Tax

Tax value added tax 

As tax systems across the GCC evolve with increasing sophistication, regulatory scrutiny, and global alignment, Hourani is positioned at the forefront, guiding clients through this dynamic landscape. What distinguishes us is our ability to provide sophisticated tax advice within a broader legal and commercial context, connecting it with corporate structuring, investment frameworks, wealth preservation, and trade strategy.

Our tax practice offers comprehensive legal and advisory capabilities across the full tax lifecycle, from initial investment structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and cross-border planning to compliance, audit defense, and complex dispute resolution. We serve multinational corporations, investment platforms, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals, acting as trusted legal counsel in jurisdictions where tax law remains both developing and intensely nuanced.

We work seamlessly across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the broader GCC which enables us to deliver comprehensive solutions that are not only technically rigorous, but also tailored to the operational, legal, and regulatory realities of doing business in the region.

We ensure that every layer of our client’s legal and tax position is aligned to minimize risk, unlock efficiencies, and enable confident cross-border execution.

Our areas of advisory include income tax, zakat, excise tax, withholding tax, excise tax and VAT in the UAE and Saudi Arabia as transfer pricing, permanent establishments and double taxation agreements.  value added tax 

  • Internal Tax Review
  • Compliance Audits
  • Pre-audit Defense Planning
  • Tax Risk Mitigation
  • Tax Opinions
  • Litigation (on all Tax matters)
  • Regulatory Guidance
  • Training
  • Standard Operating Procedures Development
  • Debt Collection and Insolvency Strategies

Representative Tax transactions include:

  • Advising a major Korean shareholder during contentious negotiations and pre-litigation on capital gains tax exposure in relation to a share transfer under a settlement agreement with a local JV partner. Strategically advised on tax risk mitigation, responsible party for liability, settlement of tax liability, drafting of agreements, and avoidance of litigation to arrive at successful outcome for our client
  • Advising a major Saudi Arabian company specializing in digital transformation and business solutions on tax structuring options across various jurisdictions for a cross-border joint venture issuing certificates of origin between Brazil and Saudi Arabia
  • Advising one of the region’s most prominent families on legal, private wealth and tax structuring with cross-border investments in the UAE, KSA, Cayman, Guernsey, Luxembourg and Switzerland
  • Advising a global IT services and technology solution provider on legal and tax aspects related to redomicilation, permanent establishment (PE), withholding tax, capital gains tax and VAT risks arising from restructuring and intercompany service arrangements across 7 countries in Africa, UAE and Saudi Arabia
  • Advising a leading global solution provider in thermal protection for industrial equipment operating in high temperature conditions on the establishment of a limited liability joint venture in Saudi Arabia, including structuring shareholding arrangements, negotiating key agreements, and ensuring regulatory compliance. The engagement also involved cross-border tax, customs and legal advice related to the investment structure in the UAE, UK, and France
  • Advising a leading Saudi family-owned conglomerate on designing a tax-efficient group structure as part of its internal reorganization and IPO readiness. This cross-jurisdictional tax advice covered Zakat, UAE Corporate Tax, VAT, customs, and free zone optimization, ensuring minimal tax exposure while maintaining compliance across Saudi Arabia and the UAE
  • Advising a global manufacturing company on UAE legal, tax, customs, and permanent establishment risk regarding its various UAE locations and supply chain
  • Advising a leading regional energy company on the optimal legal and tax structure for establishing upstream operations in Saudi Arabia and analyzing the implications of Saudi Arabia’s high corporate income tax rates on hydrocarbon extraction activities, ISIC codes, the applicability of upstream activity tax rates to our client, evaluating exposure to Zakat, and mitigating such exposure
  • Advising a digital luxury goods platform on VAT, customs, regulatory implications, and applicable licensing for KSA expansion in aim of applying the most efficient licensing framework and tax structure