New taxes in GCC: More jobs in UAE due to skills shortage in all areas of tax
New job opportunities will particularly be focused in the tax roles in the UAE and the rest of the GCC as there is potential for the tax advisory market situated in the Middle East to be expanded four times compared to other places around the globe. The introduction of corporate taxes in the UAE coupled with the personal income tax recently launched in Oman and other measures taken by countries in the region are resultant to this growth.
The Washington-based Source Global Research in a new published report also says that the region’s tax markets and subsectors are largely underdeveloped and are characterized by acute deficiency of skilled labor across nearly all taxation spheres.
The research indicated that the economy of the Middle Eastern region grows at the fastest rate when it comes to its GDP for this year forecasted at growth rate of 13 per cent to 758 million US dollars. In the continents of North America and Europe the growth rate is only at 3 per cent
Prior to this point Oman had been like other countries in the region as they had located their tax regimes in zero percent tax brackets, but recently it has made its intentions clear that it will be the first Gulf country to implement income tax to its citizens, Kuwait is rumored to join Oman. This move is in line with other initiatives whereby the UAE enacted a 9 percent corporate tax in 2021 and 5 percent sweet beverage excise tax.
Furthermore, it was noted that the Middle East still heavily relies on oil exports and as the IMF noted, diversifying revenue sources as well as tax reforms are an imperative given the nature of these economies.
Tony Maroulis, principal consultant at Source Global Research explained, “Apart from the robust expansion in the Middle East, we do expect a recovery of the tax advisory growth across all regions by 2025. The numerous crises that came forth during the last couple of years were tough for firms, however we anticipate that investments will resume by 2025, with tax advisory services increasing by about 6 percent.”
According to forecasts, the market for tax consultancy services in the UAE and other Gulf countries is set to expand as more taxes are being introduced by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It means larger demand for tax consultants in the future. The growth is substantial, and the outlook exists, as the industry executives express optimism and efficiency in the regions of growth.
“General shortages of skills around tax service provision have been identified in the various regions. The most critical skills shortage was in global employer/mobility tax services, with 41 percent of companies experiencing and reporting both an in-house and external skills shortage,” the company observes.
Various tax specialties are also considered new fields, areas of skill shortage with regard to the firms deficient in skills in economic taxation. "Only a quarter of companies haven't pointed out the lack of external specialists in this field," the report quotes.
In conclusion, environmental tax is the area of knowledge in organizations that is the least affected by the resources, but they are not the only areas that face external pressures; it is definitely where companies are focusing on upskilling or shifting responsibilities, either by utilizing their tax team or the sustainability team.
"As the competitive aspects of international taxation and other tax regulations are growing, multinational companies want to ensure that they do not miss out on compliance with the fundamental requirements.
In a way, these approaches are the same regardless as to when the companies might become subject to environmental taxes. It is only a matter of time before companies seek the services of tax advisers schooled in environmental regulatory taxes, this is good for the firms because such advisory services for over the next three years are not expected to become scarce,” said Tony Maroulis.
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