Speaking at a Memorial Day observance last week, US President Joe Biden noted rather ominously, "our democracy is in peril". Politics, if we can even call it that, is so distorted and hyper-partisan that the shared values, comity and compromise needed for democracy to function have become endangered concepts.
One clear indicator of this sorry state of affairs is the extent to which Republicans have embraced former president Donald Trump's claim that the 2020 vote was marred by fraud. A recent poll shows that 70 per cent of Republican voters still believe that Mr Trump's victory was "stolen", and as a result do not accept Mr Biden as the legitimate president.
Instead of pushing back on this dangerous idea, Republican leaders are insisting that their elected officials accept this new official party dogma and act accordingly. Exhibit A in this phenomenon was the Senate Republican leadership's refusal to advance a bill in the House of Representatives that would have created a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 violent takeover of the Capitol Building, in an effort to stop the certification of the 2020 election. In doing so, it appears that the Republican Party has chosen to ignore the wakeup call of the insurrection, choosing instead to press the snooze button and go back to sleep.
A vast majority of the Republican Party's base believes Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election. Reuters
Equally disturbing has been Republican behaviour on the national and state level.
Immediately following the January 6 certification vote and the January 13 vote to convict Mr Trump of having incited the violence that occurred at the Capitol, several of the party's state committees voted to censure those Republicans who voted either to ratify the election's outcome or to support the charge of incitement against Mr Trump.
The Republican congressional caucus ousted Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her leadership role in the House because she continued to reject forcefully the former president's claim. Ms Cheney has also been rebuked by her state party. Her re-election prospects are now in doubt.
Ms Cheney is being punished because she has refused to accept Mr Trump's claim, maintaining that those who continue to advocate what she calls the "big lie" only perpetuate the very issue that incited the January insurrection and takeover of the Capitol.
Acceptance of the "big lie" is also on display in those states where Republicans control both the governorship and the legislature. In the name of "election integrity", they are passing laws that will make voting more difficult for targeted groups of poor, elderly and minority voters. Such measures have already passed in 14 states and are in process in at least 18 more. A deeply troubling feature of some of these bills is a provision allowing the state legislature to overturn the decision of state election officials to certify election results. If permitted to stand, this provision could lead to chaos and undermine the integrity of future elections on the federal and state levels.
Putting an exclamation point on hyper-partisanship, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently made the frank admission that he is 100 per cent committed to blocking Mr Biden's agenda, thus making Republican calls for bipartisanship more of a tactic and a taunt than an honest appeal for constructive negotiations.
This crisis has been brewing for at least three decades. It began in 1995, when Republican lawmakers Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay assumed leadership in the Congress, bringing "slash and burn" politics to Washington. Throughout the remainder of former president Bill Clinton's term in office and into the two George W Bush terms thereafter, Democrats continued to play by the old rules, supporting compromise with the GOP on what were, in my opinion, often regressive pieces of legislation on a host of issues from welfare reform and border security, to tax cuts and education reform.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been candid about his political strategy. AFP
The crisis in American democracy has been brewing for at least three decades
Republicans were loath to operate in the same way during former president Barack Obama's time in office, with only one or two of their members breaking ranks to support compromise bills. Instead, the GOP not only refused to co-operate with Mr Obama, but also launched the Tea Party and encouraged the Birther Movement that denied Mr Obama was a legitimate president. Fuelled by right-wing talk radio and television, the poison of partisanship paved the way for Mr Trump's election.
While many conservative Republicans opposed Mr Trump and saw that he posed a danger to their party and democracy itself, they were hesitant to buck the mass movement they had created, fearing that it would turn against them. Some of these same conservatives assumed that with Mr Trump's defeat, the horror of January 6 and the former president's banishment from social media, the time had come to restore sanity to their party. But the GOP leadership's continued cowering in the face of what is now called "Trump's base", which has caused them to circle the wagons and purge their ranks of those who call for sanity.
While the majority of the Republican Party is busy cannibalising itself in order to appeal to the very base it created, the lack of comity and civility that this has generated has made it impossible to reach compromise. With the Senate deadlocked at 50-50, it has become increasingly difficult to move the nation's agenda forward.
Dr James Zogby is the president of the Arab American Institute and a columnist for The National
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
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Essentials The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes. The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours. The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Everton 1 Stoke City 0 Everton (Rooney 45 1') Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
