The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has dramatically eased its Covid-19 guidelines for when Americans should wear masks indoors, including in schools, a move that means 72 per cent of the population will reside in communities where indoor face coverings are no longer recommended.
Friday's new masking guidelines shift from a focus on the rate of Covid-19 transmission to local hospital admissions, hospital capacity and infection rates.
Under the prior guidelines, 95 per cent of US counties were considered to be experiencing high transmission, leaving only 5 per cent of US counties under the agency's recommendation for abandoning indoor mask requirements.
The moves come as the wave of coronavirus infections caused by the easily spread Omicron variant subsides substantially in the US and states such as New Jersey have announced plans to lift indoor mask mandates for schools and other public places in the coming days.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a media briefing that travellers will still need to wear masks on planes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations for now.
Those requirements expire on March 18 and the CDC will revisit them in the coming weeks, she said.
With the pandemic now two years old, many Americans have tired of wearing masks. In addition, studies have shown that for vaccinated people, infections from the Omicron variant were less severe and less likely to cause hospital admission and death than previous strains of coronavirus.
The CDC said universal school masking would now be advised only in communities with a “high” level of Covid-19. The earlier recommendation advised masking in schools no matter the level of Covid-19 transmission.
Dr Walensky said the agency was focused on severe disease and the risk hospitals filling up.
“We need to be flexible and to be able to say we need to relax our layers of preventive measures when things are looking up,” Dr Walensky said.
“And then we need to be able to dial them up again, should we have a new variant, during the surge.”
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EA Sports FC 24
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
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PAKISTAN v SRI LANKA
Twenty20 International series
Thu Oct 26, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
Fri Oct 27, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
Sun Oct 29, 3rd T20I, Lahore
Tickets are available at www.q-tickets.com
SAUDI RESULTS
Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)
Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),
G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)
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%3Cp%3ECreated%20by%3A%20Darren%20Star%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Lily%20Collins%2C%20Philippine%20Leroy-Beaulieu%2C%20Ashley%20Park%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202.75%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Racecard
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 
