By: Amr Adel
Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) on Wednesday announced that the anticipated selective tax will be levied as of the beginning of October 2017.
The tax will be imposed at 50% on soft beverages and 100% on all tobacco products as well as energy drinks, according to the FTA.
The FTA seeks to ease tax compliance for all business sectors, FTA director general Khalid Ali Al Bustani highlighted at a press conference.
The FTA has opened registration for businesses subject to the selective tax since Sunday, 17 September, Al Bustani told reporters, stressing that the FTA is open round the clock to facilitate the registration process.
It is estimated that by the end of September, 250 taxable companies will be registered with the FTA, the top official added.
The UAE currently imposes taxes by 100% on tobacco products. Once the selective tax is imposed, taxes on tobacco will reach 200%.
The UAE is also set to impose a value-added tax (VAT) starting 2018, which is expected to affect the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.04%, whereas its social impact will be only 1.3%, UAE finance minister Obaid Bin Humaid Al Tayer said previously.
The UAE forecast that revenues will range between AED 10 billion and AED 12 billion ($2.7 billion to $3.2 billion) in the first year of levying the VAT on all commodities and services with the exception of 100 basic goods.
Translated by: Muhammad Abdul-Wakeel
