FTA conducts 91 awareness events during first half of 2026

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has intensified its awareness activities to strengthen tax awareness, support businesses, and help Taxable Persons achieve voluntary compliance efficiently and accurately.

The FTA conducted 91 awareness events during the first half of 2026, including both in-person and virtual sessions, representing growth of more than 7% compared with approximately 85 events in the same period of 2025.

Participation in these events also increased significantly during the first six months of 2026, exceeding 33,900 participants compared with 27,500 during the same period last year, an increase of 23.3%.

The Authority noted that several new awareness campaigns, programmes, and activities were introduced this year to address the tax awareness needs of businesses and different segments of society. Beneficiary satisfaction with tax awareness activities increased to 94%, compared with 93% in the first half of 2025.  Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Mulla, Director General of the Federal Tax Authority, said: “The Authority continues to strengthen its efforts to enhance tax awareness and support the smooth and efficient implementation of tax legislation and procedures. This forms part of our strategy to support Taxable Persons in fulfilling their tax obligations through flexible mechanisms that align with global best practices. The strong turnout at the FTA’s tax awareness events reflects their success in reaching a wide range of stakeholders across the UAE tax system.”

He added that the awareness activities, including the FTA’s Customer Councils, which are held across all emirates, support ongoing engagement with representatives of the business community and other relevant stakeholders, while providing opportunities to gather their views and suggestions on the Authority’s initiatives and projects.

These efforts have also strengthened the FTA’s contribution to the objectives of the third cycle of the Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme by expanding digital integration with relevant entities, improving the overall digital experience, and introducing further measures to serve the community and enhance customer happiness.

Dr. Zahra Al Dahmani, Director of Taxpayer Services at the Federal Tax Authority, explained that several key awareness initiatives have been introduced this year, including new workshops on tax invoices, their requirements, and their importance to tax compliance, as well as workshops on the E-Invoicing System. The workshops are being delivered jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the FTA to support voluntary tax compliance through secure and effective electronic mechanisms.

The new initiatives also included awareness activities covering the Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (Pillar Two), its importance, requirements, and compliance mechanisms. She emphasised that the newly introduced events aim to keep stakeholders informed as the FTA’s services expand and tax legislation and operational mechanisms continue to develop, while supporting efforts to simplify and accelerate tax procedures.

Awareness campaigns and programmes have therefore been intensified to keep stakeholders informed about developments within the tax system and encourage voluntary tax compliance. She noted that the FTA measured the improvement in taxpayer awareness through virtual and in-person workshops during the first half of 2026, with the awareness rate reaching 83.4%.

Looking ahead, the Authority confirmed that it will continue implementing new awareness campaigns and programmes highlighting its latest services and initiatives, while expanding established awareness activities. During the first half of 2026, the FTA conducted 68 virtual events, attracting 32,800 participants, compared with 53 virtual events and 23,900 participants during the same period in 2025.

The Authority also conducted 23 in-person awareness workshops across all emirates, benefiting 1,110 participants, compared with 32 workshops benefiting 3,620 participants during the first six months of 2025.

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.

WAM