~ It ain't tax free no more!! ~

This is quoted in the local paper today:

"Dubai: The introduction of the value added tax (VAT), expected early next year, will depend on the government's preparedness as well as the "taxpayers' readiness", a senior government official said.

"We are working on it and will soon be ready for implementation. The entire country will have to be ready for this," Abdul Rahman Al Saleh, executive director of Dubai Customs, told Gulf News on Monday evening. "It will depend on the government's readiness as well as the taxpayers' readiness."

Al Saleh told Reuters on Monday that the government has postponed the introduction of VAT from late 2008 to early 2009. "We were planning for the last quarter of 2008 but we have put it back to the first quarter of 2009," he was quoted as saying.

The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states entered into a common customs union in 2003, after standardising the import duties largely at five per cent. Initially, VAT is expected to replace the customs duty and start at a very low tax level.

"The introduction of the VAT is a federal government decision. We will, of course, give the people enough time for this after we get ready for it administratively," Al Saleh added."

wwwwaaahhh!!!