President Donald Trump railed furiously on Wednesday against the impeachment investigation into his dealings with Ukraine after House Democratic leaders warned the White House to expect a subpoena for documents.
Democrats accused the administration of “flagrant disregard” of previous requests and said that refusal could be considered an impeachable offence.
Mr Trump was also accused of “an incitement to violence” against a national security whistle-blower and advised, along with his administration, not to intimidate witnesses in the impeachment inquiry.
The whistle-blower exposed a July 25 phone call between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which the US president pressed for an investigation of Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
Democrats say the pressure on Mr Zelenskiy on its own constitutes an abuse of power worthy of impeachment scrutiny.
In the Oval Office and alongside Finland President Sauli Niinisto, Mr Trump displayed unusual anger as he defended what he has called his “perfect” phone call with Mr Zelenskiy.
He said without evidence that House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff may have committed treason and that Mr Biden and his son were “stone-cold crooked.”
At one point, Mr Trump demanded that a reporter pressing him on his dealings with Ukraine move on.
“Ask the President of Finland a question, please,” he said, before calling the reporter “corrupt”.
Mr Trump was asked if he would co-operate with the House to produce requested documents on the Ukrainian call.
“Well, I always co-operate,” he said, although his administration has repeatedly blocked congressional investigations.
“This is a hoax."
Mr Schiff, accusing Mr Trump of inviting violence against the whistle-blower, had said that any effort to interfere with the Democrats’ investigations would be considered evidence of obstruction and could be included in articles of impeachment.
“We’re not fooling around here,” he said.
Mr Trump showed no signs of letting up, tweeting a vulgarity during the House leaders’ news conference and saying “the do-nothing Democrats should be focused on building up our country".
He called Mr Schiff a “low-life” and said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s city of San Francisco had turned into a “tent city” of homeless.Mr Trump has tweeted in recent days that he wants to “find out about” the whistle-blower and question them, although the person’s identity is protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act.
The Democrats on Friday said they would subpoena the White House for documents related to Mr Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
House oversight and reform committee chairman Elijah Cummings wrote in a memo to members that the action was necessary because the White House ignored several requests.
Referring to a report on the whistle-blower’s complaint, Mr Cummings said that given the “stark and urgent warnings” the inspector general for the intelligence community has delivered to Congress, the panel has “no choice but to issue this subpoena".
It will be directed at acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and request 13 batches of documents related to the July call and other matters.
The call came as a $250 million military aid package for Ukraine was being readied by Congress but stalled by Mr Trump.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the subpoena was “nothing but more document requests, wasted time and taxpayer dollars that will ultimately show the president did nothing wrong".
The subpoena announcement came as House and Senate staff prepared to meet with the State Department’s inspector general on Wednesday afternoon.
A State Department email said the inspector general, Steve Linick, “would like to discuss and provide staff with copies of documents related to the State Department and Ukraine".
The documents were obtained from the State Department’s acting legal adviser, according to the email.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Wednesday that he was in on the phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskiy.
Mr Pompeo also continued to object to what he said was the Democrats’ “bullying and intimidation".
Democrats have scheduled closed-door depositions for Thursday with former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, and next week with removed US ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and three other State Department officials.
Mr Pompeo told the committees on Tuesday that the dates they set were “not feasible”, but at least some of the officials will attend.
The Democrats said that Mr Pompeo’s resistance amounted to his own intimidation.
“Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress, including State Department employees, is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry,” Mr Schiff, Mr Cummings and House foreign affairs committee chairman Eliot Engel said in a notice to Mr Pompeo on Tuesday.
They said that if he was on Mr Trump’s call: “Secretary Pompeo is now a fact witness in the House impeachment inquiry.”
“He should immediately cease intimidating department witnesses in order to protect himself and the president," they said.
Democrats often note that obstruction was one of the impeachment articles against Richard Nixon, who resigned the presidency in 1974 in the face of almost certain impeachment.
The committees are seeking voluntary testimony from current and former officials as the House digs into State Department actions and Mr Trump’s other calls with foreign leaders, which have been shielded from scrutiny.
They have also subpoenaed Mr Pompeo for documents.
Mr Volker played a direct role in trying to arrange meetings between Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, and Mr Zelenskiy, the chairmen said.
The State Department said Mr Volker confirmed that he put an adviser to Mr Zelenskiy in contact with Mr Giuliani, at that adviser’s request.
The former envoy, who has since resigned his position and so is not necessarily bound by Mr Pompeo’s directions, is eager to appear as scheduled on Thursday, an insider said.
Career professional Mr Volker believes he acted appropriately and wants to tell his side of the situation, the insider said.
The abrupt recall from Ukraine this year of Ms Yovanovitch, a career diplomat, raised questions.
The Democrats also want to hear from Ulrich Brechbuhl, a counsellor at the State Department, who also listened in on Mr Trump's call with Mr Zelenskiy.
A whistle-blower alleged in an August letter to the inspector general for the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson, that the White House tried to “lock down” Mr Trump’s call because it was worried about the contents being leaked to the public.
The complaint was made public after acting Director of Intelligence Joseph Maguire withheld it from Congress for weeks.
It has recently been disclosed that the administration similarly tried to restrict information about Mr Trump’s calls with other foreign leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, by moving memos on to a highly classified computer system.
Mr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he had never met or spoken with Mr Giuliani and insisted that: “It is impossible to put pressure on me."
He said he stressed the importance of the military aid repeatedly in discussions with Mr Trump, but “it wasn’t explained to me” why the money didn’t come through until September.
In Russia, Mr Putin said scrutiny over the phone call showed that Mr Trump’s adversaries are using “every excuse” to attack him.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
MATCH INFO
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Man of the match James Maddison (Leicester)
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Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
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A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
