Russia to remove UAE from tax haven blacklist Jan 1
MOSCOW. Nov 13 (Interfax) - Russia's Finance Ministry has drafted an order to remove the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the list of offshore tax havens as of January 1, 2026.
The draft order "On making amendments to the Special List of countries and territories providing a preferential tax regime and/or not requiring disclosure and provision of information when conducting financial transactions (offshore zones), approved by order of the Finance Ministry of the Russian Federation No. 35n, dated March 28, 2024" has been posted on the official website for draft regulations.
An intergovernmental agreement between Russia and the UAE on the elimination of double taxation of income and capital and prevention of tax avoidance and evasion that was signed on February 17, 2025 and went into effect on July 18 will begin to be applied on January 1, 2026. It replaced a 2011 agreement that applied only to the income of government investment funds that was signed because UAE state investment funds and banks showed interest in investing in the Russian economy, but the virtual absence of taxes in the UAE on corporate profits and personal income made it impossible to sign a standard double taxation agreement.
The new agreement regulates the procedure for taxing the profit (income) of all residents of the two countries, and stipulates tax rates at the source of no more than 10%, applicable to income in the form of dividends, interest and royalties. The document also regulates issues concerning information sharing between the relevant authorities of the two countries.
The agreement meets the latest requirements for such treaties, namely it includes provisions aimed at preventing abuses of its conditions, guarantees the prevention of tax discrimination, regulates the procedure for resolving tax disputes and defines the methods for eliminating double taxation, a memo attached to the draft order said.
The UAE carried out tax reforms and introduced a flat corporate tax rate of 9% for all organizations doing business in the country that has been applied since January 1, 2024.
