Our Services
Our team of experts consists of highly skilled tax advisors who stay up-to-date with the latest tax laws and regulations. With our in-depth knowledge and extensive experience, we provide strategic and reliable tax advice tailored to your specific situation.
We have a Client-Centric Approach: At PB First Global Tax, our clients are at the centre of everything we do. We strive to provide exceptional service and build long-lasting relationships based on trust, transparency, and integrity. Each client is provided with a personalised approach because we recognise that every client is unique, and we take the time to understand your individual circumstances and goals. By offering personalised solutions, we can help you minimise risk, and achieve optimal tax efficiency.
Whether you require assistance with international tax planning, domestic tax compliance, or resolving complex tax issues, we offer a wide range of services to address all your tax-related needs.
Schedule a consultation today and let us be your trusted partner for all your global and domestic tax advisory needs.
Collective Investments
PB First Global Tax is here to advise on tax decisions for your collective investments, from stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities. Many of our clients are investors and have access to a broader range of investment opportunities and benefit greatly from our professional tax advice.
Corporate Administration And Liquidation
PB First is a leading UAE adviser on the taxation consequences of companies ceasing business either voluntarily or being forced to do so by creditors.
If a company ceases business either through insolvency, liquidation, or the end of corporate governance, or simply voluntarily, it must distribute its remaining assets and funds under strict legal and tax rules. Doing so gives rise to taxation consequences to stay compliant and reduce liabilities for shareholders, creditors, and stakeholders. The consequences may be due to corporation tax, VAT, land transfer duties or customs and excise duties, and they may be inside the UAE and abroad.
Questions will also arise on whether any accumulating losses of the company can be transferred within a UAE qualifying group and whether entering into liquidation or administration removes the company from a corporate tax group. Not being able to use losses increases the costs.
Once the procedure begins, the company uses its assets to settle outstanding debts and obligations. It pays secured and unsecured creditors before distributing the remaining assets to shareholders. Each transaction can trigger taxes; selling or transferring assets may create capital gains or losses. If the company fails to be compliant and taxes remain payable, can the FTA claim those taxes from shareholders, directors or the license managers?
Shareholders who receive assets or funds may face tax as either capital gains, a distribution or ordinary income, depending on whether the distribution counts as a return of capital or a deemed dividend. In insolvency, companies must also assess whether debt forgiveness or asset write-downs create taxable income. Poor timing—distributing assets before settling taxes—can lead to penalties.
PB First advises clients on all these issues in order for available losses to be used and unexpected tax liabilities not to arise.
Dispute Resolution and Tax Litigation Support
When disagreements arise with taxation authorities, as they inevitably do, we assist in resolving these issues. Whether by adopting traditional approaches through filing objections and discussions with the Tax Authority, or by resorting to supplementary procedures, including formal appeals through the legal system or arbitration. We provide detailed and well-thought-through advice directly to our clients or support our clients’ existing advisors.
The differences of opinion may relate to value-added tax, corporation income tax, personal taxation or customs duty. They may be administrative or financial, and they may relate to taxes or penalties. Opinions may also be domestic or cross-border and involve mutual agreement procedures or something more complex.
Our dispute resolution team has many members: the first is an English King’s Counsel who is also a part-time judge. We have two further members, each of whom has a PhD in taxation. The PB First team also have financial and investigative accountants.
Where permitted by law or by regulations, we make the appeal directly to the Tax Authority or a Tribunal outside the Tax Authority. We do this directly with the assistance of the King’s Counsel when he has relevant audience rights, and when he does not, then alongside carefully chosen local advocates who do. Whether we have audience rights or not, our team prepares the file, attends the Court or Tribunal when permitted or liaises directly with the Authority.
Our UAE dispute resolution and tax litigation support team is unique: we are the only firm with two PhDs in tax and a King’s Counsel.
Education & Training Services
We delight in passing knowledge on taxation to our clients, team members, students, and the general public. Our approach does not address general taxation concepts; these have always been readily available to you.
We are specialists. Our focus is on what we believe. After many years of experience, the most significant practical matters are the ones that may apply to you.
The firm does this via in-house taxation training courses for our team members, dedicated and specialist courses for our clients and industry lobby groups, making knowledge available. We work with the ACCA for the UAE Ministry of Economy, or by presenting courses to wider groups through specialist bodies, i.e., the Innovation Experts Real Estate Institute. Additionally, we share knowledge through LinkedIn, blogs, and the wider media.
Two of our team members have PhDs in taxation. One is a dedicated tax academic already teaching students. Another member publishes every two weeks in a national newspaper. There is no better-qualified group in the UAE for companies, their employees or interested persons to learn taxation from.
Expert United Arab Emirates Tax Opinions
PB First is a leading UAE adviser on providing tax opinions to clients, second opinions to a client’s existing adviser or for foreign courts on UAE corporation income tax rules.
Sometimes, fact patterns are complex, and sometimes the tax law is opaque; in such cases, different answers are possible when applying international standards. In international tax disputes, experts provide clarity, credibility, and strategic direction. Cross-border cases often raise complex issues like double taxation, permanent establishment, transfer pricing, residency, treaty interpretation and the mutual agreement procedure.
Qualified tax experts deliver written opinions or testify in court, explaining how laws apply across jurisdictions. PB First provides this service on UAE corporation tax, VAT, land transfer tax and customs and excise duties.
Expert witnesses help Counsel and later courts and tribunals understand technical tax concepts, interpret foreign legislation, and assess compliance with international standards. Their insights often shape outcomes in cases involving multinational companies, expatriates, or cross-border assets.
Clients engaging experts early build stronger cases. Experts assist Counsel and case handlers in preparing arguments, gathering evidence, and addressing complex tax questions accurately. By refining strategies for tax efficiency and compliance, they improve negotiation and litigation outcomes. In tax dispute resolution, experts support arbitration and mutual agreement procedures between tax authorities, guiding fair settlements and reducing litigation risks.
PB First, by combining technical knowledge with practical experience, steers clients and legal teams through complex cross-border challenges. Our involvement is intended to assist in efficient, compliant, and equitable outcomes in international tax cases. As UAE clients increase the magnitude of their investments outside the UAE and increase the number of countries in which they invest, PB First can assist through its collaboration with Prof Hans Van den Hurk and his team at HHP Chambers, Dutch, European and International Tax Controversy.
Family Asset Protection & Succession Planning
Families spend years building, maintaining, and protecting their wealth. Few events feel worse than losing assets because of disputes, divorce, lawsuits, death, or poor decisions. Partners can also suffer losses when major disagreements arise.
PB First understands the structures that reduce or limit losses in these situations. We use family investment companies, foundations, trusts, wills, insurance policies, and shareholders’ agreements. Our experience allows us to know which countries offer each structure and the consequences of choosing one.
Taxes arise when owners transfer assets into these structures. Tax rates differ by the owner’s residence and the asset’s location. Taxation may include income tax, capital gains tax, transfer duties, or inheritance taxes.
PB First recommends the most suitable business or investment entities to meet each client’s objectives. We explain which option works best under the circumstances.
The firm also advises clients on tax issues from disputed structures created by family members or partners. This helps clients present the strongest case before a court, mediator, or tribunal. We take pride in guiding families toward long-term stability and tax efficiency.
Family Offices
PB First can provide comprehensive tax advisory services to high-net-worth individuals or families on their family office structure, investments, distributions, including Foundations and Trusts. We can assist in advising on the best tax strategies to manage the financial affairs and preserve the wealth of the family across generations. Family offices can bring complex financial needs, and our team has the experience and expertise to assist.
Family Uncoupling
PB First is the leading UAE adviser on tax issues arising from UAE and cross-border divorces, family breakups and asset transfers.
Family separation creates emotional, financial and tax pressures that affect all parties. Couples must understand how taxes apply to settlements, transfers and ongoing financial arrangements. Situations involving different tax residencies or cross-border assets require specialised international tax knowledge.
Dividing property, including investments, business interests or personal assets, may trigger capital gains tax when transfers fall outside tax-exempt rules. Some countries allow tax-free transfers during divorce, while others treat them as taxable disposals. Prompt action and clear documentation help reduce tax risks.
Spousal maintenance also carries tax implications. In some jurisdictions, the payer deducts payments and the recipient declares income. Other systems treat these payments as tax-neutral. We guide clients on how the UAE taxes such arrangements so each party understands obligations and entitlements.
International divorces introduce further complexity. Different tax laws, residency rules and double taxation treaties can affect income, property and pension allocations. Dividing assets across borders may create double reporting duties or conflicting liabilities.
Our team also supports spouses and their Counsel in understanding complex structures. We help explain these arrangements to courts, strengthening the spouse’s position. In some cases, we find structures lacking commercial substance, and courts value this clarity when seeking fair outcomes.
We assist couples in structuring settlements efficiently, complying with multiple jurisdictions and avoiding unexpected tax costs. With informed planning, parties can manage divorce transitions fairly and achieve tax-efficient results.
PB First advises clients on all these issues to support families, Counsel and Courts in reaching the fairest outcome.
FATCA, CRS Economic Substence
The world of tax and business affairs, and personal structuring, has become more transparent. Governments now have FATCA, CRS and Economic Substance as tools to learn more about your taxation affairs. We advise clients on how these rules apply to them, the information about them which will be shared and the consequences of inaccurate or incomplete information being shared. PB First also assists clientsin completing forms to be uploaded to UAE Government Portals on FATCA, CRS and Economic Substance and forms to be supplied to the US Internal Revenue Service to obtain reduced US withholding taxes.
Fintech, Artificial Intelligence & The Blockchain
PB First specialises in the domestic and cross-border taxation implications for Fintech, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain businesses and investments.
We understand that Fintech is the use of financial technology in making financial services more accessible and efficient. Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think, learn, and solve problems like humans using vast amounts of data. Blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes.
Businesses incur research and development costs in building the intellectual property, and they earn revenue from the ownership and exploitation either as a royalty or by embedding them into other goods or services. However, the good or service is created, and however it is owned or exploited to earn income, taxation applies to the revenue, and deductions are potentially available for the expenditures.
We have advised clients on structures available to develop, own and exploit the intellectual property, and we have also advised clients on the potential 100% or enhanced deductions available for the research and development costs. We have also advised clients on the traps and pitfalls of incorrectly entity ownership or from a failure to properly track all the expenditures.
If you want to be on the right side of the ledger, then we can advise.
Global & Domestic Tax Advice
We recognise that tax, whether direct or indirect, creates a risk that clients must manage. Our team helps clients understand and reduce that risk.
The UAE now imposes value-added tax, corporate income tax, excise duty and land transfer taxes. Although the UAE does not levy personal income tax, natural persons may face corporate tax in specific situations. Global taxation matters more today because foreign tax may be final or may create a credit against UAE tax on the same income. When the UAE does not tax that income, foreign tax credits may be wasted.
PB First FZ-LLC advises clients on how UAE domestic tax law applies to proposed transactions or planned business structures. We explain differences between structures when tax outcomes vary and help clients assess the consequences of their choices.
Global tax expertise sits at the core of our practice. We assist with double taxation treaties, foreign income provisions under UAE corporate tax and domestic tax rules in other countries. When clients need detailed tax advice in another jurisdiction, our GGI membership gives us access to specialists in more than 130 countries. For complex global tax opinions, we use trusted private research databases.
Clients often need clarity when speaking with auditors, regulators or tax authorities, and we explain their tax position in clear terms. We also support clients when customers or suppliers question their tax treatment.
Preparing and filing tax returns is not our core business. However, we assist when clients need a second review, a cold review or a compliance check on a proposed filing position.
International Asset Ownership & Structuring
International asset ownership and structuring involves managing and organising assets across different jurisdictions to optimise tax efficiency, protect assets, and achieve specific financial objectives. Our taxation advice support covers Asset Protection, Estate Planning and Regulatory and Compliance issues.
We provide tailored advice based on your specific circumstances, assist in selecting the appropriate structures, and assist in ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations in each jurisdiction. Additionally, we can regularly review and adapt your asset ownership and structuring strategies as circumstances change to help you comply with the changing environment to maintain the effectiveness and legality of your arrangements.
Intra Group & Listed Financing
Our team have a wealth of experience and provides valuable and strategic advice on the taxation considerations of intra-group financing and Listed financing. We carefully evaluate each financing method’s advantages, risks, and costs and choose the approach that aligns with your specific financial taxation objectives, capital structure, and regulatory environment.
Mergers, Acquisitions, Group Restructuring
Our experts provide tailored tax planning strategies for mergers, acquisitions and group restructuring, helping you minimise your tax liability. Whether you are planning an acquisition or are prepping your exit plan, we can help optimise your financial well-being.
Pillar 2
Pillar 2 is the buzzword for international tax transparency and minimum global taxation. Much is unknown and much is new and there is much uncertainty. We advise clients on the Pillar 2 implications in the UAE and elsewhere and the opportunities to restructure their business groups to take advantage of safe harbours and in due course will assist clients prepare Pillar 2 returns.
TARMS – Tax & Revenue Management Strategy
It’s one thing to devise a tax-efficient plan for a client, but at PB First, we realise that our commitment extends beyond the boundaries of an initial tax advice document.
We believe that our clients deserve a dynamic road map that follows, enhances and adjusts your tax planning long term, and links with your designated Corporate Service Provider to ensure you have registered the correct financial vehicles, be they mainland or freezone companies, trusts, foundations or partnerships.
At PB First, we liaise only with a handful of tried and tested service providers; those with whom we have had a long, successful and trusted relationship. We work closely with them to oversee the correct implementation of tax efficient planning, to make sure client goals are achieved.
Transfer Pricing
Our transfer pricing capabilities are designed to help UAE (including entities formed in other GCC countries) and global taxpayers navigate complex tax regulations and optimise their intercompany transactions.
PB First provide comprehensive transfer pricing solutions that ensure compliance with transfer pricing regulations issued by tax authorities, with a specialisation in the FTA’s Transfer Pricing Guide and Ministerial Decisions. In addition, we have broad expertise in intellectual property transactions, including brand royalties, know-how and management intangibles.
We also adhere to and navigate international standards, including OECD guidelines and global tax authority requirements. Our team of experienced professionals conducts thorough transfer pricing documentation (including Local Files, Master Files, CbCR and Disclosure Forms), functions, assets and risks (FAR) analyses, benchmarking, compliance with documentation and valuation analyses to support all aspects of pricing strategies for intercompany transactions.
Our firm specialises in developing tailored transfer pricing policies that align with your business operations and strategic goals. Services include planning, documentation, transfer pricing audits, risk assessments, and dispute resolution support. We abide by a clear view on the alignment of transfer pricing and Pillar 2. By leveraging advanced analytics and industry insights, we help you manage transfer pricing risks while maximising tax efficiencies.
Our proactive approach includes continuous monitoring and updates to reflect changes in legislation and market conditions. We work closely with your teams to implement best practices and ensure seamless compliance across all jurisdictions. Whether you are navigating documentation, restructuring transactions, or facing audit challenges, our transfer pricing expertise provides the confidence and clarity needed to support your global growth. Partner with us to optimise your transfer pricing strategy while adhering to the highest standards of integrity and transparency.
Other Services
PB First Global Tax are only a tax adviser.
Clients often require other services, such as mainland or free zone company formation, accounting, auditing, wealth management, business consulting, AML risk and compliance, and many more. If this is the case, then we assist our clients by sharing a list of firms providing these services, which other clients have previously worked with.
All these firms are financially independent from PB First, and we have no structural interest in those firms. Just get in touch with our team, and we can provide some firm names.
