MANAMA: Keypoint, a Bahrain-based professional services firm, has launched TaxMatters, a series of free webinars aimed at focusing attention on significant updates to the tax landscape across the GCC.
Held on Monday, the first webinar in the series was led by Mark Gamble, Raman Ohri and Tariq Haq, senior leaders in Keypoint’s tax practice, and attended by over 100 participants across industry sectors.
“In the real world, tax is almost no one’s top priority – but it probably should be,” commented Mr Gamble, a VAT technical expert who leads Keypoint’s tax advisory function in Bahrain.
“The revenue that tax – whether VAT or another form of direct or indirect tax - delivers to the government is going to play a critical role in helping the national economy recover from the impact of Covid-19.
“The recent tripling of the standard rate in Saudi Arabia – the GCC’s leading economy – is a sign not just of things to come but also of the importance that governments assign to this relatively new source of fiscal revenue.”
Mr Ohri, who leads Keypoint’s tax advisory function in Saudi Arabia while supporting Gamble with non-VAT related issues across the GCC, stressed that the growing complexities of tax across the GCC – as well as the increasingly pressing need for governments to raise revenues – was likely to lead to higher penalties for non-compliance.
“While Saudi Arabia’s tax authority, the General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GAZT) recently extended its amnesty for recalcitrant taxpayers, the likelihood is that more, rather than less, taxpayers are going to be found to be non-compliant – and will have to settle increasingly significant penalties.”
Mr Ohri also pointed out that the number of taxes faced by businesses across the GCC is almost sure to grow, with tax evasion increasingly seen as a global issue.
“Even here in business-friendly Bahrain, we have seen the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry introducing economic substance requirements in response to pressure from the OECD.”
Mr Haq said TaxMatters, which is free and will be held on the second Monday of every month for the foreseeable future, is suitable for both a technical and non-technical audience, with plenty of case studies and practical examples to bring sometimes arcane issues to life.
“We are also going to run some webinars in Arabic which will be of particular interest in Saudi Arabia.”
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