Business & Money | Wednesday 23 October, 2019 12:40 pm |

Tax is at the forefront of negotiation and debate, and continues to drive decisions on policy, trade, strategy and business transformation around the world. To address new challenges in relation to rapidly-changing tax compliance regulations, KPMG member firms held their annual MESA Tax Conference in Dubai. Various sessions throughout the day offered insights on how the tax function is being reimagined to keep pace with evolving regulations and the impact of digitalization.

Tax experts discussed how best to lead this function through a transformation to deliver better systems, information and performance in the future. Global, regional and local experts also debated the ways in which global trends in tax may impact the region, the future of the tax function, M&A, Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS), VAT and the impact of technology. 

Jane McCormick, Global Head of Tax & Legal for KPMG International, said: “Tax professionals need to be thinking ahead given that the role of tax has gained prominence in the corporate and sovereign agenda, prompting companies to take responsibility of tax matters at the board level. They must therefore up-skill, embrace the dynamics of a new tax world and amend their operating structure.”

M&A deals continue to become common place in the business world – even more so in the MESA region – and an ever-growing driver of growth. Whether an acquisition, merger, disposition or restructuring, tax implications must be taken into consideration. The conference addressed recent regional tax developments and how such developments affected the perception of regional jurisdictions on the international tax arena. 

Following the introduction of value added tax (VAT) in the UAE, KSA and Bahrain, tax authorities are increasing enforcement efforts and focusing on compliance. Indirect tax specialists from the region shared their experiences with indirect tax audits, explaining the main challenges, and how organizations can prepare best to avoid negative surprises and penalties.

To power growth through tax technology, sessions also focused on how tax technology can be operationalized to increase efficiencies throughout an organization. Spokespeople also demonstrated a range of technology offerings from single point solutions to fully ERP-integrated platforms that can be adapted to a tax function.