KPMG to organise seminar on Tax Law

MUSCAT: KPMG will organise a one-day tax seminar on March 6 to provide senior professionals with an update on the sweeping changes that have been introduced in Oman’s income tax law under the Royal Decree 9/2017 issued on February 19.

Ashok Hariharan, partner and head of Tax for KPMG, Lower Gulf, said the amendments, which are essentially centred on the objective of enhancing revenues generated from taxes, have had a far reaching impact on Oman’s income tax framework and given rise to many uncertainties on which tax payers at large would require clarity.

Significant amendments, whose analysis, impact and uncertainties will be addressed in the seminar, include the scope of withholding tax on fees for services, interest payments and dividends on shares. The seminar will also consider several domes- tic and international tax scenarios and real life situations, such as cost sharing arrangements, secondments of staff, revenue and risk sharing arrangements and discuss the impact of the changes on them.

According to Hariharan, the latest amendments may result in ramping up the costs of businesses operating in Oman, given that many foreign taxpayers will expect the taxes imposed on their incomes to be borne by local businesses.

Taxing dividends and interest income earned by foreign tax payers will reduce their return on investment.

Taxing interest income earned by foreign persons could impact the cost of borrowing if lenders pass on the cost to local businesses. Given the thrust towards greater compliance with stricter penalty provisions being introduced, it is imperative that companies give tax management their top priority.