’s start with outsourced accounting firms. Many of you use them. It would be a kindness, a duty of care, if they pressed to ensure that you were aware of the deadlines for registering for corporate tax.
Along with that, there is also annual economic substance reporting, which comes with up to two sets of deadlines depending on your entity’s operating circumstances.
With so much on the plate of the average business owner, service partners can be a critical support mechanism to ensure that these critical aspects are not forgotten.
Next, your partner in attaining or renewing your trade licence. Sometimes you need to distinguish between the supporting company and the authority that issues the licence.
We are in a period where a lot of people and businesses are moving to the region. The number of companies is rising steadily and, due to restructuring for corporate tax, even existing groups are expanding the number of entities they operate.
The partners might wish to mention to those forming new companies that they have three months to begin the registration process for corporate tax or face a Dh10,000 ($2,723) penalty.
It is not expected of them, but a friendly reminder or nudge will support the business entity. I am spending time assisting some who were not aware.
The final providers of support we are discussing today are external auditors. Specifically, those who form part of a trade licensing authority’s approved list.
There are several places you can obtain a trade licence in the UAE. Each has its own guiding purposes and uses, which comes with a corresponding list of advantages and disadvantages.
For example, a golden visa holder who fully or partly owns a Creative City Fujairah company cannot also be a salaried employee of that same entity. This has potential serious financial implications with regard to corporate tax.
Many trade licence issuing authorities are now demanding annual external audits. Also, those entities who can elect to sit outside corporate tax will require one.
In the case of the former, the auditor will need to be one approved by the authority. For the latter, we are not sure. Will the Federal Tax Authority take the view that the auditor must be one approved by the authority that issued the trade licence? That's not yet clear.
Some businesses have taken corporate tax as an opportunity to review their structure. For some it will be to prepare for a future liquidity event or a sale of their business.
An optimum structure could involve many different trade licensing authorities, all with different approved auditor lists.
Consider an international group. Not only has it been juggling cross border audits, it now has to deal with in-country multi-jurisdictional audits in the UAE involving different auditors.
As an accountant long in the tooth, I am a bit light-headed at the thought of onboarding so many practices.
To all us service providers, in this second year of corporate tax, let's show some kindness to our customers.
David Daly is a partner at the Gulf Tax Accounting Group in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
The five pillars of Islam
Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.
Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
SPECS
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Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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