14/03/22

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Ministry of Finance and OECD discuss global tax standards.

As published on arabianbusiness.com, Monday 14 March, 2022.

The undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF), Younis Haji Al Khoori, has held a meeting with Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), along with his delegation, to discuss the UAE’s progress in implementing international tax standards.

In addition, the officials also deliberated on the UAE’s readiness to implement the global consensus to address tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy.

The officials also discussed the need to combat base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), as well as the latest updates on the requirements of country by country reporting (CBCR), the economic substance regulations (ESR), and the common reporting standards (CRS).

Both parties discussed common-interest issues, strategic relations, and means of strengthening cooperation between the UAE and the OECD.

The director-general of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA), Khalid Al Bustani; the assistant undersecretary of the Resource and Budget Sector at the MoF, Saeed Rashid Al Yateem; the director of Revenue Development at MoF, Azza Mohammed Al Suwaidi; the director of Relations and International Financial Organisations, Abdullah Ahmed Al Obaidly, and several other officials from the MoF and the FTA, attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Al Khoori stressed on the importance of the joint cooperation with the OECD. He reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to the OECD’s standards, especially in exchanging information for tax purposes.

Al Khoori said: “The UAE is keen to coordinate with the OECD in all relevant areas, in line with its commitment to implement international tax standards and practices with the highest levels of transparency with regard to tax related matters.”

Al Bustani added: “The UAE adopts well-thought-out balanced financial and tax policies, legislations, and systems that meet the objectives of the national development plans, while ensuring commitment to the highest levels of transparency and preventing harmful financial and tax practices.

“This is to meet international requirements for the management and application of tax systems. The UAE will continue to support international efforts to combat base erosion and profit shifting, to contribute to the continuous improvement of the global economic environment.”

Furthermore, both parties discussed the inclusive framework on carbon pricing and the extension of the UAE-OECD strategic partnership by renewing the UAE-OECD MoU for 2022-2024.

Additionally, both parties reviewed the OECD’s ongoing work in the economic field and tax reform in the UAE.

The MoF had signed an MoU with the OECD in 2007, which is periodically renewed to build a strong tax partnership for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by sharing experience and seeking solutions to common problems in the exchange of information for tax purposes.