Three religious leaders in the UK have called for a Covid memorial wall created by grieving families to be made permanent.
Imam Kazeem Fatai, rabbi Daniel Epstein and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, formed a united front after seeing the powerful, heart-wrenching artwork in London.
"It's affected a lot of people, it's a global tsunami. So, as believers we need to reflect … it should become permanent," the imam of south London's Old Kent Road mosque said.
The wall is comprised of 150,000 red and pink hearts, each representing a Covid-19 victim and painted by a grieving relative or friend.
It was created beside the Thames, in the shadow of the Houses of Parliament on one side and St Thomas's hospital, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson had his Covid-19 vaccination, on the other.
Last year, the prime minister spent time in an intensive care unit at the same hospital, undergoing treatment for Covid-19.
The memorial stretches for almost 500 metres between the Westminster and Lambeth bridges on the river, and is being added to as the death toll rises.
The archbishop said bereaved relatives must be allowed to decide if the memorial wall, which was installed as a temporary creation to raise awareness, should become permanent.
“It’s organic, not planned, it hasn’t been worked out by a committee, and that makes it all the more powerful,” the archbishop said.
“It’s like a huge wave that’s about to break over you of sorrow – it’s the most extraordinary sight, it’s quite overwhelming.
"It's very moving, very impressive, to think of the depth of love that they've shown been here and working their way down the wall where all these hearts are … it's a great privilege to be here."
Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, the group behind the mural, began the wall as a way to tell the stories of lives lost and to push the government to learn lessons from the pandemic.
Rabbi Daniel Epstein, from the Cockfosters and North Southgate United Synagogue in north London, said the wall gives the personal stories behind the “overwhelming” coronavirus death toll.
“If you come back and focus on a single heart, and you have a name on it with a date and some words, and you take everything that is overwhelming as a statistic and it comes back to a single story … that’s the only way to find out about such an overwhelming experience,” he 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
