The tax system has contributed to consolidating the UAE’s global competitiveness

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Tax Authority, chaired the meeting of the Authority’s Board of Directors, and His Highness was briefed on the Authority’s development projects aimed at maintaining continuous improvement of the legislative and procedural environment in the tax system in accordance with best practices, and ensuring continuous improvement in the quality of services provided to customers.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stressed that the country’s tax system has achieved great successes during the recent period and has strengthened its leadership in supporting financial sustainability and contributed to consolidating the UAE’s global competitiveness.

His Highness directed the Federal Tax Authority’s work team to continue the development and modernization plan and to make more efforts to continue the achievements in order to consolidate the pivotal role played by the Authority in the process of sustainable development. His Highness stressed the importance of continuing the improvement measures for the Authority’s services, in keeping with the digital transformation plans, focusing on the customer and raising operational efficiency to reach global leadership in providing government services.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum reviewed a report on the results of implementing the corporate tax, where high compliance rates were achieved, considered among the best in the world. The number of those registered for the corporate tax exceeded 651,000 at the end of last September, with high compliance rates for submitting tax returns, annual permits, and paying tax dues during the specified periods, as a result of the ease of steps provided by the authority through the “Emirates Tax” platform for digital tax services. Thousands of applications are received daily and processed with great efficiency, and the call center provides the necessary immediate support to taxpayers when needed during peak times.

The processing of applications for declarations and payment of corporate tax dues during peak periods was completed smoothly and without any obstacles, which confirmed the success and efficiency of the tax legislative and procedural system that is consistent with international best practices and provides digital compliance mechanisms that are the latest of its kind, while the Authority implemented intensive awareness campaigns in all the emirates of the country and via remote video communication, and provided sufficient information and guidance to enhance tax awareness and assist business sectors and enable them to comply voluntarily with ease and accuracy, while implementing continuous improvements within the framework of Digital bureaucracy zeroing program to facilitate procedures.

The Authority’s Board of Directors, headed by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, approved the Authority’s proposed draft budget for the year 2026 AD, and adopted a set of executive decisions related to the Authority’s internal operational and administrative policies and its operational activities.

The Council reviewed the developments in the implementation of the electronic invoicing project, the executive stages of the project in cooperation between the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Authority, and the procedural steps that have been completed with regard to the legislative requirements and digital systems of the project.

The Council approved the operational policies for the new mechanism for calculating the excise tax on sweetened drinks according to the “graduated volumetric model” that links the value of the tax imposed to the amount of sugar in the drink, and reviewed the executive steps taken by the Authority to prepare early for the implementation of the new mechanism, and work to implement electronic systems and proactive awareness to ensure a smooth transition to the implementation of this mechanism.

The Board of Directors also reviewed a report on the authority’s achievements during the last period, and the results of its operations showed that the authority approved new requests from citizens who recovered the tax they paid for the construction of their newly constructed homes, amounting to 115.4 million dirhams during the past months of August and September.

The report showed that the number of those registered for value-added tax reached 547,000 registrants, 1,777 registered for excise tax, while the number of tax agents reached 806 agents.