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Some private universities will still have to pay the standard 5% VAT on their tuition fees.
29 November 2017
| Last updated on 29 November 2017
Residents in the UAE have been dreading the start of 2018 after the new VAT regulations have been announced and are set to be implemented in the new year.
At first, it seemed like schools and universities would be spared from having to pay VAT on the already expensive fees, but now, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
According to Nirav Shah, the director of Fame Advisory, not all universities will be spared from paying VAT. Private universities who receive less than 50% funding from the government will all be subject to the standard five per cent VAT rate. This means that a number of university students are going to have to pay even more to finish their studies.
SEE ALSO: 6 Ways VAT Will Likely Affect The Retail Sector in Dubai
Parents can at least relax a little bit. All private and public schools who are funded by the government will be zero-rated meaning that even though the government can tax you for this, they don’t.
The new VAT regulations will be implemented in the UAE and Saudi Arabia at 7:00 am on January 1st, 2018. It was decided to start implementing the VAT laws in GCC countries to start weaning themselves off of their dependency on income from oil and create an alternative income source.
