Currency and tax.
Two of the most repeated claims about Dubai are that there's no income tax and that the dirham is pegged to the dollar. Both are true. Neither means what most people assume.
Zero personal income tax — the real version
The UAE levies no personal income tax on individuals. Salaries are paid gross. Rental income from your investment property is yours to keep in full, at least at the federal and emirate level.
That's the good part. Now the caveats.
The dirham-dollar peg
The UAE dirham has been pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725 since November 1997. "Pegged" means the central bank commits to buying and selling dollars at that rate in whatever volume the market demands.
It has held for nearly three decades through multiple oil shocks, the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 pandemic, and the interest rate convulsions of 2022–2024.
For a buyer earning in dollars, the peg is invisible. For anyone else, it is the single most important macro variable in your investment.
What the peg means if you earn in anything other than dollars
Because the dirham tracks the dollar, your property's value in your home currency moves with the dollar.