a_lex

this is true, you need to renew it. Example cost for IFZA: 1 year license $4150 2 year license $8165

License cost is about ~4k per year

Total initial costs could be about 10-15k

Yes I agree those fees are actually a hidden tax, but it totally depends on your revenue, at some point you can save a lot on corporate and personal taxes.

Consider UAE freezone. Setup is not cheap, but corp tax 0% (9% after 1M revenue), personal tax 0%. I welcome differing opinions