for some products, drew public outcry and led to the reverse of some of these reforms within the year. Other countries have taken different approaches, varying from extreme to gradual reforms. The effectiveness is dependent on many different factors such as the political climate during the time of the reform or whether or not the public receives precautionary warnings and advice in regards to coping with the removal of subsidies from goods and services. The reduction of subsidies in the Middle East is an ongoing challenge, but has developed significantly though there are often setbacks as they remain susceptible to changes in regime, political conditions, and socioeconomic factors. Economic diversification Middle Eastern countries have increasingly attempted to diversify their economies, particularly the oil-exporting countries. The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have addressed this issue and have taken a strong stance in the implementation of reforms. In order to decrease resource dependency within the Gulf states, reforms and policy proposals for the future have been implemented and follow a plan of economic development, signalling the move from natural resources to a globally-integrated diversified economy hoped to attract foreign investment. Examples of such plans to diversify include Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and the United Arab Emirates' Economic Vision 2030, each of which outline the country's goals to reach the desired level of economic growth and development by 2030. Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 Saudi Arabia's economic vision for the year 2030 outlines various goals that the kingdom hopes to achieve. One is the expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to account for 35% of GDP, nearly double its current 20%. The plan outlines an allocation of 20% of funding to SMEs. The plan also mentions continued privatisation of "state-owned assets". Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 Abu Dhabi (capital of the United Arab Emirates) has set goals for achieving an increasingly global and diversified economy by 2030, funded with the city's acquired oil wealth. Focusing on GDP by sector, the plan emphasises the link between economic diversification and economic sustainability. The Emirate is also concerned in developing the private sector within the city and states that at publication in 2008, that the ratio of small privately owned businesses to large businesses was on-par with developed countries. Value added tax in the GCC As of January 2016, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced the plan to implement value-added tax (VAT) in