The royal has reduced the fee on sales at hotels in the emirate.
We’ve got some good news for those of us who have been feeling the VAT squeeze since the tax was introduced at the beginning of the year.
Last night, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced that the municipality fees on sales at hotel facilities will be cut from the existing 10 per cent to seven per cent.
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Considering how many new restaurants open in Dubai every month, and how much we spend trying to keep up with them, this is great news.
In line with the directives of @HHShkMohd we are announcing a 3% reduction of fees on the sale value for hotel facilities and restaurants in Dubai to enhance its position as a preferred destination for both investment and tourism
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) June 11, 2018
The slash in taxes applies not only to restaurants, but on the sales of hotel rooms as well. That means not only is your favourite Friday brunch ritual set to get cheaper, a staycation that you have long put off will get cheaper as well.
Sheikh Hamdan said, “This decree will expand the series of measures announced days earlier and aimed at supporting companies operating in Dubai, reducing the cost of doing business and attracting new investments.”
While this is a boon for companies doing business here in the UAE, it’s one that has ripple effects for end consumers like us as well.
Sheikh Hamdan explained that Dubai welcomed 16 million visitors last year, and measures like this will help boost that number by nearly 20 per cent in the next two years so that Dubai meets its goal of receiving 20 million visitors by 2020.
In another recent measure which meant the easing of pressure on finances of individual households here in Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan also announced a freeze on any hike in private school fees in Dubai for the 2018-19 academic year.
Need some help as to which restaurant you should head out to for your next meal? Here’s our list of the 10 best iftars in Dubai to try during these last few days of Ramadan.
Images: Supplied
