Avocado Roundup is a quick morning review of top tax, legal, and climate news stories. It’s written by humans.
- Amazon’s French subsidiary Amazon.fr said it took in roughly 10.5 billion euros ($11.05 billion) in revenues in the country in 2022, up about 16.7% from 2021. The company reports paying out over 1.7 billion euros in French taxes and social welfare charges in 2022 overall, up about 70%. That amount includes 580 million euros in corporate tax, employer social security contributions, local taxes, and other direct levies, the company said Wednesday. (Amazon.fr)
- Amazon announced its French results the same day Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, presenting the government’s 2024 budget draft, said he expects France to take in around 1.5 billion euros per year from the global minimum tax starting in 2026. That tax is part of pillar two of the OECD’s international tax reform agreement, which the OECD says is aimed at making sure sprawling multinational companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple, among others, pay their fair share of taxes in jurisdictions where they operate and earn profits. (LegalAvocado.com)
Tax Increases, Rulings
- Air France CEO Anne Rigail said a proposal in the French 2024 budget draft for a new tax on airport operators and toll road operators will create unfair competition in the air transport sector. (Reuters)
- The head of toll road operator Vinci Autoroutes said the tax will inevitably cause price hikes for road users. Le Maire has vowed the companies will not be allowed to pass the taxes on to consumers. (Les Echos)
- The United Arab Emirates and Oman recently announced plans to implement electronic invoicing, while Saudi Arabia’s e-invoicing system has been in place since early last year. Bahrain could introduce a system in the next 18 months. (KPMG.com)
Laterals, Moves, Promotions
- UK elite law firm Clifford Chance hired PwC Deutschland financial services tax attorney Stefan Herr as partner in Frankfurt, Germany, in its tax and funds practice. (CliffordChance.com)
- Proskauer Rose poached a 19-lawyer corporate team from Shearman & Sterling in Paris, including Shearman partner and Paris office chief Xavier Norlain, and partners Jeremy Scemama, Maud Manon, and Matthieu Lampel. The partners, who advise on private and public M&A, leveraged finance, including direct lending, and restructuring, were all at DLA Piper before moving to Shearman. Norlain and Lampel have degrees in tax law. (Proskauer.com)
Legal Technology
- Under pressure from their venture capital and private equity backers, some legal tech companies are jacking up prices for tools they provide to legal departments and law firms. (Legaltech News)
