Outlaw, I completely agree, lots of people forget that once the tax grab starts it never stops, its merely on a slow boil much like the frog in a pot.
There is already plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that the smart money is leaving Dubai and is headed for less regulated ports and its why when asked I've always maintained zero financial interest in Dubai aside from a day to day bank account for living expenses, all the rest vacates offshore at MMO on the same day it enters the bank account in the UAE.
Plenty of people also miss the opportunity to convert DHS into USD at the fixed rate and repatriate the sums via 3rd parties that are available in pretty much every station we operate too.
I've never viewed EK and Dubai inc as anything else than an ATM machine for my enrichment, the over-riding principle here is I'm a contractor that is effectively on a rolling 3 month notice period, all these little cuts are mere inconveniences to me that either require a little more thought or planning which will hasten my escape when the time comes.
I look on with amusement, scorn and some pity at those who invest here who believe that Dubai and EK exists in any form other than to extract as much effort and enterprise without ever giving anything back in terms of culture and civility, it truly is in my view the personification of a place that values style over any form of substance.
Don has it correct when he says most of us had a clue before we joined, I don't regret joining but I'm also certain that it must work for me first without one atom of my being required to care what Dubai Inc and by extension EK thinks.