On January 1, Value Added Tax (VAT) at the rate of 5 per cent was introduced in the UAE, and this tax is applicable to a majority of products and services available in the country.
A regular UAE resident now pays VAT on almost everything, starting from food items and utilities, to shopping and consultancy services. To see how much VAT and the resulting small change issue affects us, we look at Babu.
Babu spent an extra amount of Dh13.17 per day with VAT and the rounding up of small change.
Who is Babu?
Babu has been living in the UAE for 15 years and this timeline represents his daily routine. He lives alone in Sharjah while his family lives in his home country of India. Babu has a white-collar job in Dubai and he drives in from Sharjah every day.
Babu’s routine day is a typical day in the week for UAE residents and does not include major shopping, or extraordinary expenses.
Click on each time tab on the graphic to see his expenses.
