Doha, Qatar: As part of Qatar University’s (QU) commitment to the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 and solving industry challenges, the College of Business and Economics (CBE) at QU yesterday announced the launch of a minor programme in taxation to go along with its major programmes. The course will be introduced this Fall 2023 with possible plans to integrate it into a major fully.
The announcement event was attended by QU President Dr. Hassan Al Derham, President of the General Tax Authority (GTA), Ahmed bin Issa Al Mohannadi, Chief Financial and Tax Officer at the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Hamed Al Saadi and Dean of the College of Business and Economics, Prof. Rana Sobh.
In a statement during the launch, Dr. Al Derham said the launch of the minor reflects QU’s keenness to respond to the changes in the labour market and provide new programmes that meet the country’s needs and the business community.
He added that the graduates could deal with renewed economic developments and challenges, including tax reform and related tax policies and legislation.
“The development of this programme came in response to the tax policies and legislation in the countries of the region that have been approved in recent years to achieve further comprehensive economic diversification, which includes diversifying government revenue sources and reducing dependence on oil and gas as a main source of government revenue. We expect that graduates of this programme will have a major role in making and formulating economic and tax policies that reflect the direction of the countries of this region towards tax reform,” he said.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the announcement, Prof. Sobh said, “This area is highly needed now because all government and semi-government organisations and even private companies need skilled graduates in this area. So it is very important that we provide those graduates for the job market.”
The Dean added that the College plans to create a major in accounting and taxation, which will be proposed in its new academic plan and expects to offer it probably in 2024.
Also speaking to The Peninsula, Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Mahmoud Mohamed Khalil said while students can major in accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing, they also have to choose one of the minors. He added that the College now has three minors — innovation and entrepreneurship, business analytics, and taxation.
“We’d like to give the opportunity to students because we are looking for market needs and job opportunities,” Dr. Khalil said.
“We work with the General Tax Authority to identify their job needs. By the end of the day, the graduate is looking for a job. So we’d like to see employability opportunities, and we would like to see how this new minor will equip the students.”
On the other hand, the GTA president said the minor will help localise jobs and produce skilled experts in line with the QNV 2030. He added that the new minor is expected “to build the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs who have the ability and awareness about the importance of tax administration, the necessity of tax compliance, and its effects on business”.
Keynote speaker Prof. Rick Krever, a leading taxation law and policy expert and a professor at the University of Western Australia, also noted that graduates from business schools and colleges with taxation skills are highly sought after by companies. He stressed that the demand for students with accounting, commerce and taxation skills will grow in the coming years.