Gulf States in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) are said to be considering plans for a value added tax (VAT) by 2015 while also lowering corporate tax rates to increase foreign direct investment, according to the Paying Taxes 2013 report conducted by the World Bank, IFC and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

CNN: UAB Chief: Gulf States will tax eventually

Along with other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, Bahrain has cracked down hard on internet activism.

BBC: Bahraini blogger Ali Abdulemam flees to UK

Twenty years ago, or thereabouts, young Arabs in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), for example, would find it easier to go into a role with government where life was not entirely strenuous and where they could get good money.

FORBES: Arabia-Asia: Seasoned Banker Reflects On Rekindled Trade Routes

In time, all seven emirates -- and all the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries -- will be linked by a coastal high-speed rail network.

CNN: Is Dubai the center of the world (again)?

The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries-- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--channel their oil wealth into homeland economies and mammoth infrastructure projects.

FORBES: Magazine Article

As part of our close consultations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) partners, Mr. Brennan next goes to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for meetings with government officials to discuss options to address the deteriorating situation in Yemen.

WHITEHOUSE: Statement by the Press Secretary on Travel by John Brennan