Question: I moved to Dubai in January. I had a job, and it was kind of OK until recently, but a change of management has led to a toxic work environment, so I have resigned. I am struggling to find another job so am thinking of going back to the UK. My worry is if I do that, I might have to pay tax in the UK on the money I have earned here. Is there a way I can avoid paying tax if I go back there next month? CM, Dubai
Answer: This is an important question, not least with so many people moving to the UAE from the UK. From what I have seen, only few have an understanding of their personal tax liabilities when leaving the UK or moving back. There are similar considerations for many countries that levy personal income tax but I will answer in respect of UK tax here.
In brief, as UK tax is a complex topic, simply leaving the UK to move to another country does not mean a person is automatically exempt from taxes there. For income earned in the UAE, for it to be exempt from UK income tax, a person needs to be deemed tax resident in the UAE and that means they must be resident outside of the UK for a minimum of one full tax year. The UK tax year is from April 6 to April 5 the following year.
Anyone who is resident outside of the UK for less than a full tax year remains a UK tax resident and thus subject to UK income tax on their worldwide income.
This means that if CM left the UK in January 2025, she would need to remain outside of the UK until at least April 6, 2026 to complete a full tax year as non-resident. If she returns to the UK in October 2025, all of her UAE income is deemed taxable in the UK, just as if it was earned there as she will have been legally tax resident throughout her time in the UAE.
The onus is on the person to declare the overseas income and failure to do so is tax evasion. A person can be subject to substantial penalties and fines for failing to declare taxable income. In some cases, this can be equal to the total tax owed and more.
Once a person goes back to being employed in the UK, or sets up a business, they are likely to be asked about the “missing period” and must then declare all earnings. Not disclosing can even be a criminal issue. Strictly speaking they should declare the overseas income even if not asked as the onus is on the person to be honest.
Note that during the full UK tax year, even the first one overseas, a person can visit the UK but only for a limited amount of time. The actual number of days will vary depending on their personal circumstances, where they have been resident during the past three tax years, and what are deemed “connecting factors”. In most cases, it will be no less than 45 days but professional advice should be taken for confirmation.
Q: My question is about annual leave when working in Saudi Arabia as my company has asked me to transfer. I understand that my employment in the UAE ends legally and I start over when I move to Saudi Arabia. How does it work with annual leave? My current contract states 30 days of leave but the new one I have been sent says I only get 21 days. The HR department says that is Saudi law but I don’t think it is fair to penalise me. Can I be given more in a contract? DF, Abu Dhabi
A: The provision of annual leave is as stated in the Saudi labour law. Article 109 states: “A worker shall be entitled to a prepaid annual leave of not less than 21 days, to be increased to a period of not less than 30 days if the worker spends five consecutive years in the service of the employer.”
This is the standard wording and the minimum that any employee must be given. There is no reason why an employer cannot amend this to give additional days of leave to correspond with the amount DF currently receives. No doubt a senior member of staff will need to provide instruction to the HR department. Confirmation should be provided in writing on an official basis.
Any employer can provide benefits in addition to those stated in the law but cannot reduce them to the detriment of the employee.
In all cases, an employee in Saudi Arabia is entitled to the official holidays as declared by the government.
Contact Keren Bobker at keren@holbornassets.com or at www.financialuae.com. The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Racecard
%3Cp%3E8.30pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E9pm%3A%20Yas%20Island%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Saadiyat%20Island%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E10pm%3A%20Reem%20Island%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3E10.30pm%3A%20Arabian%20Triple%20Crown%20Round%203%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(PA)%20Dh300%2C000%20(T)%202%2C400m%3Cbr%3E11pm%3A%20Al%20Maryah%20Island%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
More coverage from the Future Forum
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Four stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
