Where are you going after the UAE?

[jafo]

IMO any tax rate is bad in UAE, mostly because of crazy expenses, and also their authoritarian and oppressive legal system. I wouldn't like to make a mistake in my tax declaration and find myself in the wrong side of the law in a country that is culturally 400 years in the past.

I lived and owned several companies in UAE many years ago, and it gave me peace of mind that there were no taxes, so 0% risk of facing their legal system in that regard.

Furthermore, the risks and expenses don't really bring any rewards; no social security, no path to citizenship, nothing.

This is a great answer! The same reason I left the USA in 2001. If my accountant made a mistake, it was MY a$$! So, I went to a place with zero taxes. At least for a while until I started traveling too much.

This car rental thing happened to me in Dubai as well. They tried to scam me for 5000 aed deposit (supercar rental in JBR). Played games and delayed giving the deposit back. I did my research after a few contacts on whatsapp and sent them a pretty long and detailed email of my next steps if they do not return it by xy date. They shat their pants and all of a sudden became responsive and gave the money back.

Did you also have to leave behind your physical passport and credit card as a deposit to rent the car?

 

[MrPepper]

This is a great answer! The same reason I left the USA in 2001. If my accountant made a mistake, it was MY a$$! So, I went to a place with zero taxes. At least for a while until I started traveling too much.


Did you also have to leave behind your physical passport and credit card as a deposit to rent the car?

No, they didn't keep it. I'm a resident there, so that might have helped when I said I'll escalate it further. I mentioned DED, my attorney, and a few other things where I would ask for all my expenses to be taken care of in case I have to travel to Dubai to deal with it. Airplane ticket, my attorney time, hotel, etc., not just the deposit.

When I was with family in Dubai, they also didn't have to leave their passport or cc at the rental car company office. Some funds were on hold on a CC that was returned once they returned the car or something like that, but it was some big respectable brand.

I think people should be more careful while leaving such important documents at any place when they travel. They can scan it, but you should never leave it there imo.

If something feels off, it's probably best to walk away and find another company to deal with. Whether it's a car rental or something else... I didn't do that and had to deal with scammers and waste my time and energy on them later on. I was lucky enough to outsmart them and I travel often to Dubai. Tourists who come just once from far away, can very often forget about their money.

 

[jafo]

No, they didn't keep it.

Brilliant man! You are multiple orders of magnitude brighter than her. She left her cc and passport behind as a "guarantee", so they probably "pegged" her in advance.

If something feels off, it's probably best to walk away and find another company to deal with. Whether it's a car rental or something else..

An absolute gem of advice!

I didn't do that and had to deal with scammers and waste my time and energy on them later on.

There is an adage I learned a while back (I was a freshman in college) by what we used to refer to as "the old guard" and it goes like this:

Mistakes are paid with money or blood. Sometimes both.
For the physically weak, torture joins the party.
On rare occasions, life is the ultimate currency!

 

[Nicholas Van Orton]

Thailand residency with US Single Member LLC for me. You have the choice of big city living (Bangkok), Beaches (Phuket, Koh Samui etc), or Mountains (Chiang Mai). I am surprised that Thailand hasn't come up more on such discussions.

SMLLCs as disregarded entities are indeed an excellent alternative for single-member ventures and 0% TAX for non-US residents. Quite surprised it isn't displayed more often around here and definitely a much better option for the nomad tech geeks worldwide than the Dubai/UAE smothering hype.

NVO

 

[MrPepper]

Brilliant man! You are multiple orders of magnitude brighter than her. She left her cc and passport behind as a "guarantee", so they probably "pegged" her in advance.

Yeah. The only thing you should allow is to let them take a scan of your passport as a guarantee or your ID if you are a resident.

On the credit card, deposits are usually set on hold, and not charged immediately. It's like a proof for them you have the funds if something happens.

Everyone else who does it differently probably wants to scam you. Even if they take the amount they set on hold on your cc afterward without real cause, you can complain to the bank/cc issuer and ask for a chargeback for a scam. These things are taken seriously and they could lose pos/processor if the complaint is serious so they usually don't do scams this way.

 

[backpacker]

There are countries that werent on the map previously that are now contenders like Georgia or El Salvador or Montenegro or many African countries (

Georgia is certainly no competition for the UAE. Lifestyles are completely different (Georgia offers nothing in this regard). Georgia is all but cosmopolitan; it is a tiny place in the middle of nowhere.

Tax preferences in Georgia are for small entrepreneurs; otherwise, you pay more than in the UAE.
The danger of creating a PE in Georgia is very high, and their "foreign-sourced income" definition is more than blurry. Careful with that country! There is a reason why it only attracts very small businesses (and Russian draft dodgers).

If you only live on passive income and it is really "foreign sourced" (note their definition), Georgia is ok tax-wise. Note: You have to stay 183 days in every rolling 12-month period to make that work.
But again, if it is only passive investment income, you can also just live in the UAE, where life is much more luxurious and offers a gazillion times more options.

 

[uranium]

Georgia is certainly no competition for the UAE. Lifestyles are completely different (Georgia offers nothing in this regard). Georgia is all but cosmopolitan; it is a tiny place in the middle of nowhere.

Tax preferences in Georgia are for small entrepreneurs; otherwise, you pay more than in the UAE.
The danger of creating a PE in Georgia is very high, and their "foreign-sourced income" definition is more than blurry. Careful with that country! There is a reason why it only attracts very small businesses (and Russian draft dodgers).

If you only live on passive income and it is really "foreign sourced" (note their definition), Georgia is ok tax-wise. Note: You have to stay 183 days in every rolling 12-month period to make that work.
But again, if it is only passive investment income, you can also just live in the UAE, where life is much more luxurious and offers a gazillion times more options.

Georgia Eastern Europe and close to Russia would be considered as risky jurisdiction especially from banking perspective

 

[Alonzo]

Georgia is all but cosmopolitan; it is a tiny place in the middle of nowhere.

It's exactly the same for Dubai...

 

[Konstanz]

Guys we have to agree. With taxes UAE lost its charm

 

[JohnLocke]

Have in mind, there were 0 threats in the email, just steps I'm going to take to escalate this further. It wasn't a money thing but a principles thing from that point and they figured it's better to pay back than to deal with me.

It could be of interest to share some more information about this list! It can be useful for others that may come into a similar situation as yours.

 

[JohnLocke]

Guys we have to agree. With taxes UAE lost its charm

There must still be some points to mention that make it attractive to keep (or set up) your company in Dubai:

• Asset protection reason
• creditor and lender protection
• Tax optimizing
• more!

Or am I totally wrong?

 

[troubled soul]

There must still be some points to mention that make it attractive to keep (or set up) your company in Dubai:

• Asset protection reason
• creditor and lender protection
• Tax optimizing
• more!

Or am I totally wrong?

Dubai is not dead for everyone. It is still a good option for certain types of people, such as:

• Forex traders and crypto traders: These individuals live on trading income and investment income, and they do not need to conduct their trading under a business. Dubai offers a favorable tax environment for these types of traders, as they are not subject to income tax.
• Celebrities, sports players, startup retirees, and politicians: These individuals may also be attracted to Dubai because of its high standard of living, its cosmopolitan atmosphere, and its tax-free benefits. However, it is important to note that these individuals may still be subject to tax in their home countries.

But Doing business using Dubai free zone...is not worth now . I believe this "qaulifying income tax free " drama does not last long..Sooner all later they will impose tax on all businesses....
I also believe if we find the the way to legally avoid PE for foreign company....or they ease the rule of PE....Dubai is still charming..

@JohnLocke
Do you have any idea to legally avoid PE as Dubai tax resident ?
Like How can I run USA LLC tax free from Dubai.....What is your expert Opinion on this?

 

[Konstanz]

Dubai is not dead for everyone. It is still a good option for certain types of people, such as:

• Forex traders and crypto traders: These individuals live on trading income and investment income, and they do not need to conduct their trading under a business. Dubai offers a favorable tax environment for these types of traders, as they are not subject to income tax.
• Celebrities, sports players, startup retirees, and politicians: These individuals may also be attracted to Dubai because of its high standard of living, its cosmopolitan atmosphere, and its tax-free benefits. However, it is important to note that these individuals may still be subject to tax in their home countries.

But Doing business using Dubai free zone...is not worth now . I believe this "qaulifying income tax free " drama does not last long..Sooner all later they will impose tax on all businesses....
I also believe if we find the the way to legally avoid PE for foreign company....or they ease the rule of PE....Dubai is still charming..

@JohnLocke
Do you have any idea to legally avoid PE as Dubai tax resident ?
Like How can I run USA LLC tax free from Dubai.....What is your expert Opinion on this?

So besides few forex/crypto traders and celebrities not so much use for.
Legally avoiding PE you will have to have real empliyees, managers, offices outside UAE

 

[wellington]

US woman detained in Dubai for 'screaming' at man

Fears for influencer ‘Sassy Trucker’ arrested in Dubai over local morality laws

Tierra Allen is latest victim of alleged rental car extortion attempt targeting tourists

www.independent.co.uk

problem is not tax rate...but dealing with Government people and facing weird law.......Before this You do not need to deal with this type of things...as 2-3 days per year.....Only you deal with immigration officer ..that's it.. now, you need to spend a lot of time and energy dealing with complicated rules and regulations which "change everyday ". This can be very time-consuming and frustrating..Complete tax free Dubai is heaven...IMHO for White passport holder, Now Dubai is not worth the headache ...better to Register USA LLC live in Thailand, Bali, Monaco or any Caribbean country...Totally tax free...What is a need to paying 9% tax when you still can run your business total Tax free....

Between do Look into this two post
Best tax free setup for Web development business...for Dubai resident

Best tax free setup for Web development business...for Dubai resident

As New corporate Tax introduce.....but still There is no personal tax...so want to get benefit of this.. I want to register my Web development business...with tax free status What will be the solution for this while being resident of Dubai ? Thinking of USA LLC...as It is tax free and cheap. but...

www.offshorecorptalk.com

Or just do a BVI and live in Thailand.

 

[Jbb1]

Or just do a BVI and live in Thailand.

US LLC cheaper