UAE starts hiring for tax body ahead of value-added levy

The ministry is advertising about 30 staff positions for the tax authority on its website.

The United Arab Emirates is hiring officials to set up a federal tax authority that will be in charge of collecting levies, as the Gulf nation seeks to diversify its revenue base with value-added taxation.

The ministry is advertising about 30 staff positions for the tax authority on its website, including compliance and enforcement director, auditors, analysts, accountants and administrators. Deloitte LLP is advising the Ministry of Finance on the structure and enforcement mechanism of the new government entity, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information isn’t public.

Squeezed by the oil-price collapse and its aftermath, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the UAE, is planning to impose VAT by 2018 as they seek to deepen their revenue base. The finance ministry declined to comment.

Deloitte, in an emailed answer to questions, said that as “a management consultancy we provide specialist services and support to both regional public and private sector clients.” “One of the tenets of our business is confidentiality and therefore, we would never discuss rumours in this regard.”

The UAE will post a budget deficit of 4 per cent of economic output this year, according to HSBC Holdings Plc estimates.