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Why coordination is a real service
Cross-border tax goes wrong in a specific and repetitive way. The UAE adviser answers the UAE question correctly. The UK adviser answers the UK question correctly. Neither is asked the question that spans both, because neither has been given the full picture, and the client does not know which facts matter.
The result is a structure that is individually compliant in two places and collectively inefficient, or worse, exposed. Somebody has to hold the whole picture and make sure each adviser sees the parts of it that are relevant to them.
What has changed, and why more people are affected
- UAE corporate tax has applied since June 2023. Businesses that previously had no filing obligation now do. Free zone entities may qualify for a 0% rate on qualifying income, but that is a set of conditions to be met and evidenced, not an automatic status conferred by being in a free zone.
- Economic substance and transfer pricing requirements mean structures now have to be justified by what actually happens, not by what is written down.
- UK connections persist longer than people assume. Leaving the UK does not sever every UK tax connection, and rules on residence, domicile and specific asset classes are detailed and unforgiving of assumption.
- Information exchange between jurisdictions is now routine. Structures that relied on opacity do not work and expose the people who use them.
What we actually do
- Fact gathering. Assembling the complete picture: residence, entities, income sources, assets, and where each sits. Most of the value is here, because advisers can only answer the questions the facts prompt.
- Adviser selection. Identifying and appointing appropriately qualified advisers in each jurisdiction.
- Coordination. Making sure each adviser sees the cross-border facts, and that the answers are reconciled rather than filed side by side.
- Implementation. Once advice is given, the entity work, documentation, banking and registrations that turn a recommendation into a reality.
- Documentation and substance. Maintaining the records that demonstrate a structure is what it says it is, which is what matters if it is ever examined.
What we will not help with
Arrangements whose purpose is concealment rather than efficiency. Structures that depend on a tax authority not finding out. Anything a qualified adviser has declined to put in writing. If an adviser will not commit their advice to paper, that is the answer.
Whose side we are on
Al Hisn Partners acts for the client and only the client. We are retained by you, we take instructions from you, and our fee is paid by you.
We take no fee from any bank, jurisdiction, formation agent or provider we recommend. Structuring advice funded by the people selling the structure is not advice.
Common questions
Are you tax advisers?
No, and nothing we publish is tax advice. Qualified, regulated advisers in each jurisdiction give the advice. We assemble the facts, coordinate the advisers, reconcile their answers and implement the outcome.
Does a free zone company automatically pay no corporate tax?
No. A free zone entity may qualify for a 0% rate on qualifying income, but that depends on meeting and evidencing a set of conditions. It is not an automatic status conferred by being in a free zone, and it needs to be confirmed with a qualified adviser for your specific entity.
I have left the UK. Am I done with UK tax?
Not necessarily. Leaving the UK does not sever every UK tax connection, and the rules on residence, domicile and particular asset classes are detailed. This is exactly the question to put to a UK-qualified adviser rather than to assume.
Why do I need a coordinator if I already have advisers?
Because cross-border problems arise where neither adviser is asked the question that spans both jurisdictions. Each answers their own question correctly on incomplete facts. Somebody has to hold the whole picture.
Will you help with a structure designed to hide assets?
No. Information exchange between jurisdictions is now routine, so such structures do not work, and we will not be involved in them.
Who pays you, and do you ever take a fee from the other side?
Our client pays us, and only our client. We do not accept a fee, commission, rebate or referral payment from a counterparty, or from any agent, provider, supplier or institution we introduce or work alongside. If one is offered, we decline it. This applies across every service we provide, without exception.