Al Tamimi & Co
The full-service UAE law firm has a dedicated tax practice offering full
tax
legal
and compliance
services, with
the support of
17 offices across nine Middle Eastern countries. The tax practice
advises on contentious and non-contentious matters.
Nonetheless,
the
tax
team
is experienced in
assisting multinational and domestic
firms
in
all tax
areas, whether direct or indirect tax including customs duty and transactional
tax
pertaining to
both
domestic and foreign
tax laws.
Clients
include
MNEs, wealth funds, private equity groups, family offices, governments and more. Shiraz Khan heads the
regional tax
practice with the support of two associates. During the research period the firm recruited several tax practitioners
including tax executive Abdelrahman Faris from PwC Jordan
in February 2023.
Case studies show the firm is
representing
a large oil and gas player in a landmark case before the UAE Federal Supreme Court on VAT treatment of lubricant,
and whether it should be treated as hydrocarbon subject to domestic reverse charge.
Baker McKenzie
The multinational law firm has extensive experience
operating in the Middle East and has an established tax practice offering a full tax service in the UAE. The practice strives in cross-border income tax support and planning,
indirect tax,
tax
litigation and
disputes,
transfer
pricing, and legal
opinion. Senior counsel Reggie Mezu heads the tax practice with the support of
tax partner Tina Hsieh who joined the team in November 2022. In addition, director Folkert Mulder leads the transfer pricing practice.
Case studies show the team
provided tax advice to Air Carbon on
the disposal of its shareholdings in the acquisition by UAE wealth fund
Mubadala.
Crowe Mak
The multinational accountancy firm offers full tax services with a team of more than 25 professionals specialising in various tax domains. Some of the tax services include international tax, corporate tax, VAT, excise, and more.
Tax practitioners
Binit Shah and
Rushabh Vora some of the key figures.
Deloitte
With
nearly a century presence in the
Middle East, the firm has a wealth of experience in the region and
continues to
broaden its tax service offering in both tax
compliance and advisory matters.
Nauman Ahmed is the Middle East tax practice leader and firm partner Alex Law is the leader
of international and M&A tax for Deloitte in Dubai.
In addition, the tax team continues to grow with recent recruitments including
general partner Basel
Arafe, who joined in January 2023 from Deloitte Canada;
transfer pricing partner
Husain
Miyasaheb joined in January 2023 from PwC Middle East.
DLA Piper Middle East
Since 2017 the
international law firm has
established its tax practice in the Middle East following tax regulation changes. Ton Van
Doremalen leads the firm’s expansion in the Gulf
region
and has been
providing tax advice over the past four years focusing on cross-border tax structuring for private clients, Gulf Cooperation Council, and corporate groups. Tax lawyer
Wouter
Kolkman focuses on indirect tax matters.
Grant Thornton
The international professional services firm is active in the tax legal
market
with offices
across three cities: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The tax practice consists of more than 21
practitioners, which the direct tax division offers international tax and transactional tax services,
whereas the indirect tax team focuses on VAT, customs and excise. The team has gained experience in the hospitality sector due to the number of
its
clients active in this space. Tax partner Steve Kitching and Steven Ireland are the key figures leading the team.
MMJS Consulting
Since its
inception in
the UAE
market
in 2017 as part of Kreston Menon
group
with a focus on
assisting clients with VAT implementation across the GCC region,
the firm now offers various tax advice including international tax, direct tax, and other tax services.
Tax director
Ankur Jain is the key point of contact.
WTS Dhruva Consultants
The tax boutique firm entered the UAE tax legal market in 2017, offering VAT and excise tax advice with a team led by tax partners; indeed,
the firm has grown
to more than 30
professionals.
Tax services include
structuring transactions, dispute resolution and
more.
