As part of the strategic partnership between UAE and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and in line with the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on international tax agreements signed between the two parties for the fourth time between 2016-2018; the Ministry of Finance (MoF) organises throughout the week, a series of introductory workshops on Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), in Dubai. Participants in the workshops include tax experts from different countries across the globe.

The workshops will discuss a number of elements related to AEOI, specifically topics on identifying the common international standards in tax reports related field, implementation mechanisms, legal frameworks adopted in AEOI fields as well as ways to identify specialised development foundations that is in line with any modern updates. The workshops also highlight the importance of complying with the confidentiality rules of tax databases circulated among parties and the importance of developing a solid plan to face any risks the data may be exposed to; in order to avoid any repercussions that may negatively affect relevant parties, especially tax data owners.

Commenting on these workshops,Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of MoF, highlighted the Ministry’s commitment to its central role in raising awareness amongst regional countries on tax agreements and its importance of being one of the main pillars to strengthen economic cooperation between countries, through workshops and meetings on a local, regional and international level. These workshops aim to provide effective channels to exchange expertise and experiences, as well as identify the best practices adopted internationally to develop legislative financial structure for countries.

He said: "The Ministry will continue its efforts to strengthen joint work and cooperation between regional countries and OECD, enable these countries to achieve maximum benefit from the exchange of tax information agreements, as well as review the Organisations’ guidance in adopting the best practices in tax cooperation, and achieve justice for company and individual tax payers and protect the national economy ".

The workshops witnessed the participation of experts specialised in AEOI field from UAE, Bahrain, Latvia, Brazil, South Korea, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles and Turks and Caicos Islands.

G20 entrusted the OECD with the task of finding benefit transmission mechanisms and possible solutions to enhance investment. This reflects its commitment to strengthen cooperation and understanding through regional discussions and accurate implementation of tax principles and treaties.

Source:WAM