Businesses are eyeing June 1, the start of the Corporate Tax regime in the UAE, with interest and with varying degrees of doubt on what it truly entails for them. Come that date, and the UAE will be introducing the Tax on all incorporated entities and unincorporated partnerships in the country, subject to certain restrictions. Krishnan Unni Madathil, in his regular column, endeavours to answer some key questions in this issue of the magazine.

Typically, the specific doubts revolve around the general provisions and definitions, imposition of Corporate Tax and the applicable rates, taxable persons and the Corporate Tax base, calculating taxable income, deductible and non-deductible expenditure, tax credits and transitional rules. Such is the extensive nature of the answers that Madathil will be addressing them in a two-part article.

Surendar Balakrishnan

This issue of the magazine is exceptionally text-heavy, for it contains a special supplement on engineering expertise in the hospitality sector in the Middle East region. A long time in the making, the supplement is a precursor to the THEME Awards, in Q3 2023, constituted to specifically recognise the leadership and exertions of engineering teams that form the backbone of hotel businesses in the region. (THEME stands for ‘The Hospitality Engineers Middle East’, a networking platform for hospitality engineers in the region.) The Awards exercise is especially relevant in this year of COP28, to be hosted by the UAE, as hotel engineers have a crucial role to play in lowering the emission of greenhouse gas in the hospitality sector, in addition to lowering the total cost of ownership.

The text-heavy nature is also owing to the rather detailed cover story on cashflow issues that continue to dominate the mindscape of MEP contracting firms, to the extent that they find the distraction affecting the core functions of their work. To say that cashflow is a nagging, vexing issue is a case of stating the obvious. What is not trite is to identify solutions, including unlocking the potential of technological tools and financial instruments, including digital distributed ledgers and escrow accounts. Do read about them – as a next step, we promise to provide an in-person platform to discuss in detail and persuade relevant stakeholders to consider a strategic framework underpinned by consensus.