UAE ranks first globally in paying taxes: World Bank

Dubai / WAM

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2018 report revealed on Tuesday that the UAE is ranked 21st globally and is ranked top of Arab countries for the fifth year in a row.
The report showed that the UAE has ranked in the top ten globally in five of the reports ten topics. The UAE is first globally in ‘paying taxes’ and ‘getting electricity’ topics, the country also ranked 2nd globally in
‘dealing with construction permits’ and 10th globally in ‘registering property’. According to the methodology adopted by the World Bank for the current year, the UAE jumped from 26th place globally to 21st, ahead of all countries in the Arab region covered by the report and for the fifth year in a row.
Commenting on this achievement, Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairwoman of Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), said that the performance of the UAE in this year’s report is the result of months of collaboration, hard work and commitment by both federal and local government entities with the Competitive Strategy team at the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority.
“Our wise leadership has emphasised the strategic importance of building a business environment that attracts investors from within and outside the country. The UAE was built on the forearms of our founding fathers, who worked in trade and welcome traders from all over the world. We will continue on this path to realising the vision of our leadership’s vision for the UAE to become one of the best countries in the world by the centennial of the founding of the state,” she added.
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, emphasised the critical role played by small and medium enterprises as the infrastructure of any economy around the world. “Each year, the UAE demonstrates its ability to compete globally across various sectors. This is thanks to the guidance of the wise leadership of the UAE and a strategic vision that aims to elevate the UAE to become the best country in the world by 2071,” said Al Mansouri.
Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, also praised the efforts exerted by Ministry of Finance teams and the cooperation of both federal and local government entities to improve UAE’s global competitiveness.
“The Ministry of Finance has adopted an innovation-driven strategy in its continuous development efforts of all the services extended to individuals and institutions alike. The Ministry also implements best financial management practices to maintain the continuing improvement of the national financial ecosystem and to build a stable and sustainable economy characterised by flexibility and diversity. The UAE’s performance as the 21st best globally in the World Bank report is a global testament to the success of the country’s strategy to build an advanced economic infrastructure and financial system that ensures prosperity and prosperity and achieves global leadership,” he continued.
Abdullah Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary-General of the Executive Council of Dubai and member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, said, “We are very excited with the UAE’s progress in this report and achieving the 21st position in the world. I am also proud of the role played by Dubai government entities, which represents the UAE in many topics of this report. This accomplishment is attributed to the successful developmental policies adopted by the wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and their vision which is built on innovation and the drive to collaborate to achieve national plans, to reach global leading ranks across all fields and sectors.”
According to this year’s report, The World Bank’s report acknowledged the country’s efforts to improve procedures and laws related to the process of establishing companies and facilitating systems for both domestic and foreign investors. The World Bank report this year officially documented four improvements in the following topics: ‘Dealing with Construction permits’, ‘Getting Electricity’, ‘Access to Credit’ and ‘Resolving Insolvency’.

These improvements are the outcome of the hard work and dedication of over 50 government official and expert who work all year long to with the strategy competitiveness team at the FCSA working on workshops, simulations, paperwork and field visits to the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC.