{"id":943253,"date":"2023-01-03T14:19:43","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T14:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/?p=27943"},"modified":"2023-01-03T14:19:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T14:19:43","slug":"dubai-ends-30-percent-tax-on-alcohol-sales-fee-for-liquor-license","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/01\/03\/dubai-ends-30-percent-tax-on-alcohol-sales-fee-for-liquor-license\/","title":{"rendered":"Dubai ends 30 percent tax on alcohol sales, fee for liquor license"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dubai: In an apparent move to bolster its status as the Middle East\u2019s leading business and tourism hub, Dubai kicked off the new year by scrapping a 30% tax on alcohol sales and making liquor licenses free.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The sudden New Year\u2019s Day announcement, made by Dubai\u2019s two state-linked alcohol retailers, came apparently from a government decree from its ruling Al Maktoum family.<\/p>\n

However, government officials did not immediately acknowledge the decision and did not respond to questions from The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Tourism is a key plank of the emirate\u2019s economy, but it\u2019s been geared predominantly toward the luxury segment.<\/p>\n

The latest move will leave Dubai better-positioned to cater to wider swathes of the market, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

Liquor is widely available in Dubai, but a pint of beer can cost more than $15 at restaurants and bottles of wine can start at more than $100. That\u2019s prompted many residents to drive to other emirates like Umm Al Quwain, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Dubai, where prices are much cheaper.<\/p>\n

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The suspension of the tax will last for a year, until December 31, 2023, as it is described as a trial period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It means bars, pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels will make savings when they buy their stock and Dubai\u2019s government reportedly expects that to be passed on to customers, according to Timeout.com.<\/p>\n

According to Al Arabia News, Alcohol sales have long served as a major barometer of the economy of Dubai, a top travel destination in the UAE, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates.<\/p>\n

During the recent World Cup in nearby Qatar, Dubai\u2019s many bars drew commuting football fans.<\/p>\n

However, a pint of beer easily can cost over $10 at a bar, with other drinks running even higher. It wasn\u2019t immediately clear if this would cause a price drop at alcohol-serving establishments or if it only would affect those buying it from retailers.<\/p>\n

Alcohol distributor Maritime and Mercantile International, which is part of the wider Emirates Group, made the announcement in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>

The post Dubai ends 30 percent tax on alcohol sales, fee for liquor license<\/a> first appeared on VOSA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This post was originally published on VOSA<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dubai: In an apparent move to bolster its status as the Middle East\u2019s leading business and tourism hub, Dubai kicked off the new year by scrapping a 30% tax on alcohol sales and making liquor licenses free. The sudden New Year\u2019s Day announcement, made by Dubai\u2019s two state-linked alcohol retailers, came apparently from a government \u2026<\/p>\n

The post Dubai ends 30 percent tax on alcohol sales, fee for liquor license<\/a> first appeared on VOSA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":863,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,4,340],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/863"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943253"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":943254,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943253\/revisions\/943254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}