Do not put off for today work that you have been advised can technically be done in 12 plus nine months.
This is the amount of time you have, from the beginning of your financial year, to file and settle your tax return.
By putting off work, I’m referring to registering your entity for corporate tax, which took effect in the UAE on June 1.
Assuming your financial year end is May 31, you technically have 21 months to register. But in reality, the total is one month less, since we are already in July, and it takes about a month to complete the registration process.
Do you, as a business owner, know what your accounting year is? In talking to many such people, I’ve found that they often have no idea.
Formation documents sometimes leave the decision up to the board of directors, who, if they’ve never had an external audit, typically fail to set one.
If you have conducted an external audit, then you can take the audited period as your accounting year. Corporate tax demands that you set one.
On successfully registering, you will receive a welcome pack in Arabic and English. The more important information is sitting in the documents folder on your Emarat portal account.
This contains your corporate tax number and Generated International Banking Account Number. It’s to this bank account, held at the UAE Central Bank, that you will be paying any monies due.
For avoidance of doubt, it’s a different GIBAN than the one used for your entity’s value added tax (VAT). Do not use the wrong one.
I have yet to see a corporate tax certificate, akin to that for VAT. Given the similarities between the two, it would appear likely they will be issued.
We do not know at this time whether a transaction payment reference number will be required when settling your corporate tax liability.
That addition for VAT appeared as part of the new and expanded Federal Tax Authority managed portal in December 2022.
If you fail to include the reference number, your payment will fail and be refunded to you. This is another reason not to leave matters to the last day. I have seen cases where entities found out too late that a payment had been returned, and penalties were automatically applied.
The above is an example of housekeeping. Let us now look at the far more serious matter of maintenance.
Ministerial decision No. 120 of 2023 deals with transitional rules. At its core, how do we transition from a world without corporate tax to one with it?
I liaised with Peter Wilson, an international tax expert from PB First.
One of the first tax concepts I was introduced to at secondary school was ‘bed and breakfasting’. This means to sell an asset on the last day of a tax year, and buy it back the following day. The objective is to crystallise any gain in one tax year where such allowances cannot be carried forward.
Let’s consider an entity that has material assets on its balance sheet. It’s common in the UAE, particularly among larger groups, to hold property. It might be the entity’s office building. The ministerial decision calls this "immovable property".
Back to my school days for one more moment and another aspect of tax. We are used to talking about managing the changing value of assets in your balance sheet as "depreciation".
With buildings, we talk about "impairment", as a building is not what we might consider a normal asset, like a computer or office fittings. On disposal, it is likely to be more valuable than when you bought it. This gain is taxable.
Transition arrangements allow you to lock in that gain, thus the opening value of a qualifying immovable object, as you enter a corporate tax world, takes into account the accumulated gain and nullifies any future tax liability on disposal of the asset.
Are there any rules you need to comply with to gain this advantage? Yes. Plenty of them.
From fixed structures to intangible ones. By this, think about computer software, licences, import quotas, etc. The UAE has decided that IFRS will be the applicable accounting standards used for reporting purposes.
Valuation for corporate tax purposes demands it must be accounted for on a historical cost basis. It must also have been owned prior to an entity's first tax period, and be deemed disposed of during or after the entity's first tax period, for a value in excess of its net book value.
The majority of UAE entities have January to December accounting years.
This means that there is still time to open an entity’s balance sheet and examine tangible and intangible assets with a view to proactively and positively acting ahead of potential future corporate tax liabilities.
David Daly is a partner at the Gulf Tax Accounting Group in the UAE
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Honeymoonish
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Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
