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Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the country’s Arab and Palestinian communities to “speak up for yourselves” and not be “stooges” of Hamas on Wednesday as he appealed for calm on the streets.
President Steinmeier met with Jewish and Muslim leaders in a show of harmony after a spate of anti-Semitic incidents linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Addressing them at his Berlin residence, he said supporters of Palestine were free to “show your pain and your despair” and said there should be no “blanket veil of suspicion against Muslims”.
Germany’s head of state, whose role includes acting as a voice of moral conscience, said peaceful protest, solidarity and empathy were all “legitimate and an expression of constitutionally protected freedoms”.
However, he said “terrorism, incitement to hatred and calls to annihilate the state of Israel” were not covered by the constitutional rights to protest and free expression.
“I expect us to stand united against them,” he said, speaking the day before Germany marks 85 years since Kristallnacht, a night of Nazi terror against the Jews in 1938.
“I urge you, the people with Palestinian and Arab roots here in Germany – don’t let yourselves become stooges for Hamas. Speak up for yourselves.”
Germany last week announced a ban on Hamas activities and dissolved a pro-Palestinian organisation called Samidoun that had been involved in marches.
The bans came amid outrage after the Star of David was daubed on buildings, Israeli flags were burnt, a Jewish hospital had a window smashed and, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in Berlin.
Mr Steinmeier said the Israel-Gaza conflict had triggered “heated discussions” in schools that left some teachers feeling challenged or overwhelmed. Addressing an audience including Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlander, 102, he said anyone living in Germany “needs to know about our past”.
His guests also included an imam and rabbi, a Palestinian community leader from Hannover, the managers of an Israeli-Palestinian restaurant in Berlin and a son of Turkish immigrants who works on tackling anti-Semitism.
“Peace and harmony within our country are not something we can take for granted,” Mr Steinmeier said.
“We have to work for them and defend them, wherever we see them endangered or harmed. Each and every one of us must now make peace within our country our own personal goal.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has sided with Israel since Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7 while urging the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Speaking at G7 talks in Japan, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday that the group agreed there should be “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting.
Sketching out a possible postwar peace plan, she said Palestinians should not be driven from Gaza and the territory should not be occupied or reduced in size. However, she said there must be “no terrorist danger” for Israel arising from the strip.
“There can be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians and the whole thing must be thought through in recognition that people in Israel and Palestine have the right to finally live in peace and security,” she said.
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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
