People smugglers will need bigger boat if Labour wins election, Sunak says

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asked if his election rival Keir Starmer was planning to make a deal with the ayatollahs in Iran or Taliban in Afghanistan to send back asylum seekers rejected by the UK, during the leaders' last televised debate before next week's general polls.

The migrants are coming from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, Mr Sunak said.

“Will you sit down with the ayatollahs? Are you going to try to do a deal with the Taliban? It’s completely nonsensical – you are taking people for fools,” he said.

“The Rwanda plan is a deterrent, you just have to listen to what the illegal migrants themselves are saying.

"One of them just said, ‘Most of us are still in France due to the fear we have about Rwanda’.".

“Another one said, ‘I won’t cross the Channel until the Rwanda plan is destroyed’.

"If Labour win, the people smugglers are going to need a bigger boat. Don’t surrender our borders to the Labour Party.”

Rishi Sunak through the years - in pictures

Mr Starmer responded: “Record numbers coming across the Channel and he says it’s a deterrent.

"There are a few hundred that will go on a flight to Rwanda, a huge expense to taxpayers.

"There are tens of thousands, 15,000 people have come since Rishi Sunak has been Prime Minister.”

Mr Starmer criticised Mr Sunak over the Westminster betting scandal, accusing him of being bullied into responding to the issue.

“You have to lead from the front on issues like this," the opposition leader said.

"I think that in the last 14 years, politics has become too much about self entitlement and MPs thinking about what they could get for themselves.

“The instinct of these people to think the first thing they should do is try to make money. That was the wrong instinct, and we have to change that.

“What I did, when one of my team was alleged to have been involved and investigated by the Gambling Commission, they were suspended within minutes, because I knew it made it really important to be swift.

"The Prime Minister delayed and delayed and delayed until eventually he was bullied into taking action.”

Keir Starmer through the years - in pictures

Mr Sunak replied: “It was important to me, that given the seriousness and the sensitivity of the matters at hand that they were dealt with properly, and that’s what I’ve done."

A member of the audience asked: “Are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?”

Mr Starmer said: “I’m not surprised after 14 years of this that people feel this way because the country is in such a state.

“They’ve had loads of promises made in the last election about what will happen which haven’t been delivered on. That does beat the hope out of people.

“The very first question was about integrity in politics, and again people haven’t seen that integrity.

"They’ve had partygate, they’ve had breach of Covid rules, you’ve had the contracts for Covid – the instinct of some people is to think the first thing in Covid I’m going to do is try to make money.

“So, this is an opportunity to restore that hope. I don’t think we can do that by making sort of grand promises of things that can’t be delivered.”

Rather, he said, it is “the ordinary hope of getting on yourself, getting on for your family, getting on for your community, your country.

"It has to be rooted, if we’re going to restore hope in my view, in returning politics to service, the sense that you come into politics to serve."

During the debate, Mr Sunak pointed to a media report that the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said Labour’s net-zero plans would cost “hundreds of billions”.

“Just go online, go to the Telegraph website, because we’ve just found a recording they’ve put out there from the deputy chancellor from the Labour Party admitting that their plan would cost hundreds of billions of pounds,” Mr Sunak said.

“Do not surrender to their tax rises."

The BBC moderator jumped in to explain that Mr Sunak was referring to an article saying that it had obtained a recording of Darren Jones saying decarbonising the economy would cost that much.

“Yes, it is absolutely right that we want to get investors to come in alongside that government money," Mr Starmer said.

"It won’t surprise you we’ve been talking to global investors for the best part of two years to say, ‘If we put down this amount of money in our manifesto, will you come alongside it and put down many more billions of pounds so that in partnership we make the change that we need?’”

Early in the debate, Mr Starmer took a swipe at the Conservative Party leader, accusing Mr Sunak of being “out of touch” when it comes to welfare benefits.

To applause from the studio audience, the Labour leader said: “If you listen to the people in the audience, across the country, more often, you might not be quite so out of touch.”

There was no winner in the BBC prime ministerial debate, according to a YouGov snap poll.

In a survey of 1,716 viewers, 47 per cent said Mr Starmer won, 47 per cent said Mr Sunak did, and 6 per cent said they did not know.

Throughout the televised debate, the sound of a protest outside the BBC venue could be heard in the background.

Pro-Palestine demonstrators were among those standing outside the Nottingham Trent University building.

Mishal Hussain, the presenter, confirmed to the audience that the demonstration was taking place.

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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If you go

The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.

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How to wear a kandura

Dos

Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts

Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying

Sukuk explained

Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.

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