The UAE Ministry of Finance announced amendments to some provisions of the Federal Decree-Law No 8 of 2017 on <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/2022/01/31/why-employees-will-continue-to-pay-no-income-tax-in-the-uae/" target="_blank">value added tax </a>(VAT), which will be effective from January 1, 2023, according to state news agency Wam. The amendments made are in line with international best practice in light of the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/three-down-three-to-go-in-the-gcc-as-bahrain-set-to-roll-out-vat-1.804065" target="_blank">GCC Unified VAT Agreement</a>. They are based on experiences, challenges faced by various business sectors as well as recommendations received from relevant parties, Wam said. The UAE in 2018 <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/implementation-of-vat-spurs-gcc-economies-in-2018-1.807346">introduced 5 per cent VAT</a> on a majority of goods and services as part of its plans to diversify the economy and reduce its dependence on oil. The <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2022/02/02/corporate-tax-here-is-how-the-uae-compares-with-other-global-trading-centres/">Emirates</a> will also introduce a 9 per cent <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2022/01/31/uae-to-introduce-federal-corporate-tax-on-business-profits-from-june-2023/">federal corporate tax</a> on the profit of businesses from the financial year starting on or after June 1, 2023, the Ministry of Finance said on January 31. A standard statutory tax rate of 9 per cent applies for companies, positioning the UAE competitively when compared with other financial centres and developed economies globally. Some of the major amendments introduced by Federal Decree-Law No 18 of 2022 on the amendment of some provisions of Federal Decree-Law No 8 of 2017 on VAT include the following: