Emirates Majalis: FTA Warning on Sharing Tax Files for UAE Business Owners

The FTA announced Emirates Majalis as part of its effort to speak with citizens directly, hear their questions and suggestions, and strengthen community engagement. The inaugural session was held at Al Khawaneej Majles, in front of a number of UAE Nationals.

The FTA presents the programme as building on the role neighbourhood majlis already play in community life. It also ties it to raising awareness of tax procedures and to the government's approach of offering services before people have to ask for them.

The Director General said the initiative aims to simplify the customer journey by giving information and answering questions in person. He also told the session that entrepreneurs have shown a high level of tax compliance and that community awareness of the UAE tax system is strong.

The first challenge named in the release was the purchase of a business licence that is registered in another person's name, and the tax obligations that follow. The release does not say how the FTA treats such cases, only that the matter came up.

The point for a buyer is that the question exists at all. For Corporate Tax, the FTA's guide on natural persons says a sole proprietorship and its owner are one and the same, and that the natural person running the business is the Taxable Person, not the proprietorship. The same guide says a natural person's Corporate Tax residence does not depend on whether licensing requirements were met. It does not address a licence held by someone else, so anyone in this position should put the facts to a registered Tax Agent or to the FTA, and should not rely on an informal understanding with the licence holder.

Where a business changes hands, the licence, the trading history and the tax registration can end up pointing to different people. Before the purchase completes, ask the seller for the entity's Corporate Tax registration number and its filing record. Returns and payment fall due within nine months of the end of each Tax Period, and late filing and late payment attract penalties.

Two further topics were discussed. Participants said they lacked clarity on how residential and commercial property is treated for tax. They also raised challenges for influencers and content creators, including whether revenue from advertising and promotional work counts as taxable income when the work is done on a commercial basis.

The release records these as concerns put to the Authority. It does not set out the FTA's answers, so none are given here. For property investors, the sensible step is to read the FTA's published guidance for the specific holding and to ask before assuming. For creators, the phrase to notice is "on a commercial basis", which is how the release framed the question.

A creator who earns personally is tested against the AED 1 million turnover threshold in each calendar year. A company is a juridical person with its own deadline: if it was set up on or after 1 March 2024, it must apply to register for Corporate Tax within three months of incorporation. So who receives the brand payments decides which rules apply.

The most practical line in the release is the Director General's warning. He stressed that tax file information and reference numbers should be kept confidential and not shared with any unaccredited tax agent or other individual. He added that the tax file is an official record documenting the customer's tax obligations and tax returns.

For a company, that translates into access control. Decide who in the business holds the login and the registration details. Do not pass them to an intermediary because the intermediary promises to handle the paperwork. If an agent is used, use a registered one. To register, the FTA requires a Bachelor's or Master's degree in tax, accounting or law (or a recognised tax certification for degrees in other fields), at least three years of recent professional experience, a pass in its Tax Agent examination and professional indemnity insurance. Practising as a Tax Agent without FTA accreditation is a legal offence, so a founder can check any adviser against that list.

An employee or consultant who leaves the business should not take file access with them. Reset credentials when relationships end.

The release does not describe any change to a company's obligations. It does show where the FTA expects questions to arise: licences, property, creator income and file security. For a company incorporated on or after 1 March 2024, the clock is already set: apply for Corporate Tax registration within three months of incorporation, then file and pay within nine months of the end of the Tax Period. A founder setting up now can use the four topics as a checklist when choosing a structure and an adviser.

The corporate tax position of a new company is covered in the guide on corporate tax for new businesses. If the question is how the structure and the tax registration fit together, how Velarozone works explains how we approach it.