Ian Anderson new Head of Tax for Qatar Financial Centre

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority has appointed Ian Anderson as Head of Tax.

When it was first launched on 1 May 2005 the QFC announced a tax holiday for 3 years up to May 2008 for licensed firms, following which a tax rate of no more than 10% on profits would be applied. The role of the Head of Tax is to progress the development of the QFC’s tax regime with tax laws providing certainty and transparency of treatment for common business transactions. An efficient rulings system will also be created to give guidance on any areas of uncertainty. A key objective will be to apply international best practice in line with the rest of the QFC.

Ian Anderson qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1986 and is a member of the UK Chartered Institute of Tax. He spent 10 years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers before transferring into the airline and leisure travel industry. As Director of Tax and Treasury of MyTravel Group from 1993 up to his current appointment he was responsible for worldwide tax planning, including cross border asset financing, leasing and debt financing.

Stuart Pearce, Chief Executive Officer and Director General of the Qatar Financial Centre, said “Establishing a competitive and dynamic tax system is a key step in the development of the QFC. Firms need to have a certainty of tax treatment whilst minimizing the compliance burden they face. We aim to create a tax system that is designed for the 21st century and we welcome Ian to the QFC to enable that to happen.”