Deloitte announces expansion of its GCC Tax and VAT leaders’ team

Deloitte has announced the expansion of its senior Indirect Tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) Advisory team in the Middle East with the appointment of new Partners and Directors, and transfer of VAT experts from its global network to the region.

These moves and appointments are in line with Deloitte’s integrated strategy to advise and support clients as they deal with the implementation of VAT across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). As part of this strategy, the firm launched the “Deloitte VAT App in the Middle East” which has had over 12,000 uploads since May 2017, and regularly runs seminars and workshops under its Deloitte VAT Academy designed for legal, tax and finance experts.

Deloitte has admitted Mark Junkin, Michael Camburn, and Bruce Hamilton as Partners in the Indirect Tax Practice, and appointed four new Directors, reflecting the importance that the firm places on fostering and recognizing excellence in leadership in its business, and widening the GCC VAT leadership team to address client needs.

Mark Junkin joins from the Deloitte UK firm in London. He has in-depth experience across a range of industries and leads Indirect Tax relationships with multinational firms in the UK and across borders.

Commenting on the appointment, Nauman Ahmed, the Deloitte Middle East Tax leader said: “I am delighted to welcome Mark to the Middle East tax practice. Mark’s in-depth VAT experience with our leading international clients brings a wealth of knowledge to the team, delivering a real impact for our clients so that they can move forward with confidence. I wish Mark every success in his new role.”

Bruce Hamilton, who moved a year ago to the UAE to assist with the implementation of VAT in the GCC, has been admitted as partner in the Deloitte Middle East Firm. Bruce is a VAT specialist with over 30 years of experience in VAT implementation processes most recently in Australia and Malaysia. He is using his experience in the GCC to advise on practicalities for VAT implementation and post-implementation processes, as well as addressing technical issues.

Michael Camburn is joining an external VAT Partner hire from a UK professional services firm.  Michael has significant indirect taxes experience advising clients on the complexities of doing business internationally across a number of sectors, in particular, the technology and information sectors.

Deloitte Middle East has also brought various Deloitte client service tax partners from across the globe to the region.  They bring further extensive expertise to support our clients as they deal with the implementation of VAT across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

These Indirect Tax Partners include Robert Tsang from Deloitte Southeast Asia, who has led the Deloitte Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia Indirect Tax businesses, as well as the Consumer and Industrial Products Tax team.  Robert is the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Implementation leader currently in India, and led the Deloitte Malaysian GST Implementation Team and was previously involved in GST implementation work in China, Singapore and Australia; Suzanne van der Merwe, from Deloitte South Africa, has over 20 years of experience in Indirect Tax and is the South African Tax Industry leader for Public Sector and Power and Infrastructure; Michael Towler, from Deloitte Australia, who leads the Indirect Tax practice in Perth with over 25 years of experience in relation to Indirect Tax; Gary Campbell, the Deloitte Global Leader of Indirect Tax Financial Services, and Partner at Deloitte UK; and Anbreen Khan, from Deloitte UK, who is a qualified lawyer and has both tax advisory and tax dispute resolution expertise. Anbreen works across most industry sectors but particularly consumer business; telecoms; and, general VAT advisory.

Ahmed added “We believe in investing in our people and in our services. Our VAT team is now one of the biggest in the Middle East consisting of dedicated Indirect Tax specialists covering the entire GCC region, and bringing deep industry expertise. This will ensure we continue to make an impact that matters with clients and our people through supporting the growth and competitiveness of the firm.”