Saeed Saeed, a features writer for The National, has been awarded a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism in the UAE.
The fellowship programme seeks to improve the quality and accuracy of mental health reporting in the media and is named after Rosalynn Carter, co-founder of the Carter Centre. The National administers the programme in the UAE for the centre, which is a US-based non-profit, non-governmental organisation.
More than 200 journalists from around the world have been awarded fellowships since the programme’s inception in the 1990s. Saeed will receive training from experts and mentors in the US and support from advisers in the UAE. He will begin his year-long, non-residential fellowship this month.
Saeed becomes the tenth journalist in the UAE to be connected to the programme since The National began overseeing the award of fellowships in the UAE in 2018.
His reporting project will focus on the Arabic music scene and attitudes towards mental health within it, now that a new generation of artists are discussing mental health in their creative work and in general discourse.
He will succeed Abeer Khan, who is on staff at Al Arabiya news organisation, and has used her fellowship year to report on the emotional, social and cultural experiences of expatriate fathers from a range of communities in the UAE.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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