Over 103,500 Join FTA's Tax Awareness Events In Latest Drive For Enhanced Tax Understanding

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) reported that over 103,500 individuals attended its 260 in-person and virtual awareness events in 2023 and the first half of 2024 (H1 2024). Satisfaction rates for these events increased to 94 percent this year, up from 92 percent in 2023 and 88 percent in 2022.

In H1 2024, the number of participants in tax awareness activities exceeded 30,500 across 70 events. This marks a notable rise of over 61 percent compared to the approximately 19,000 participants who attended the 80 events during the same period in 2023. The FTA expanded its reach by engaging an additional 11,600 participants compared to H1 2023.

Specifically, around 3,000 individuals participated in the FTA's 27 in-person events in H1 2024. This is an increase from the 2,280 participants who attended the 23 in-person events during the same period last year. Additionally, nearly 27,600 participants joined the Authority’s 43 virtual events this year, up from just 16,670 participants in the previous year's H1 virtual events.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director-General of FTA, stated, "The Federal Tax Authority is committed to diversifying its awareness channels and tools to reach stakeholders in the business community across all emirates. One of our key focus areas this year has been to engage business sectors and consider their suggestions for the sustainable development of our services."

Al Bustani further explained that maintaining regular communication with government and private-sector entities is crucial. He emphasised understanding business sector representatives' views to enhance their contributions to FTA’s plans for sustainable service development. The Authority has launched various initiatives to expedite tax procedures aligned with the Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme.

Key Awareness Initiatives

The FTA continued launching awareness campaigns and programmes introducing new services while expanding existing activities. Key initiatives in H1 2024 included Registration Culture Workshops benefiting a combined total of 641 participants. Six workshops focusing on the Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme were held with a perfect satisfaction rate among its 93 participants.

A series of Corporate Tax workshops registered participation from over 8,220 individuals. Additionally, workshops under the Tax Residency Certificate campaign benefited around 1,190 participants. The Tax Support campaign addressed queries from tax system stakeholders with participation from about 223 individuals.

Specialised Campaigns

The Schools and Universities campaign saw engagement from approximately 203 participants. Meanwhile, the Maskani campaign educated UAE citizens on recovering VAT incurred on building new homes and benefited around 126 participants. The Mosques campaign aimed at educating about VAT refund processes for mosque construction and operation benefited about fourteen individuals.

The Tax Violations and Crimes Workshop also saw significant engagement with around four hundred seventeen participants benefiting from it.

The FTA Director-General highlighted that these awareness campaigns aim to showcase continuous development processes enhancing legislative and procedural tax environments. These campaigns introduce transformational projects developing digital services to expedite service delivery while reducing paper consumption and minimising required documents.

With inputs from WAM