The National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) hosted the latest in its long-running series of knowledge-sharing events, organised in partnership with Refinitiv. The event, which was attended by more than 150 participants, explored the opportunities and implications for businesses ahead of significant reforms to the country’s tax regime this year, with the expected introduction of corporate income tax.
Commenting on the event, Vince Cook, CEO of NBF, said: “The UAE’s diversified, open economy is well-positioned to sustain growth, thanks to its robust public and private sectors. The introduction of a federal corporate tax regime reaffirms the UAE’s commitment to meeting international standards for tax transparency and strengthens its position as a global business hub and leading financial centre. While the new tax regime is business-friendly, corporates need to plan early to ensure a smooth transition into the new regime. Our aim with this event is the same as it has been throughout our Knowledge Series – to equip our clients with the actionable information, insights and guidance they need to grow and thrive, moving beyond a transactional relationship with our clients to one that is broader and deeper”.
Under the theme ‘Corporate taxation in the UAE: Creating resilience through change’, the event consisted of two presentations followed by an interactive panel session. Nikita Pavlov, EMEA Director at LSEG, gave a top-down view on the state of the global economy in the first presentation, with insights into current global macro-economic conditions, the effect of commodity pricing on the global economy, upcoming challenges, opportunities in the global investment landscape and the outlook for the GCC this year based on global market conditions.
In the second presentation, Mohamed Elswefy, a Partner at EY, provided a deep dive into UAE corporate tax law, including the scope, tax rate, key definitions, exempt persons, administration, and key milestones.
The panel discussion, moderated by James Faulkner, Director at LSEG, was a chance to look at how the new corporate tax law is likely to change the way companies operate in the UAE. Expert insight came from Brian Martin, CFO at NBF, Ben Philip, Senior Associate – Tax at Baker McKenzie and previous presenter Mohamed Elswefy, Partner at EY, with attendees given the chance to put questions to the panellists.
The event was the latest in NBF’s knowledge event series, which most recently has also explored digitalisation and sustainable finance. More such knowledge sharing event series will run throughout 2023.
