1. Both water and electricity will be taxed at 5% from 1st January, 2018, according to a set of draft executive regulations published on the Federal Tax Authority’s website
2. Water and electricity will be treated as supplied goods, and therefore subject to a 5% VAT in UAE
3. The Ministry of Finance will be releasing approved draft of the executive regulations by the third week of November 2017, which clarify VAT and exemptions in UAE
4. The chief economist of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank estimates that VAT could add about 2.7%-3.7% points to headline inflation in the first year post introduction

5. Value Added Tax (VAT) is a general consumption tax that is added to products and services at every stage of its production, which differs in value from country to country
6. VAT of 5% will be introduced in UAE from 1st January, 2018
7. VAT will be implemented across all GCC countries by 1st January, 2019
8. The impact of the introduction of VAT on annual inflation in UAE is expected to be only a fraction of the rate of 5%, according to the International Monetary Fund
9. With the introduction of VAT, the cost of property and health insurance premiums may go up by 5% in the UAE, the largest insurance market in the GCC

Water and electricity will be taxed at 5% in UAE from 1st January 2018