Abu Dhabi, UAE – The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) reported a notable increase in the number of registrants benefiting from the diverse services, incentives, and privileges provided by the Muwafaq Package, which was launched to facilitate business operations and tax compliance for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector, indicating significant positive results for the Package in its first year.

In a statement issued today, the Authority revealed that the number of subscribers to the Muwafaq Package from the SMEs sector increased to nearly 54,000 by the end of 2023, marking a 4.5% growth from the 51,660 beneficiaries it had at its launch in March 2023. The FTA also indicated that outgoing calls from the Authority to Muwafaq Package subscribers over the past year amounted to 43,990, while the Muwafaq platform recorded 1,660 visits and 6,400 clicks, with 142 appointments being booked through the platform.

The FTA clarified that these indicators highlight a significant interest in the Muwafaq Package from stakeholders in the tax sector, with the platform reporting a 96% satisfaction rate among users. The Authority posted five videos on its Instagram page to introduce the Package, which recorded over 1.23 million views.

FTA Director General His Excellency Khalid Ali Al Bustani said: “All indicators confirm that the Muwafaq Package has achieved tremendous success in providing innovative tax solutions to facilitate compliance for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as educational materials about tax systems, designed specifically to cater to this vital sector, which we consider to be a driving force for the national economy. This forms part of the Federal Tax Authority’s efforts to support youth in the SMEs sector, in line with our wise leadership’s directives to empower young people and enhance their role in various sectors, most notably the economy.”

“The Muwafaq Package provides a host of advantages for SMEs,” H.E. Al Bustani explained. “It enables them to participate in training programmes on basic tax procedures, which serves to enhance self-compliance and raise awareness about tax legislation among them. This is especially critical considering SMEs represent the largest segment of all companies operating in the UAE. With that in mind, the Authority prioritises this key sector in its awareness efforts, in addition to maintaining communication with all other sectors.”

The Federal Tax Authority went on to underline the growing interest in the promotional offers for Tax Agents and Tax Accounting Software provided through the Muwafaq Package, where a total of 339 SMEs expressed interest in the offers, while the actual number of beneficiaries from Tax Agent offers totalled 56. The Package includes 128 Tax Agents and five Tax Accounting Software Providers offering specialised offers for Muwafaq Package registrants.

Meanwhile, the Authority organised 12 introductory workshops about the Muwafaq Package, attended by more than 1,730 representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises across all emirates. The workshops recorded a satisfaction rate of 89% among attendees.

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About Federal Tax Authority

The Federal Tax Authority was established by Federal Decree-Law No. (13) of 2016 to help diversify the national economy and increase non-oil revenues in the UAE through the management and collection of federal taxes based on international best practices and standards, as well as to provide all means of support to enable taxpayers to comply with the tax laws and procedures. Since its inception in 2017, the FTA has been committed to cooperate with the competent authorities to establish a comprehensive and balanced system to make the UAE one of the first countries in the world to implement a fully electronic tax system that encourages voluntary compliance, with simple procedures based on the highest standards of transparency and accuracy – beginning from registration, to the submission of tax returns, to the payment of due taxes through the Authority’s website: www.tax.gov.ae