UAE to join global minimum tax rate on multinationals

DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates, home to the regional headquarters of numerous multinational companies, said Monday it would introduce a 15 per cent tax rate on corporate profits from January 2025.

The move will bring the UAE in line with efforts towards a global minimum corporate rate.

"This strategic step reflects the engagement of the Emirates to implement the two-pillar solution of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which seeks to establish an equitable and transparent fiscal system," the UAE's finance ministry said in a statement.

In 2021, around 140 countries signed onto an OECD-led effort to introduce a global minimum 15-per cent rate, aiming to combat efforts by firms to shift profits to countries with low rates.

The UAE, long considered a tax haven, last year began taxing the profits of companies worth more than 375,000 dirhams ($102,000) at nine per cent.

Hosting the regional headquarters of multinationals fits in with the UAE's efforts to reduce its dependency on oil exports. The finance ministry said the country was committed to "developing a favourable environment for companies".