Deloitte launches first Middle East Tax Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) Forum

Support to Middle East financial institutions to meet the challenges of FATCA

25 January 2012 - Deloitte is proud to announce the inaugural The Deloitte Middle East Tax Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) Forum to take place on January 31 and February 1 in Dubai, UAE. The two-day event is designed to share insights on the technical aspects of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) which has major implications for financial institutions across the world. The CCO Forum agenda has been specifically tailored to address the unique needs of Middle Eastern institutions, including Islamic banking structures as well as sovereign wealth funds, family offices and takaful insurance. The aim of the seminar is to provide an open and collaborative forum in which executives from Compliance, Legal, Technology, Finance, Tax and Marketing can meet to learn and share ideas, methodologies, techniques, and tools to meet the challenges presented by this new legislation.

"This is one of the most critical commercial issues currently faced by banks and financial institutions across the globe" said Ali Kazimi, Deloitte Middle East's managing director for International Tax Services. "It is essential that financial institutions across the region fully understand the impact of FATCA in time for the fast approaching 1 January 2013 go live date. Non-compliance with FATCA can result in a 30 percent withholding tax, while compliant institutions are also likely to refuse to deal with a non-FATCA registered institution."

The main provisions of FATCA come into effect on 1 January 2013. FATCA requires not only all foreign (non-US) banks but also other financial institutions (mutual and hedge funds, insurance companies, trusts and Islamic Finance structures) to disclose all US account holders to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service or the US tax authority). The operative mechanism is that if any affected entity wants to invest in the United States, it has no choice but to comply with FATCA, irrespective of whether it has a U.S. branch, office, or other presence.

The CCO Forum has been purposefully designed to address strategic issues faced by Middle East based financial institutions and will explore technical aspects of FATCA (including providing an update on the draft regulations) as well as the practical implications and potential solutions based on Deloitte's experience around the globe.

Kazimi added: "Significant effort is required from financial institutions to meet the complex challenges of FATCA. This CCO Forum, which is the first in a series, will provide a valuable opportunity for Middle East financial community to become aware of the challenges and prepare themselves in this critical year before FATCA comes into effect."

Deloitte Middle East has recently been awarded a Tier 1 Tax advisor status for the GCC region for the third consecutive year (International Tax Review World Tax 2010, 2011 and 2012 Rankings).

Ali Kazimi was until recently a specialist financial services tax partner in Deloitte UK. Ali has over 20 years of financial services sector experience gained with leading financial institutions and professional advisory firms, including eight years as the Head of Taxation at Barclays Global Investors. He has extensive experience of leading on FATCA engagements in UK and Switzerland. His move to Middle East, underlines Deloitte's commitment to the financial services industry in the region.

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About Deloitte & Touche (M.E.):
Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) and is the first Arab professional services firm established in the Middle East region with uninterrupted presence for over 85 years. Deloitte is among the region's leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services through 26 offices in 15 countries with over 2,500 partners, directors and staff. It is a Tier 1 Tax advisor in the GCC region (International Tax Review World Tax 2010, 2011 and 2012 Rankings) and was recognized as the 2010 Best Consulting Firm of the Year in the Complinet GCC Compliance Awards. In 2011, the firm received the Middle East Training & Development Excellence Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Contact: Nada Haddad
Title: Regional Communications senior manager
Deloitte Middle East
Tel: 00961. 1. 748 444
Email: nadahaddad@deloitte.com