Speakers

Professor Dr Martin Wenz is a full professor and holds the Chair for Business Taxation and the Laws of International and Liechtenstein Taxation and is Academic Head of the Liechtenstein Executive School at the University of Liechtenstein in Vaduz. He was educated at the Universities of Mannheim and Munich, has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Ferrara in Italy and has held visiting research positions at different universities including the University of Cambridge. He has also professional experience with KPMG National Tax & Legal in the Frankfurt office regarding international tax planning issues of corporate entities, wealth structures and UHNWI as well as structured and hybrid financial instruments and is a Member of the Board of Directors of Bendura Bank AG in Bendern, IMT Tax Advisors AG in Vaduz and ITC International Tax Centre Charitable Foundation in Mauren, all in Liechtenstein. Professor Wenz is the Director of the LL.M. Program in International Taxation, former Chairman of the Group of Tax Experts on the Liechtenstein Tax Reform and gives comprehensive ongoing advice to the Liechtenstein Government for national and international tax law including Double Tax and other Tax Agreements and for the Implementation of International and European Tax Standards (AEoI, ATAD, BEPS, EoIR, EU-CoC, Pillar 1 and 2 etc.).
The Scientific Work of Professor Wenz concentrates on various aspects of Liechtenstein Tax Law and International Business Taxation, the International Tax Treatment of complex corporate, private and charitable Asset Structures (private and charitable Foundations, Trusts, Companies, Investment Funds, Family Offices), the International Tax Policy, the International Level-playing-field on Taxation, the International and European Tax Cooperation and Tax Competition, the Fiscal Framework of the European Union and the European Economic Area as well as the Development and the Design of Tax Systems for the 21st Century.
Currently, he focuses on the future of the International Financial and Tax Architecture, the development towards a new World Tax Order regarding the re-allocation of taxing rights between jurisdictions (Pillar 1), the introduction of a global minimum taxation (Pillar 2) and the respective interaction between international tax standards and International and national tax laws, but also various other aspects of the OECD-, the UN- and the EU-Tax Agenda including proposals to prevent the misuse of shell entities, to amendment the criteria of the EU-list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, to introduce a common EU-digital tax residence certificate and a Debt Equity Bias Reduction Allowance (DEBRA) in order to design tax systems that are more neutral and effective as regards business and investment decisions, but also to prevent their evasion, and also issues regarding the comprehensive developments towards a more sustainable taxation, fairness and stability of the tax system, resource mobilisation and global mobility of employees.

Dr Muhammad Khawar is an Associate Professor of Accounting and Dubai Lead at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. A professionally qualified accountant (FCCA) with prior tax practice experience in the United Kingdom, he specialises in taxation, governance and institutional fiscal development in emerging economies.
His research examines tax education readiness, regulatory preparedness and environmental taxation across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. He has led collaborative regional studies analysing institutional responses to corporate tax implementation, contributing to dialogue among universities, policymakers and professional bodies.
Dr Khawar’s work integrates research, transnational tax teaching and sector engagement, supporting institutional capacity building and evidence-informed discussions on fiscal reform and economic development in the GCC region.

Professor Christos Kotsogiannis is Professor of Economics at the University of Exeter (UK), Director of the ESRC-funded Tax Administration Research Centre, and a Research Fellow at CESifo. He served as Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Exeter Business School from 2011 to 2014 and, since 2016, has been Chairman of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) of the Hellenic Republic, a non-executive position.
He is currently Managing Editor of the Journal of Tax Administration and serves on the editorial board of Public Finance Analysis. In 2015, he was awarded the Copernicus International Fellowship by the University IUSS-Ferrara 1391 for his contributions to public economics.
His research focuses on tax policy and tax administration, with publications in leading journals including the American Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Public Economic Theory, Journal of Economic Development, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, and Economic Policy.
Beyond academia, he has advised international organisations and private-sector institutions on tax policy design, compliance strategies, and revenue administration reform. His work bridges theory and practice, contributing to evidence-based policymaking on tax compliance, enforcement, and the design of modern tax systems in both advanced and emerging economies.

Dr. Aleksandra Bal leads the global tax team at Stripe, a technology company that enables millions of businesses to accept payments, manage revenue, and grow online. Her team oversees indirect tax compliance across more than 100 countries and over 13,000 U.S. jurisdictions.
With advanced degrees in computer science, tax, and business, she brings distinctive interdisciplinary expertise to the development of tax technology solutions for the digital economy.
As the author of more than 200 publications, Dr. Bal is widely recognized as a leading authority on tax technology and digital transformation in taxation.

Omara Islam is a Partner and Middle East Connected Tax Compliance Leader within Tax & Legal Services at PwC Middle East. With over 14 years of experience across PwC and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), she specialises in indirect tax, technology-enabled tax transformation and AIdriven compliance solutions. She helps businesses navigate complex regulatory requirements while leveraging technology to enhance compliance, improve efficiency and transform the way tax functions operate.

Joannis Petinou is a Partner in the Government and Public Sector within the Tax and Legal Services practice at PwC Middle East. He has over 15 years of international tax experience, with a focus on advising governments on tax policy matters, special economic zones, the end-to-end implementation of new tax regimes and transformation programmes. His experience spans major tax policy and transformation programmes across the Middle East.

Maggie Chang is a specialist in tax policy and international tax, with over 20 years of experience across New Zealand and the Middle East. Formerly a Partner and Co-Leader in the Government and Public Sector within the Tax and Legal Services practice at PwC Middle East, she advises governments and special economic zone authorities on tax policy reform, international tax developments and tax administration transformation.

Aks E Fakhar is a Director in the Government and Public Sector team within the Tax and Legal Services practice at PwC Middle East. She has extensive experience advising tax authorities through tax transformation and digitalisation initiatives. She has supported large-scale government projects, including the implementation of tax systems and compliance programmes across the region.

Timothy Dice (Tim) is an Advisor with PwC Australia and brings extensive experience from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), where he worked for 39 years. During his final 16 years at the ATO, Tim served as a Deputy Commissioner across the Client Engagement Group (formerly the Compliance Group), the Law Group, and the Service Delivery Group.
Tim has led the implementation of major new tax laws in Australia and internationally, including the development of registration, filing and payment processes, comprehensive compliance and risk frameworks, and monitoring and review methodologies.
He also represented Australia at the OECD, where he chaired working parties. Tim has supported 19 countries globally on the development and implementation of new legislation, compliance frameworks, risk management, and governance.

Anbreen has extensive experience in dealing with complex tax matters and focusses on the Government and Public Services.
She is the Middle East Public Sector Tax and Legal Leader. She has worked with the UK Government and with the EU Commission and is now based in the Middle East advising Government and the Public Sector on Tax Policy and Tax Strategy Design.
Anbreen is a qualified Lawyer and Tax specialist. She has extensive experience in advising Governments on the design and delivery of tax systems and Tax Policy. Anbreen works across a range of Government clients in the GCC. Anbreen participates in strategy discussions with Governments across the world in specialist areas such as transformative tax technology projects (e.g. national scale e- invoicing platforms, strategic tax special projects on tax revenue forecasting for Government tax administrations) and the formulation of Tax Policy.
Anbreen is the Deloitte Middle East Tax and Policy People and Purpose Leader.

Andreas is a Director in Deloitte. Andreas has over 15 years of experience in taxation, across a range of taxes, and including Customs & Global Trade, as well as E-Invoicing.
He has extensive experience working with the public sector in the GCC region, in particular the implementation and digitisation of taxes, and an extensive specialism in tax administration.
He has experience in tax policy and tax technology work in the Middle East and Europe and large-scale national programs concerning taxation.
He has worked with the majority of the tax authorities in the GCC in the context of tax system design and operationalisation, tax policy, training and capacity build.
Andreas is a core member of the E-Invoicing Deloitte Centre of Excellence (tax policy) based in the GCC and has deep expertise in E- Invoicing. He has also assisted entities with VAT and Excise Tax impact assessments and tax technology initiatives.

Rauda is a Director within Deloitte’s tax team. She is focused on Public Sector and Government projects and has supported tax authorities in the region with the design and implementation of policies and reform projects and tax technology initiatives.
Rauda previously worked with the Ministry of Finance in Egypt as the Technical Assistant to the Advisor of the Minister for International Tax and Tax reforms, where she assisted the government of Egypt on various tax reform projects.
Before that, Rauda was part of the OECD Inclusive Framework team where she supported tax administrations implement the OECD standards on preventing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, with a focus on enhancing the capabilities of tax administrations through capacity building and technical assistance.