British influencers based in Dubai are reluctant to return home due to fears of being taxed, experts have suggested.
More than 130,000 of the 300,000 Britons living in the Gulf have registered their presence on the government’s safety system, according to foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, after Iranian retaliatory attacks following US-Israeli strikes.
However, content creators in Dubai have drawn widespread criticism after continuing to showcase their luxury lifestyles despite drones and missiles flying overhead.
“Everyone is safe in the UAE. Everyone is protected,” Emirati analyst Amjad Taha told the Financial Times. Dubai generally levies zero per cent tax on personal income for its residents.
But he claimed that influencers were declining to fill out evacuation forms provided by the British government “just in case it somehow turns into a tax form instead”.
The UK Foreign Office has not ordered Britons to leave the country but has advised against “all but essential travel” to the United Arab Emirates.
Concerns have been raised about the freedom of speech that creators in the country have after reports, including by CNN, suggested that influencers could be being paid to post social media videos emphasising their feelings of safety amid the chaos.
Several videos on social media show footage of influencers with the caption: “You’re in Dubai, aren’t you scared?”, with a stitched video responding: “No, because I know who protects us”. The reaction footage shows UAE leaders recorded to trending audio.
Other influencers recorded themselves at clubs while air defences worked to prevent an Iranian attack overhead.
Meanwhile, a fire broke out near the entrance of a world-famous Dubai hotel during an Iranian air attack, social media footage showed on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey slammed “washed-up footballers and tax exiles” seeking UK protection in Dubai.
“We rightly expect our armed forces to protect British citizens around the world in crises like this,” he told parliament.
“But that includes tax exiles like Isabel Oakeshott and washed-up old footballers who mock ordinary people who pay our taxes here.”
Ms Oakeshott, a broadcaster and fiancée of Reform politician Richard Tice who relocated to Dubai in 2024, said: “I don’t really understand the point [Sir Ed] was trying to make... We may not pay as much tax as we did, but we still pay an awful lot more than the average person.
“That is a complete misunderstanding of the level of contribution that is being made by many people and the tax exiles are not asking to be rescued.”
Prime minister Keir Starmer said that all British citizens would be entitled to the same help regardless of tax status.
More than 240,000 Britons live in the emirate, which has become a haven for expats, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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