H.H. Sheikh Maktoum chairs FTA Board Meeting to Review KPIs, Achievements and Future Plans for the Improvement of the Tax System
Q1 2025: Total of 537,000 corporate tax registrations, 511,000 VAT registrations and AED148 million refunded to UAE nationals for building homes
Dubai, 29 April 2025: His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA), chaired the board meeting where he was briefed on the Authority’s achievements and key performance indicators (KPIs) during the first quarter of 2025.
His Excellency was also briefed on the FTA’s development plans for the next quarter and how they align with the directives of the UAE leadership to continuously upgrade the tax system and improve the FTA’s efficacy in supporting financial sustainability.
During the meeting, held at the FTA’s headquarters, in Dubai, His Excellency emphasised the importance of the sustainable development of the tax system, which comes as part of the government's forward-looking plans to diversify revenues to support the ambitious development process and continued economic prosperity of the UAE.
In addition, H. H. Sheikh Maktoum reviewed efforts that continue to enhance the FTA's global status in the tax sector, particularly through the ongoing development of technical, legislative, and procedural infrastructures that ensure the provision of first-rate services to its customers. This is achieved by facilitating and accelerating the administration, collection, and implementation of federal taxes while maintaining excellence and following the best standards of governance and transparency.
Underpinning the FTA’s key goals remain its ability to encourage voluntary tax compliance, which, in turn, strengthens the country's global competitiveness and supports the ongoing growth of the national economy.
H. H. Sheikh Maktoum was also briefed on the FTA's achievements regarding the implementation of the Corporate Tax Law, including finalising the launch of all core corporate tax services provided to customers. These services cover the entire customer journey, which includes corporate tax registration, filing returns, tax payment, voluntary declarations, and refund requests.
Discussions also included how internal services to support customers have also been finalised, with several new publications issued this year to facilitate the customer experience. Details of how the FTA is also working on issuing a series of guidelines to supplement the 56 corporate tax awareness events conducted, in addition to communicating with registered taxpayers to urge them to register for applicable corporate tax.
In additional briefings, a comprehensive report on the achievements, results, and developments of the Authority's main ongoing projects was shared. The report showed a significant increase in the number of corporate tax registrants to 537,340, and VAT registrants to 510,940 thousand, with excise tax registrants up to 1,756. Indeed, over the same period, the expansion in the tax system's customer base as the number of registered tax agents increased to 676.
According to the report, the Authority approved 1,656 new applications for citizens who requested refunds for the tax they paid on constructing their new residences, with a total value of AED 148 million reclaimed, during the first quarter of 2025.
The report further highlighted the FTA’s efforts to develop and enhance tax policies according to its strategy to support tax enforcement in accordance with tax legislation and best global practices.
Updates also included the FTA’s continued implementation and upgrading of the EmaraTax platform to improve service quality provided by the FTA. This is part of an overall digitisation strategy across its services, in order to facilitate voluntary tax compliance while providing convenient services to customers.