Taxation Law in Qatar One step forward…

On 17th November 2009 His Highness the Deputy of the Emir of Qatar issued Law No. (21) of 2009 concerning the Tax Law to apply to income earned on or after 1st January 2010 (New Tax Law).

The New Tax law effectively repeals Law No. (11) of 1993 (Old Tax Law).

There are a number of changes occasioned by the introduction of the New Tax Law and this article proposes to examine the same in some depth.

Income

Under the Old Tax law income was defined as including: (a) profits from contracts carried out in Qatar; (b) profits arising from the sale of an asset (c) commissions due to agencies; (d) fees for consultancy services and the like; (e) rent from real estate; (f) franchise and royalty fees; (g) recoupment of bad debts; (h) liquidation profits; and (i) bank interest and returns realised outside of Qatar.