If you were worried about the rumours of income tax being introduced into the UAE, don’t be.

The UAE has no plans to launch new taxes for individuals, Younis AL Khouri, under-secretary at the Ministry of Finance, told Al Bayan.

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The UAE Government isn’t studying the introduction of more fees for services either.

Although a drop in oil and gas prices have prompted governments across the Gulf to search for new sources of income, income tax in the UAE isn’t one of them.

However, in 2018, the six members of the GCC plan to introduce value-added tax (VAT).

If you’re wondering what that means, it means an extra 5 per cent is going to be introduced on many items (but not on 150 food products, education and healthcare).

Yes, it will make shopping a little bit more expensive, but the UAE’s VAT rate will still be among the lowest in the world (the standard rate in the UK is 20 per cent).

If you want to read more about how VAT in the UAE will affect you, you can read our article about it here.

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In better news, despite falling oil prices, a mapping of the UAE’s job market by LinkedIn shows that at least 16,000 job vacancies have opened up in the UAE since last year.

While it’s unclear what percentage of the advertised jobs have been filled, it’s a silver lining for those struggling to find employment.

The cabinet also approved a Dhs48.7 billion federal budget for 2017 earlier this week, yet Khouri told Al Bayan that projects in the budget would not rely on new taxes, additional fees or revenues from VAT.

The budget will not be affected by changes in global oil prices.

With regards to corporate tax, Khouri mentioned how the Ministry of Finance have been studying the impact of it for a few years, and would be taking those studies to the cabinet with the goal of building a comprehensive tax regime.

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Image: Getty