Dubai Anybody?

slickbrick said:

Hey guys,
I'm looking for people living in Dubai that either work for or own a marketing/digital agency or an enterprise that can help me with some tips on opening my new agency there.
I'm having difficult times understanding the taxes etc.
Thanks in advance

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BassTrackerBoats said:

The Mod, @MisterF, may be able to help you if he is not lounging in a 4 star hotel drinking free beer and smoking fat cigars.

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slickbrick said:

I'm having difficult times understanding the taxes etc.

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BassTrackerBoats said:

The Mod, @MisterF, may be able to help you if he is not lounging in a 4 star hotel drinking free beer and smoking fat cigars.

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Sephrata said:

What taxes?

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kekmaw said:

Are you going to sell in the UAE or outside the UAE?

Most people who run businesses online etc that don't need a real space will set up a Free Zone Establishment (FZE) in a good free zone like Ajman or RAK.

Through this FZE you will be able to sponsor yourself an investor visa so you can live here and if done right, tax residency in the UAE (which you want, since it's no tax).

It will cost you about $10-15k the first year to set everything up and about half of that to renew your license every year.

If you do businesses within the UAE you will have to deal with VAT but if your clients are outside the UAE you don't need to deal with that nightmare. If you chose a good Free Zone you won't need to deal with paperwork and annual returns either.

Source: I moved to Dubai and have done it.

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kekmaw said:

Are you going to sell in the UAE or outside the UAE?

Most people who run businesses online etc that don't need a real space will set up a Free Zone Establishment (FZE) in a good free zone like Ajman or RAK.

Through this FZE you will be able to sponsor yourself an investor visa so you can live here and if done right, tax residency in the UAE (which you want, since it's no tax).

It will cost you about $10-15k the first year to set everything up and about half of that to renew your license every year.

If you do businesses within the UAE you will have to deal with VAT but if your clients are outside the UAE you don't need to deal with that nightmare. If you chose a good Free Zone you won't need to deal with paperwork and annual returns either.

Source: I moved to Dubai and have done it.

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Maverick1111 said:

I know some guys, if they are interested I will give your reference.

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MisterF said:

I like the thinking of the UAE tax benefits, I think @kekmaw has answered you on this matter.

Have a read of this for more information.

https://www.visitdubai.com/en/busin...c-dubai/doing-business-in-dubai-tax-advantage


The advantage I enjoy in Dubai is 5 star hotels with free bar.

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slickbrick said:

Thank you!
I want to sell my services (digital marketing) to businesses inside UAE. Why is VAT a nightmare there?
May I ask you what do you do there?


Very interested, thank you!

Thank you!
So is the free bar the only advantage? Hahah
Do you see an opportunity for new digital marketing agencies/consultants?
Considering real estate is a pretty big market there I was thinking about focusing on helping mostly realtors or at least starting from them.

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kekmaw said:

I mean I don't think it's more of a nightmare here than anywhere else, it's probably even easier. I just hate all that paperwork etc that's why I called it a nightmare but it should be more straightforward than most countries. You will definitely have to keep books and do annual return though.

What kind of digital marketing services do you do? How much are you currently doing in... Italy?

There are plenty of opportunities here in different fields when it comes to marketing (i've been looking into a specific agency myself but will likely not do anything as I'm too busy with other projects). Real estate is a big business here but it's on a decline (harder to sell, prices going down etc).

For myself, I don't do any business locally here. Without going into specifics on an open forum, I sell digital products.

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slickbrick said:

Mh interesting, is it an educational digital product?

I build an automatic "client factory" that gets clients and retains them.
I build a system that runs by himself, generates leads through the perfect lead magnet advertised and crafted for the target market of my client, nurtures the leads via email and tries to turn a lot of them into recurring clients.
Every case is different tho, It's a custom service every time because every client has different necessities, I only care about bringing them more money back than those they invested with my help.

My specialties are persuasive copywriting and persuasive advertising, the taste I developed through the years for both Arts brought very good results for businesses in different industries, mostly restaurants (of course pizzerias), law/consulting firms, real estate agents and every business comprehended in the health and wellness industry (from gyms to resorts).

I'm making a lot for an unknown marketing consultant because I'm not actually working with a lot of Italian clients, which most of them are not used to spend a lot in marketing.
Not keeping a lot tho, taxes are around 70% + I have to maintain a lot of people.
I'm currently working with an attorney from my city which also has a firm helps realtors in Fujairah, not so far from Dubai, and I will have some referrals from him, that's why I wanna close my Italian VAT and move to where I don't have to work to support the Mafia.

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kekmaw said:

Both educational and entertainment kind of content.

That's a good model. I would focus on restaurants here and gyms.
Restaurants are dying for more customers here and if I were gonna do any agency here it would revolve around restaurants and driving customers through especially chatbots.

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