Abu Dhabi - Mubasher: The Emirati ministry of finance (MoF) announced that the UAE will begin implementing the standards of joint disclosures and the exchange of information for tax purposes in 2018.

The standards of joint disclosures and the exchange of information for tax purposes are set out by the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in accordance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), according to a press release.

This follows the UAE Cabinet’s decision for MoF to coordinate with various government authorities to collect financial information in order to implement exchange information for tax purposes.

MoF’s efforts and commitment to implementing international standards and requirements for the exchange of information led to the UAE obtaining a seat on the International Steering Committee (ISC) for the exchange of information. The UAE became the first Arab country to be elected for this position.

The Ministry is currently establishing the administrative and technological infrastructure required to implement an automated system to collect and exchange information.

MoF began establishing committees to oversee the implementation of regulatory and administrative commitments for the automatic exchange of tax information according to the requirements of FATCA, in order to begin implementation in January 2017.

A total of 94 countries have committed to implement the joint disclosure system by 2017 and 2018 and ensure the effective exchange of information for tax purposes between countries following G20 directives.

In September 2013, the G20 directed OECD to establish a joint disclosure standard, which defines the framework for the automatic exchange of information for tax purposes.

In 2014, OECD requested all countries to begin collecting information from financial institutions and exchange them automatically on a yearly basis.