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Tax
Our Middle East Tax Advisory team is an independent expert-led tax practice providing tax advisory services to multinational corporations and large Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”) groups. Our team can advise on a broad suite of tax services and technical specialisms including, corporate tax, indirect tax and value-added tax (“VAT”), excise tax and customs, international tax and transfer pricing. In an ever-changing global and regional tax environment, we deliver client-centric, expert-led services focused on mitigating tax risk and minimising cost.
How We Help
Indirect Taxes
Over the years, customs duties have been a consistent part of the region’s taxation landscape, while...
Over the years, customs duties have been a consistent part of the region’s taxation landscape, while excise tax and VAT have been gradually introduced. The Federal Tax Authority has issued numerous clarifications and guidelines and audits have commenced on UAE businesses. It is crucial for businesses to continually assess the impact of these taxes on operations and consumers.
Our indirect taxes team can assist businesses in evaluating indirect tax implications and achieving tax efficiency. Whether clients aim to reduce costs, improve cash flow or mitigate risks, our team offers commercial tax solutions and advice grounded in sound principles and industry best practises.
The areas in which our expert-led team helps our clients include:
- VAT: We provide implementation and impact assessment services, including registration assistance, compliance support and advisory services. We also offer refund assistance, diagnostic reviews and health checks, along with tax due diligence, clarifications and reconsiderations. Our team provides VAT audit support, tax planning and structuring support, litigation support, as well as technical training and workshops.
- Excise tax: We offer assistance with registration and compliance, support with filing declarations, advisory services, assisting with refunds, conducting diagnostic reviews and health checks, performing tax due diligence, handling tax clarifications and reconsiderations, support for excise audits and litigation and providing technical training and workshops.
- Customs: We provide support for registration, customs advisory and compliance services, assisting with audits and technical training and workshops.
M&A Tax
Every transaction carries tax considerations, making expert guidance crucial.
Every transaction carries tax considerations, making expert guidance crucial. Our M&A tax experts offer strategic tax advice on deal-related tax matters and restructuring.
Tax due diligence and structuring are increasingly critical for regional deals, especially with evolving tax laws. In addition to extensive regional M&A expertise, our tax team brings hands-on experience from the United States, Europe and Asia, ensuring comprehensive insights and support for your transactions.
Our team of M&A tax experts can help clients with:
- Carrying out tax due diligence by reviewing historical tax positions, commenting on the impact on current deals with integrated financial diligence
- Structuring acquisitions by determining optimal tax structure, holding company jurisdiction analysis and assessing debt push-down feasibility
- Effective tax modelling including forecasting tax rates, determining effective tax rates based on tax attributes and making adjustments to proposed effective tax rates as needed
- Reviewing transaction documentation, providing a tax risk protection package and providing tax insurance-related assistance
- Sell-side and pre-IPO readiness ensuring the streamline of legal entities, pre-deal structuring and identifying potential risks before engaging with investors
- Restructuring and insolvency assistance by assessing tax implications and navigating regional insolvency procedures considering tax impacts
Corporate Tax
Our corporate tax team provides flexible and effective solutions for an array of corporate tax matters, including...
Our corporate tax team provides flexible and effective solutions for an array of corporate tax matters, including corporate tax impact assessments, transfer pricing advice on related party transactions, restructuring advice for corporate tax optimisation, tax grouping advice and tax compliances. Using deep technical expertise, our team is ideally placed to provide tax advisory and planning support, followed by implementation assistance.
The areas in which our expert-led team helps our clients include:
- Conducting a preliminary impact assessment to identify areas of impact, prioritising them and engaging in management discussions and reviews
- Providing comprehensive impact assessments by analysing potential tax optimisation strategies, calculating effective tax rates and cash outflows, evaluating exemption availability and developing an implementation roadmap
- Providing support with implementation by conducting transfer pricing benchmarking, assessing the impact of economic substance reviews, analysing changes in inter-company transactions and streamlining legal entity rationalisation
- In-depth systems assessment including a preliminary review of ERP systems from a tax perspective, evaluating the tax function and recommending actions for improvement as well as providing assistance with tax governance-related matters
- Providing tax compliance assistance including registration support, preparing and filing tax returns and submitting clarifications on behalf of taxpayers
- Offering tax planning and advisory services, including tax grouping and loss transfer strategies, analysis of M&A impacts on UAE Corporate Tax and assessments of performance establishment risks
Transfer Pricing
The UAE Corporate Tax legislation has implemented a comprehensive Transfer Pricing framework aligning with...
The UAE Corporate Tax legislation has implemented a comprehensive Transfer Pricing framework aligning with OECD TP Guidelines. Key focus areas for both GCC businesses and multinational corporations with a presence in the UAE include discussions on intra-group transactions or arrangements and transactions with connected persons.
Our transfer pricing team has extensive expertise in transfer pricing projects spanning diverse tax jurisdictions including the GCC and has a track record of collaborating closely with tax authorities. Strategically positioned, the team can devise and implement effective arm's length policies for intra-group arrangements, whilst also delivering comprehensive transfer pricing advisory and compliance assistance.
Our team of transfer pricing experts can help clients with:
- Developing transfer pricing policies, evaluating intra-group transactions, establishing pricing mechanisms and attributing profits to permanent establishments
- Transfer pricing documentation, including the Local File, Master File and Country-by-Country Reporting (“CbCR”)
- Transfer pricing compliance, including the preparation of disclosure forms and annual filings
- Providing advisory support for assessing supply and value chains, assisting in obtaining clarifications, offering audit support and providing on-call advisory services