The Abu Dhabi Income Tax Decree of 1965 is the emirate historic corporate tax statute, enacted before the federation itself. For decades the UAE had no federal corporate income tax, yet decrees of this kind existed in each emirate; in practice the Abu Dhabi decree was applied principally to oil and gas concession holders and to branches of foreign banks, at rates set under the decree and the concession arrangements.
Interest in the text today comes from tax historians and advisers tracing the roots of UAE taxation, from oil companies and banks whose Abu Dhabi arrangements still reference the decree, and from practitioners mapping how the emirate-level regimes interact with the federal Corporate Tax Law introduced with effect from 2023.
Yes, in specific sectors. The federal Corporate Tax Law that took effect in 2023 acknowledges the continuing position of emirate-level taxation of extractive businesses, so the 1965 decree remains part of the analysis for oil and gas activity in Abu Dhabi.
