Avocado Roundup is a quick review of top tax, legal, and climate news stories. It’s written by humans.
- UK overseas territory Gibraltar plans to move up its planned implementation of a minimum top-up tax for big multinational companies to “as early as possible in 2024,” the island’s minister of justice, trade, and industry, Nigel Feetham, said Tuesday, according to local press reports. Gibraltar’s government earlier said it would implement the OECD-brokered Pillar Two rules, including the 15% minimum tax, for accounting periods beginning on or after Dec. 31, 2024. It now plans to implement a top-up tax for accounting periods starting on or after Dec. 31, 2023. The change reflects a “dynamic process” for global implementation of the rules, said Feetham, noting that most EU member states have committed to having the rules in place by Dec. 31 this year. (Gibraltar Chronicle) (GBC)
- The OECD says that so far only around 55 jurisdictions have either committed to implementing or expressed intent to implement the global 15% minimum tax starting Jan. 1, 2024. It expects uptake of Pillar Two rules to gain momentum “in the next year or so,” as other countries feel pressure to join the trend. (LegalAvocado)
- Big Four professional services firms had a 93% share of the European auditing market in 2022, according to a report by Ideagen Audit Analytics. PwC led the pack, followed by EY, KPMG, and Deloitte, the report said. (Ideagen.com)
Tourist tax to triple for Paris-area hotels
- The French government’s 2024 budget bill had a nasty surprise for hotel owners in the Paris Ile de France area, a tripling of the tourist tax they will have to add to guests’ bills, starting Jan. 1, 2024. Proceeds from the tax increase will help fund improvements to the public transportation network, a report said. (Le Figaro)
- Scotland introduced a new 45% tax bracket for people earning between 75,000 pounds ($95,000) and 125,140 pounds ($158,656) a year. It raised its highest bracket rate by 1% to 48%, for people earning above 125,140 pounds starting April 2024. Elsewhere in the UK, the top 45% rate applies to people earning over 125,140 pounds. (Financial Times)
- The owner of a national tax preparation company in the US state of Georgia was sentenced to two years in federal prison for tax evasion. He was also ordered to pay $555,000 in restitution to the US, plus a $95,000 fine. (Justice.gov)
