UAE

General Information

Advantages:

No foreign exchange control
No income tax
No CGT
No WHT
No stamp duty
UAE banks do not exchange with information
40+ free zones
Low rate for VAT
80 DTT

Disadvantages:

Audit is obligatory
Only up to 49% of a UAE company may be owned by a foreigner
Resident visa needed for company registration
Expensive jurisdiction
The reputation of the quasi offshore jurisdiction
Complexities with the opening of a bank account abroad

The United Arab Emirates is a federative state with hereditary monarchy as a form of government. Having a whole unique Eastern culture with the state Islamic religion and quite a conservative, especially in the case of the Penal Code, the law system, UAE is regarded as one of the top countries to start a business in. According to the latest ranking and research of the Doing Business, UAE is ranked the 25th most favorable state in the world to start and run business.

In the last few years, UAE is considered to be a middle power, meaning that the Emirates has enough influence in the world to change the general policies. Due to large oil and gas reserves, the country may afford to reinvest the earnings from oil and gas companies to infrastructure development.

Also, the UAE does support foreign businesses by creating numerous trade zones (FTZ), which are classified into mainland FTZ, airport FTZ and maritime FTZ. There are a lot of advantages and exceptions applied to the FTZ, e.g.:

Enterprises may be 100% foreign-owned, while in the mainland they may be up to 49% foreign-owned;

There are 100% import and export tax exemptions;
100% repatriation of capital and profits;
Corporate tax exemptions (if applied) for up to 50 years;
No personal income taxes;
Assistance with labor recruitment, and additional support services, such as sponsorship and housing.