All presenters agreed on this during the event “Establishment in the United Arab Emirates – Dubai” that was conducted on October 27 at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
Anders Lundwall at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Welcomes all to the Event
Participants were among others the international firms Grant Thornton, Regus, Dun & Bradstreet, Alpha Global Relocation Services and Qatar Airways.
Many wise advices and tips were revealed this Tuesday.
Foreign start-ups always cost money, and a common mistake is that the establishment- budget is too low since you have underestimated the project time and related work.
Dun & Bradstreet presented their country analysis which showed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is classified as a low-risk region, the region has a stable economy, currency and also a stable government working in a long-term perspective. The region prioritizes trade and business-life, which means that risk-elimination for foreign companies and investors is high on the regime's agenda.
A risk exists for the future within Iran, but there are also future opportunities and many analysts believe that Iran will be open to more Western traditions, resulting in that nearly 71 million inhabitants can be seen as a new market.
Regardless of what happens with Iran, the UAE has a strategic location with access to 1.8 billion people. This is a huge market that is under constant development, which will demand new products and services in an ever faster pace.
The company Regus gave us their view on how future contracts office looks, gone is the 3-year agreement that we historically had to take into consideration. Now, the virtual office is introduced which means that you are not locked into any city or country to conduct your business.
Your office contracts can easily be moved to another part of the world and back home to the country of origin, if desired. In other words, do not you rent an office - you can hire a service, a service that looks the same regardless of whether you want to be in Stockholm, New York or Dubai.
This is an office service developed for the small companies that want to try a foreign establishment for a period of time, a time which can be difficult to estimate when the adventure starts.
Unfortunately, the tax-legislation in Sweden has developed in the pace so it can be possible for us to see ourselves as global citizens. This is when we really have to think before we act.
Grant Thornton gave us an insight into how complicated it can be to understand the tax legislation in Sweden. If you are a resident or have a substantial connection to Sweden, you have unlimited liability. This means that you as an entrepreneur and individual have the burden of proof.
This in itself brings demands, you must be able to describe in detail where and how operations are conducted, the advice was to write a “Diary" and be careful with the different types of tickets. This is a good way to show where and when you have been outside of Sweden.
Katarina Ludwigs at Grant Thornton recommended all to write a diary
Furthermore, we got a glimpse of how Transfer Pricing works, which is an area that many countries' tax authorities are interested in. Transfer Pricing has become one of the key tax issues for international companies.
Cross-border transactions between multinational corporations under Swedish and international law should be priced under the same conditions as if the transaction had taken place between independent enterprises in the same context.
The transactions are subject to goods, services, intellectual property and financial assets. If there is uncertainty here, get professional help, errors and mistakes can be costly and there are a set of rules to take into account. Additionally, there are various definitions of how the legal field should be interpreted. There are also various court judgments that can be used as a reference.
Cecilia Helland