Al Tamimi & Co
Full service UAE law firm Al Tamimi & Co has a dedicated tax practice providing full legal services with 17 offices across nine Middle Eastern countries. The tax practice offers advice on contentious and non-contentious matters. The team specialises in assisting multinational and domestic clients on cross-border transactions, for advising on tax laws outside the UAE and on the local tax for inbound transactions. Its clients include MNEs, wealth funds, private equity groups, family offices, governments and more. Shiraz Khan heads the practice with the support of two associates.
The team assisted Abu Dhabi National Hotels In a landmark acquisition of five luxury hotels from Emaar Hospitality Group. The firm also acted as the sole counsel for the client in another large and complex real estate acquisition.
Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla
International law firm Baker McKenzie provides full tax legal advice on transactional, advisory support and contentious matters. Services include VAT and customs, transfer pricing, corporate tax and more. The firm has full rights of audience before the local DIFC and ADGM courts and tribunals, which means it offers a one-stop-shop service to clients seeking advice regarding directives including the BEPS action points and the new GCC VAT. Key tax advisers are senior associates Reggie Mezu, Bastiaan Moosdorff and Laya Aoun-Hani.
DLA Piper Middle East
International law firm DLA Piper has established its tax practice in the Middle East following tax regulation changes. Ton Van Doremalen leads the firm’s expansion in the Gulf 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.
The team assisted the Gulf Finance House providing tax structuring advice for the acquisition of target firm The Entertainer. The task entailed due diligence and compliance with new GCC VAT legislation and more.
Eptalex - MEG Legal Services
The team at Eptalex – MEG Legal Services provides advice on the newly introduced tax law in the UAE to its domestic and multinational clients in sectors such as real estate, financial services, hospitality, entertainment and more. The firm has experience in assisting clients with complying with the OECD directives and the with the UAE double taxation treaties with nearly 80 jurisdictions. The tax team assists clients in dispute and litigation cases before the civil courts, administrative and tax authority. The practice is led by tax partner Ramy Torbey, who is supported by a senior counsel and senior associate.
KPMG Lower Gulf
Big Four accounting firm KPMG Lower Gulf has been present in the lower Gulf since 1973 and has offices in the UAE and Oman. It is part of the KPMG alliance which entails KPMG Middle East and South Asia, Middle East, North Africa and SA, which allows access to more than 850 tax professionals and associates in 33 office locations. The UAE practice has four partners, seven directors and more than 60 tax specialists assisting in all legal matters including transfer pricing. Ashok Hariharan heads the tax practice. Firm partner Jerome van Staden left in June 2018.
The team recently assisted a large steel manufacturer, which wanted to set up a distribution arm in the GCC buy developing a new business model from a transfer pricing perspective.
