Deloitte Middle East Point of View magazine: Taxation in the new normal

14 September, 2021 – Transfer pricing audits in the GCC, global minimum tax, customs and global trade, as well as managing financial crime risks, the UAE real estate sector and how customer experience trends are shaping CDO priorities are discussed by Deloitte experts in the latest edition of Deloitte’s Middle East Point of View (ME POV) magazine.

Abi Man Joshi discusses how the introduction of a new global minimum tax rate of 15 percent may impact large and profitable multinationals doing business in the Middle East: “While this may not be implemented in the immediate future, all indicators point to it being a matter of “when” and not a matter of “if”.” What will the impact be on businesses in the region?”

Fernand Rutten, Shaimaa Husseiny and Reshma Sharma look at the growing role and importance of customs in the GCC in their article Taxing duty: “For businesses operating in the GCC, being compliant means access to faster customs processes, allowing the maximum use of trade facilities […] it is of utmost importance that businesses understand their customs and trade processes, know their duty and tax burdens, set up and control the right data to ensure compliance.”

In their article Transfer Pricing Audits in the GCC, Mohamed Serokh, Hesham Lotfy, Joy Mukherjee, and Mohammed Abu-Hijleh  write that “Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) operating in the GCC are facing up to the harsh reality of TP audits [which will also translate] into many cases being litigated in courts of each respective country.” 

The new normal created by the pandemic has also impacted customer experience and the priorities of the Chief Digital Officer. In his article Rise to the
challenge, Dr. Ahmed Hezzah says: “It is time for CDOs in the Middle East to lead the transition in their companies and organizations, and foster innovation and agility throughout all aspects of their digital transformation journey in order to drive economic prosperity and growth.“

Faizan Ahmed and Samina Rangoonwala look at the Dubai real estate market in their article Out of the shadow.

Muzzi Ebrahim and Saad Qureshi write about the importance of implementing effective controls against financial crime and ask:  Do you know your FinCrime exposure?

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