Wealthy Dubai residents race back to UAE to avoid tax bills

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Dubai residents stuck abroad because of the Iran war are trying to return home to avoid incurring large tax bills by spending too long outside the emirate, according to travel executives and tax lawyers.

Some are turning to private jet hire in order to prevent them being disqualified from the UAE’s generous tax status, which has no income tax on individuals, investors or most companies.

Charles Robinson, who founded private jet marketplace EnterJet, said he had received requests to fly into the region: “With minimum required days within an individual’s fiscal year to gain benefit from the tax regime, some appear to be requiring a return to the region to complete their days.”

A private jet was “an instrument of return” to keep them within their fiscal terms, “in many cases with the cost of a jet being far lower than their potential tax bill if they miss the minimum days”.

Ronald Graham, managing partner of Taylor Wessing’s Dubai office, said the law firm had received “discreet enquiries . . . around day count in the UK and — if they can’t get back to UAE — how will that impact their tax situation”.

He said most were waiting and seeing before taking action, but that the rich “really value the ability to move and work wherever they want, when they want, and when something like the Iran war disrupts it, they don’t like it”.