The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has transformed from a zero-tax jurisdiction into an OECD-compliant regime while
maintaining competitive tax rates. This evolution, marked by the introduction of value added tax (VAT) in 2018 and corporate
income tax in 2023, coincided with the United Kingdom’s (UK) abolition of its non-domiciled regime, effective 6 April 2025.
Over 6,500 UK millionaires relocated to the UAE in 2024, representing significant wealth migration driven by tax policy
divergence.
This Practice Note guides practitioners through Federal Decree-Law No. 47/2022 On the Taxation of Corporations and
Businesses (as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 60/2023 Amending Some Provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 47/2022 on
the Business and Corporate Taxation and subsequent legislation), Federal Decree-Law No. 8/2017 on Value Added Tax (as
amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 18/2022, Federal Decree-Law No. 16/2024, and Cabinet Decision No. 100/2024
Amendments to the Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 8/2017 on Value Added Tax), and the UAE’s network of
140+ double taxation treaties for structuring compliant cross-border investments.
Written by Salah Al Blooshi and Tanya Visakan.
To read the full article, click here UAE Tax Planning – A Practitioner’s Guide to Cross-Border Structuring.
If you have any questions or need further advice on related matters, please feel free to contact us at info@sat-law.com.
This article was first published by LexisNexis Middle East.
12 December, 2025
