The tax environment is changing rapidly. The tax functions role has evolved from managing and optimizing an organizations effective tax rate to managing the organization’s global tax risks. The attitudes of many governments, shareholders and boards of directors to tax are changing and managing tax risk and reputational issues are high on everyone’s the agenda.

For today’s tax directors, it is essential to meet compliance obligations, work with the business, and communicate internally and externally on the organization’s tax position, while improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Tax directors need to ensure their tax functions are equipped with the capabilities they need to meet these varied demands.

Most organizations in Kuwait don’t have a dedicated tax function. Given the limited applicability of domestic tax regime this may have made sense in the past. However, with the announcement of both corporate income tax and VAT in Kuwait, businesses will require a dedicated tax function to ensure that they comply with the new regulations but also manage the impact on the businesses top and bottom line.

What is a good tax function?

At the heart of every good tax function is a tax governance framework around which strategic and operational concerns can be configured. A clear and documented framework is fundamental if a business is to have effective corporate governance and manage key stakeholder expectations.

An aligned tax governance, risk and compliance framework:

• Reduces operating risk and improves gap detection and mitigation
• Lowers risk assessment effort and enables automated controls monitoring
• Decreases the risk of penalties and fines due to non-compliance
• Optimizes processes and reduces compliance efforts
• Improves tax risk reporting and board visibility

As companies face mounting challenges, we help clients build and operate tax functions based on leading practices and manage their tax risk, reputation and compliance in an increasingly regulated global marketplace.

How we can help:

KPMG's tax management consulting team will work with your tax departments to help develop better internal visibility over tax policy, governance and tax contributions.

Our value-adding solutions address:

Governance: Assist in setting out a clear tax vision and strategy for the tax function and document the organization’s policies and controls

Compliance: Assess your sourcing options to determine how you can better manage your tax and statutory obligations and set out operating guidelines which streamline and standardize the compliance process.

Technology: Advice on the latest tools and practices used to manage and deliver tax obligations. This involves assessing and enhancing your current operating model to ensure it is efficient and effective.