UAE tops in lighter tax burden
Dubai — The UAE ranked top in the world along with Malta and Monaco for lighter tax burdens placed on residents on both personal and corporate levels, according to a latest report.
The annual report released by Henley & Partners revealed the outcomes of the Global Residence Program Index (GRPI) and the Global Citizenship Program Index (GCPI).
The report also placed the UAE at 15 with 4.9 score in the latest GRPI. There is no other country in the Index from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Out of the 19 residence programmes reviewed, Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program has emerged as the world’s best residence-by-investment programme in 2015. It was followed by Austria and Belgium in second and third place respectively.
Portugal’s programme also continues to see high demand from the Mena region, including the UAE. The programmes were ranked according to 10 indicators: Reputation, Quality of Life, Tax, Visa Free Access, Processing Time and Quality of Processing, Compliance, Investment Requirements, Total Costs, Time to Citizenship and Citizenship Requirements.
The concept of residence and citizenship planning was pioneered by Henley & Partners in 1990s when it was considered to have little relevance. Over the years, it has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry.
“In that time we have aligned ourselves with visionaries and fellow pioneers, experts in this growing field with whom we have had the privilege of working to create this report, and in devising a comprehensive standard for assessment when no publicly available reliable source currently exists,” Eric G. Major, CEO of Henley & Partners comments.
Russia and CIS countries have the highest demand for citizenship-by-investment programmes in the world, closely followed by the Mena region, the report said.
The Global Citizenship Program Index (GCPI) ranked the Malta Individual Investor Programme (IIP) in first place with a score of 76. It ranked higher than Cyprus (63), Austria (61), Antigua and Barbuda (60), St. Kitts and Nevis (59), Grenada (48) and Dominica (45).
The Malta programme, widely considered the world’s most advanced and most exclusive citizenship-by-investment programme, continues to see high demand from the Mena region, with 30-40 per cent of total programme applicants being from the Middle East.
