Recent content by bio

I believe tax residency requirements were updated recently to 6 months minimum in the UAE.

If you are opting for SBR, you are likely a non-qualifying FZCO. Is there any benefit to being a FZCO rather than a mainland company?

Don't ask others what to invest into. Invest into what you know. If you are in the fashion industry, invest into fashion – you have leverage there compared to the rest of the retail/institutional investors. I'm up 90+% this year with low-risk investments because I invest into companies in an...

I suspect a lot are taking advantage of the 3-year “small business relief” exemption while assessing where to go next. I believe the max exodus will be late 2026. Not only due to the expiration of SBR, but also because of the high likelihood of an oversupply of properties thus driving down the...

Wio (UAE) offers 5.5% on AED if you lock it in for 6 months. Or you can get 7.75% on REIL in Cambodia. After paying withholding tax, the effective rate is ~6.67%.

I've never seen that thread before. I am not sure how it was linked. Perhaps automation by the forum software? From doing some more research, it seems Columbia might be one option. It requires an investment to obtain PR, and then after 5 years of PR, you can apply for citizenship without a...

Many countries offer citizenship by naturalization after X years of residency. Some of those countries have very minimal requirements for physical presence during those years of residency. I.e., Portugal. I am in no rush to obtain citizinship anywhere. However, I'd certainly like to take...

Oman is increasingly interesting to me. Assuming they keep income tax free, I believe that many of those in the UAE will consider residency in Oman once their small business relief in the UAE is exhausted. The cost of living, climate, and lifestyle seem enticing, and combined with an Estonian...

OMR is pegged to USD, like AED.

Where did you send this explanation? I can't find any information online on where to apply for this exemption. I even called the FTA and they didn't know either.

What was the process of applying for the exemption? Did you have to register first?

I’m certainly not an expert here, but depending on the business activities it seems that VAT is not mandatory. For example, if you are providing consultancy services to a company based in the UK, it would qualify as an ‘exported service’ and be exempt from VAT - or at least, that’s my understanding.

It specifically says “Small Business Relief will not be available to Qualifying Free Zone Persons..” which I interpreted to mean that SBR is not available to those who are already tax-free because they are doing qualified free zone activities like manufacturing, operation of ships, etc. If it...

A few months ago I moved to the UAE: I opened a FZCO w/ IFZA. I received my EID and UAE driver's license. I opened a personal and business bank account. I rented an apartment and received an Ejari/DEWA. I opened a personal IBKR account. I've lived in the UAE now for 90+ days. In that...

As a UAE tax resident, non-US citizen, with a US IBKR account, if I invest in Singapore stocks via IBKR will I pay any withholding tax on dividends? There are some interesting high-dividend yield Singapore stocks.