Law of the United Arab EmiratesModule 6
Business, investment and taxation: company forms, mainland and free zones, foreign ownership, commercial agencies, contracts, corporate tax, VAT, banking, intellectual property and data
The UAE is a **leading business hub**, with **no tax on personal income**, a **modern company law**, about **forty free zones** and two **financial centres**. Foreigners may set up a company in several ways, and **the choice of form** decides **where the company may trade**, **who may own it**, **which regulator and court apply** and **how it is taxed**. A **mainland** company, licensed by an **emirate’s economic department**, may trade **anywhere in the UAE**; a **free zone** company is licensed by the **zone authority** and is built for **trading within the zone and abroad**; a company in the **DIFC or ADGM** is regulated by **its own financial regulator** under **common law**. This module explains the main forms, the ownership and agency rules, the **taxes** and the **financial, IP and data rules**. **Rates, thresholds and lists change**, so they are not stated here.
This course explains the law of the United Arab Emirates, not US law. Rules that look the same elsewhere may be different. This covers the federal law of the UAE, with notes on the emirates and the free zones that have their own rules.
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See what is included in the Courses & AI Lab Pass →General education on the law of the United Arab Emirates, using invented people and businesses. It states laws and procedures in simplified form and is not legal advice. The law and its practice change, and every case turns on its facts, the emirate and the authority concerned. It does not offer legal representation or a legal opinion on any case. Consult a licensed UAE advocate or legal consultant for any real matter.
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