The United Arab Emirates currently has no plans to implement personal income taxes, a senior finance official told Al Bayan newspaper this week.

The government does not intend to institute any new taxes on individuals and is not conducting studies to impose new fees for any services, according to Younis al-Khouri, under-secretary at the finance ministry. 

In February, the GCC countries – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar – announced the implementation of a 5 percent value added tax (VAT) starting in January of 2018. Just last week, the UAE announced the creation of a Federal Tax Authority.

These measures have been taken with the guidance of Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who has also encouraged the GCC to implement income taxes. But, for the time being, this doesn't appear to be on the table.

Oil revenues have plummeted globally and budget deficits in the Gulf have widened as a result. The GCC is counteracting this by raising revenue (the taxes) and cutting expenditures by slashing energy subsidies. 

“We need to think about major reforms to make the budget less dependent on the oil price, and to build an economy that is vibrant but also taking advantage of the lower oil prices,” UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said in January.

Last month, Saudi Arabia's deputy economy minister said that bankruptcy for the kingdom is only three to four years away if serious economic reforms are not followed through.

Recently, Saudi Arabia announced 20 percent pay cuts for all ministers and 15 percent pay cuts for Shura Council members. They also switching to the Gregorian Calendar in effort to save 11 days of payments to public sector employees. Bonuses and other perks were also targeted.