Following the news that Saudi Arabia would be tripling its rate from 5 percent to 15 percent, the UAE Ministry of Finance has been forthcoming stating that United Arab Emirates has no plans for a value-added tax (VAT) rate hike in the near future.
All six of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accepted in 2016 to begin a VAT system with a rate of 5 percent, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia introducing the system in 2018 and Bahrain in 2019. The UAE’s VAT rate currently stands at 5 percent and was executed at the beginning of 2018, even though some goods continue to be tax-exempted.
Last month the UAE’s Federal Tax Authority said that it would hold the due date for payment of VAT ending March 31 until May 28, as a step to support the economy battling the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier today, Saudi Arabia declared several economic propositions that would be put in place to oppose the economic fallout of the coronavirus, including a 3 fold VAT rate increase.
