The fifth session of the MENA Tax Forum, an annual conference by the tax forum for the Middle East and North Africa, opened in Riyadh on Tuesday with focus on key global initiatives in tax policy that affect the MENA region.

The three-day forum is organized by the Department of Zakat and Income Tax (DZIT) in cooperation with the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC) with the support of Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al-Assaf, who opened the conference.

Al-Assaf said “The 5th session in Riyadh offers us an opportunity to let the entire world know about the tax system and the Zakat collection as the Kingdom is the only country in the world that is interested in collecting Zakat officially."

Interestingly, the forum this time has special focus on tax issues in Islamic finance and Zakat, which are of significant importance to countries in the region.

Commenting on the session being held here, an ITIC official at the forum said that such initiatives originate mainly in organizations where MENA countries have limited participation. This year’s forum will help countries understand the challenges better and gain insight in developing responses with in-depth attention to tax issues in Islamic finance and Zakat.

The forum, divided into various sittings, will discuss key initiatives on topics like "global tax policy initiatives — issues and challenges for MENA countries," "strategies and solutions for countries in the region in response to global tax policy initiatives," "practical application of transfer pricing rules in the MENA region," "application and enforcement of indirect taxation regimes and VAT in the MENA region,” "new developments in taxation of the extractive sector," "cross-border taxation of Islamic finance transactions," "taxation of services in the MENA region," "Zakat application in the region" and "tax audits and dispute resolutions."

Apart from the Kingdom, other participating countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen, represented by senior officials from ministries of finance and government departments and agencies entrusted with tax administration.

MENA Tax Forum is an international gathering of senior government officials in tax policy and administration from the MENA region, academic and industry experts and representatives from international organizations.

The annual forum brings together these leaders in a collaborative and neutral setting to discuss solutions to common challenges and to share best practices in taxation.

The first forum was held in 2010 in Doha, Qatar with ITIC acting as the catalyst in organizing the forum, whereas successive annual forums were hosted by the ministries of finance of Turkey and Oman.