UAE Elected Vice President Of Belt And Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum For 2nd Time In A Row

The United Arab Emirates was elected for the second time in row as Vice President of the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum (BRITACOF) in its second edition, during the meetings that brought together participants from 57 countries around the world.

The UAE’s delegation participated in the Supervisory Board meeting, where the President and the Vice President of the Forum were elected. The United Arab Emirates – represented by FTA Director General His Excellency Khalid Ali Al Bustani – was elected Vice President of the Forum for the second time after being elected in the first meeting of the Supervisory Board in China in April 2019.

The Second Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum (BRITACOF) and the accompanying virtual exhibition discussed ways to collaborate on tax administration coordination between the Belt and Road initiative states – particularly when it comes to harnessing digitalization to develop the sector.

The three-day forum, which was conducted via videoconferencing, discussed the prospects of the digital economy and explored ways to build an integrated digitalized tax system, relying on digital tax management, enhancing digital tax services, and discussing the use of modern technologies in tax transactions, including Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Big Data was also discussed as a means to facilitate tax procedures and increase resilience in the tax industry. In addition, the forum showcased ways to modernize tax data management, exchange tax information, develop control frameworks, and enhance tax data security.

Speaking at the Forum, H.E. Al Bustani showcased the UAE’s pioneering experience and the FTA’s extensive efforts to continuously upgrade the tax system, ensure transparency, and streamline procedures.

His Excellency underlined the FTA’s achievements in implementing a fully electronic tax system that encourages voluntary compliance, offering a wide range of advanced services to taxpayers, including registration in the tax system, submitting Tax Returns, and settling their due taxes. The system allows Taxable Persons or their representatives to quickly complete all procedures without physical interaction or paper documents, which helps preserve public health and maintain social distancing.

The FTA is keen on maintaining uninterrupted communication with stakeholders across the tax system, whereby its call centre answers hundreds of thousands of enquiries over the phone or via email.

The Federal Tax Authority explored the experiences and success stories showcased by various member states at the Second Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum and exhibition.

The Authority asserted that the event is an opportunity to further optimise tax collaboration to remove barriers to trade, investment, and economic cooperation, setting the stage for deeper tax collaboration among countries of the Belt and Road Initiative.