MOF begins drive to gather views on GMT in UAE

ABU DHABI: The UAE Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced the launch of a digital public consultation to gather the views of relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) or Global Anti-base Erosion Model Rules (Pillar Two) (GLOBE Rules) as well as other tax maters in the UAE. The consultation will be open from March 15, 2024 to April 10, 2024, and accessible via the Ministry’s website or the UAE’S Government Portal.

The digital public consultation reflects the Ministry’s belief in the importance of consulting with all stakeholders including the multinational groups operating in the UAE, advisors, service providers, and investors.

The consultation is split into two parts – the first, is to gather the views of stakeholders with respect to the potential policy design options for the implementation of the GLOBE Rules in the UAE, in particular the development of a domestic minimum tax. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the GLOBE Model Rules that serve as the model legislation for jurisdictions wishing to implement qualified rules.

The second part of the consultation is to understand stakeholders’ views on the introduction of substance-based incentives to be applied in the UAE, which would form part of the UAE Corporate Tax regime.

To familiarise stakeholders with the rules and to ensure informed feedback is received, the Ministry has issued a Global Minimum Tax briefing document alongside the consultation.

The UAE Ministry of Finance welcomes clear and concise comments with, where possible, examples, data, or other information to support views being put forward in the response to this consultation. The responses must be received by 10 April 2024 via its website, and will remain confidential and will not be published.

On Thursday, The UAE Ministry of Finance published the preliminary results of the UAE Government Finance Statistics Report for the fourth quarter of 2023, unveiling that the government’s revenues amounted to Dhs155.9 billion.

According to the MOF data, the value of total expenditures amounted to Dhs131.3 billion consisting of net investment in non-financial assets and current expenses, including employees’ wages, use of goods and services, consumption of fixed capital, paid interest, subsidies, grants, social benefits, and other transfers.

The results of financial transactions during the fourth quarter of 2023 show the value of net lending/net borrowing amounted to Dhs24.6 billion. The net lending/net borrowing value is a summary measure of a government’s ability to lend or their need to borrow, and an indicator of the financial impact of government activity on other sectors of the economy.

Publishing the preliminary results of the UAE Government Finance Statistics Report for the fourth quarter of 2023 is in line with the open data policy followed by the United Arab Emirates and based on the standards of the Government Finance statistics manual issued by the international Monetary Fund. Government Finance Statistics (GFS) shows the total volume of government operations in the country and measures the financial activities of the government in an economy, and the government’s allocation of resources.

These statistics are an essential element in sound financial analysis, and monitoring public expenditures, and play a pivotal role in seting financial programmes and monitoring economic policies.

It is a key type of macroeconomic statistics that serves political leaders, decision-makers, researchers, and those interested in the financial sector, making it one of the statistics of high local and international interest. Therefore, the open data portal in the UAE Ministry of Finance allows access to data that can be used by developers, researchers, the media, and the public, in line with the concept of open government data and the era of digital transformation.

The UAE Ministry of Finance is commited to fostering an environment that encourages creative thinking and the development of innovative approaches. This is part of its ongoing mission to enhance excellence and improve governmental financial operations. The Ministry aims to boost service quality and operational efficiency across all job functions and organisational levels to achieve sustainable financial and economic growth. Embracing a forward-thinking mindset, the Ministry actively seeks to innovate in the formulation and execution of its policies and objectives. This approach is intended to strengthen the system of institutional excellence and advance government work. The Ministry’s strategy relies on financial empowerment, sustainability, and innovation, coupled with a vision for the future and the support of financial leadership.