Foreign workers in United Arab Emirates (UAE) including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) might soon pay more when sending money back home as policies that would add tax on remittances might soon be impose in the Middle Eastern country.

Sources claim that several financial establishments in UAE received a circular containing the proposal for the remittance tax. The UAE government is planning to add tax as expatriate workers in UAE gets to send billion dollars worth of remittances every year. A data from the Central Bank of UAE states that in 2012, foreign workers in UAE remitted a total of AED45.1 billion. 

The final decision regarding the said proposal is still unclear as implementation would mean major policy changes. Some are also worried that the proposal might raise economic cost and reduce the number of foreign workers which is a huge factor in the booming economy of UAE.

A source from the Ministry of Finance in UAE said, “It is a pilot project, in the initial stages. Based on the feedback from banks and others, a decision will be taken.”

News reports say that some are showing concern that the proposal is an indication that UAE is becoming too dependent on foreign workers and that they are in a way losing their wealth because of the huge amount of money that is transferred overseas by way of remittances.