The UAE government is set to begin implementing the standards of joint disclosures and the exchange of information for tax purposes set out by the G20 and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in accordance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), from 2018.

This announcement from Ministry of Finance (MoF) comes following the UAE Cabinet’s decision to coordinate with various government authorities to collect financial information in order to implement exchange information for tax purposes.

A total of 94 countries have committed to implement the joint disclosure system by 2017 and 2018 and ensure the effective exchange of information for tax purposes between countries following G20 directives.

The UAE joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes following the UAE Cabinet’s decision in 2010 which approved the Ministry’s membership to the OECD committees for the exchange of information.

The ministry's efforts and commitment to implementing international standards and requirements for the exchange of information led to the UAE obtaining a seat on the International Steering Committee (ISC) for the exchange of information.
The UAE became the first Arab country to be elected for this position.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, stressed the country’s dedication to establishing the legal framework required to meet the standards of the OECD committees for the exchange of information for tax purposes.

This comes in line with the UAE Cabinet’s authorisation for MoF to sign and negotiate the UAE’s agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in tax matters (MAC) and the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), in accordance with the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which in turn regulates the automatic exchange of information for tax purposes between countries within the MAC agreement.

"The ministry is continuing to oversee the signing procedures in coordination with OECD and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, as well as review the laws, regulations and administrative resolutions based on the requirements of implementing the automatic exchange of information," remarked Al Tayer.

"The Ministry, in cooperation with specialised established committees, will supervise the implementation of the exchange of information for tax purposes as per the scheduled timeline prepared by the Global Forum of Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes," he added.

According to him, the ministry is currently establishing the administrative and technological infrastructure required to implement an automated system to collect and exchange information, in line with the requirements of the FATCA and exchange of information for tax purposes agreements.

The Ministry has formed a dedicated committee to oversee the implementation of the requirements, legislation and available options to apply the procedures for the effective exchange of information for tax purposes according to required timelines and international standards, he added.-TradeArabia News Service