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Tax

Tax news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Kuwait power cuts, Kuwait blackouts

Heat blackouts blamed on Kuwait’s fuel supply issues

Rolling power cuts that have beset oil-rich Kuwait over the last two days have been blamed on technical issues experienced in fuel supplies. Several residential neighbourhoods experienced rolling blackouts over the weekend due to “a fuel supply disruption”, according to a statement from state-run Kuna news agency. The cuts also closed down desalination plants and […]

e&'s AI-integrated robot interacts with people at the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2024. The company's shares have rallied from a four-year low in May

Worst is over for Etisalat shares but don’t expect a rebound

Shares in UAE blue-chip e& – more commonly known as Etisalat – have fallen by more than half from a 2022 peak as investors fret over difficulties related to some of the telecom operator’s foreign investments. Yet analysts believe these issues are now priced in and so the worst should be over for the stock. Etisalat […]

Oman is aiming to realign its economy under the Vision 2040 programme and market reforms form part of the process

Oman reveals plan to steer IPOs to Muscat exchange

Oman’s Financial Services Authority has revealed its strategy to overhaul the country’s capital markets – which could provide extra funds for underrepresented sectors and lure investors looking for less saturated markets, according to analysts. However, the success of the plan will depend on how incentives for listing are implemented, they warn. Trading activity has been […]

Shoppers in Kuwait City. Kuwait is yet to introduce VAT but new rules will apply a 15 percent business profit tax to all companies

Kuwait overhauls tax system and signs UAE treaty

Kuwait, which has developed a reputation as an economic laggard among wealthy Gulf states, is undertaking an overhaul of its tax regime to meet global standards and reduce reliance on oil revenues.  The Gulf state plans to introduce a 15 percent business profits tax, new rules on transparency and compliance with international agreements, and an […]

Online shoppers in Turkey will pay higher duties on imported goods

Turkey hikes customs duties on overseas ecommerce sales

Turkey is raising customs duties on goods bought online from international retailers as it seeks to defend local retailers against the global ecommerce giants.  Under regulations announced on August 6 and due to come into force on August 21, items valued at up to €30 ($32.75) ordered online from a European Union vendor and delivered by […]

'Budgetary numbers are meaningless if they are not reflected in improving the economy, competitiveness and standards of living,' said Ahmed Kouchouk, Egypt's finance minister

Egypt’s new finance minister sets out plan to reduce debt

Egypt aims to cut its tax-to-GDP ratio to below 85 percent by the end of June 2026 and issue new debt in pounds to reduce the proportion of external debt, its new finance minister said on Tuesday.  But Ahmed Kouchouk and his team pushed back on calls to raise taxes. In his first press conference […]

A building fire in Kuwait killed 50 people this summer Video length: 05:06

The Gulf needs better construction codes

Devastating building fires in Kuwait and Qatar this summer, and April’s flooding in the UAE, have raised awareness of the need for more stringent construction codes in the Gulf. National Fire Protection Association president Jim Pauley told AGBI that sometimes rules are in place but it is “the application of the regulation that needs to […]

Turkey tech

Turkey commits billions to domestic high tech funding

Turkey has committed up to $30 billion to woo foreign tech investors and bolster its domestic technology sector. It is offering a mix of tax incentives and direct grant funding to kickstart sectors identified as crucial to the country’s industrial development.  The country’s new High Technology Incentive Programme (HIT-30) aims to attract $20 billion in […]

Modi India GCC

From taxes to FDI rules – how India’s budget affects the Gulf

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first budget of his third term brings welcome news for international investors but mixed outcomes for non-resident Indians. Notable initiatives include abolishing the contentious “angel tax”, simplifying foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, increasing capital gains taxes and cutting gold import duties. Angel tax abolition: relief comes too late India’s finance minister […]

Egypt is seeking FDI with a particular focus on textiles manufacturing and green energy

Egypt seeks to treble foreign direct investment to $30bn

Egypt’s new cabinet, formed earlier this month, wants to treble foreign direct investment into the country from the record $10 billion of FDI inflows recorded in  2022-23. The ambitious target of $30 billion in FDI during the current financial year, which began on 1 July, has been set as Egypt cuts budgets and slows down […]

Morocco carbon capture tax steel plant

Morocco lures manufacturers to avoid EU carbon taxes

Morocco is looking at investing in carbon dioxide capture and storage to attract manufacturers to the country who want to avoid the EU’s upcoming carbon tax on imports.  The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which will come into effect in 2026, will tax imports of goods such as steel, cement and fertilisers into […]

CCUS Saudi Arabia Dubai

Middle East needs stronger policies to expand carbon capture

A lack of firm policy, regulatory frameworks and funding is limiting carbon capture capacity development in the Middle East and Africa, according to an industry expert. Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) involves separating out the carbon dioxide created in industrial processes, then treating it and using in other processes or storing it.  Globally CCUS […]

GCC UK tax. The Labour government under new prime minister Keir Starmer may merge capital gains tax with income tax Video length: 04:06

GCC investors in UK warned of new tax liabilities

The newly elected Labour government is expected to introduce a range of tax changes that will impact British expatriates living overseas, non-doms and the UK’s community of wealthy foreign investors.  Tax consultants suggest that GCC investors considering selling their UK assets should do it “sooner rather than later” to escape the hikes that could significantly […]

In a concession to the electorate, the legislation before parliament proposes a 25 percent increase in the payment to pensioners on the lowest rate of support

Turkey targets business with steep taxes to raise revenue

Multinational corporations operating in Turkey face a steep increase in their tax bills, thanks to one of the new revenue-raising measures outlined by the government in draft legislation aimed at narrowing the budget deficit. Under the new tax reforms, tabled before the parliament on July 16, multinationals with more than $817.6 million in annual consolidated […]

A young Al Hilal fan (with Neymar phone case) watches his side play Al Ittihad at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. Fewer superstar signings are expected this summer

Saudi football spending tipped to tumble as economy falters

Saudi Arabia’s domestic football ambitions may have to take a back seat this year as the kingdom focuses on funding its $1.25 trillion giga-projects programme, according to analysts. Last summer Saudi Pro League clubs spent close to $1 billion signing the likes of Neymar, Ruben Neves and N’Golo Kante.  This year’s transfer window is expected […]

Farmers pick strawberries for export on a farm in Morocco's Kenitra province

Balancing the scales of Morocco’s food exports

Free trade access to the EU and UK markets, and a longer – or at least different – growing season mean that Moroccan farmers are producing bumper exports that are helping to reshape the country’s economy around agriculture. However, those exports are drawing criticism from those who believe the country should prioritise its citizens’ own […]

Patients from the GCC are travelling to India, Thailand or Egypt for cheaper medical treatment

Affordable healthcare in the GCC: a prescription for profit

The GCC’s affordable healthcare market is ripe for investment, research suggests, as patients are forced to travel to India, Thailand or Egypt to find cheap treatment. Low-income inhabitants make up about 38 percent of the Gulf’s total population, according to Mansoor Ahmed, executive director for healthcare at Colliers Middle East in Dubai. The proportion ranges […]

People in downtown Dubai. The emirate welcomed 19,000 new companies to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in the first quarter of this year, a 17.6 percent annual jump

UAE economic growth brings rise in court disputes, say lawyers

Debt recovery cases in Dubai and the wider UAE are increasing, a pair of local law firms told AGBI, citing anecdotal evidence from their practices. Behind the trend, they said, are various factors, chief among them being the influx into the emirates of new businesses from around the world. Also contributing are a host of […]

Workers set up photovoltaic solar panels at the Benban plant, which will contribute to Egypt's goal of 58 percent renewable energy by 2040

Austerity threatens Egypt’s green energy progress

Sprawling over 37 sq km of desert north of Egyptian city of Aswan, the Benban Solar Park is one of the largest photovoltaic power plants in the world. Made up of 41 individual solar plants, the park’s investors boast it can be seen from space. Launched in 2018 and now at 1.8 gigawatt capacity, in […]

Keir Starmer, leader of Britain's Labour party, reacts as he speaks at a reception to celebrate his win in the election, at Tate Modern, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

GCC investors can make money in Starmer’s Britain

Labour’s historic win on election day has reinforced the bullish case for investing in UK assets.  Sir Keir Starmer promises to bring fiscal discipline to the UK at a time when its $3 trillion economy is just emerging from a technical recession, exports are rising and inflation has fallen sharply from its 11 percent post-pandemic […]