Avocado Roundup is a quick morning review of top tax, legal, and climate news stories. It’s written by humans.
- Hungary’s government wants to negotiate a new bilateral double-tax treaty with the United States, to replace the pact the US canceled in July 2022, now that Hungary has changed its position on the global minimum tax, according to a report. Finance Minister Mihály Varga noted the US Treasury canceled the 1979 pact after the Eastern European country vetoed the EU directive that would adopt the minimum tax, which is part of the OECD-brokered international tax reform. She said that Hungary has since reversed its stance on the tax, the report said. (CampusLately)
- Varga reportedly told Hungarian businesses recently that the government aims to ensure that the country’s implementation of the EU minimum tax directive does not undermine the competitiveness of its tax system, which has one of the EU’s lowest corporate rates. (Hungary Today)
- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development announced yesterday that a multilateral instrument to help developing-country jurisdictions implement global minimum tax rules is ready to be signed. Members of the OECD/G20 inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting concluded negotiations on the “Multilateral Convention to Facilitate the Implementation of the Pillar Two Subject to Tax Rule” in September, the OECD said. The Paris-based organization said the convention “represents a major step forward in” work to ensure multinational enterprises pay a minimum level of tax in the countries they operate in and make profits.. (OECD.org)
Tax Increases, Rulings
- French consumer-to-consumer ad and sales site Leboncoin is fighting a $39 million euro ($41 million) tax adjustment under the country’s digital services tax. (Le Figaro)
- Portugal is getting rid of its special tax regime for foreign residents next year. Prime Minister António Costa has called the controversial tax breaks an “injustice.” (Financial Times)
- Japan imposed a tax on visitors to its floating shrine to ease over-tourism. (CNN)
Laterals, Moves, Promotions
The Spanish branch of Chicago-headquartered Big Law firm Baker McKenzie re-elected Madrid tax practice head Rodrigo Ogea as the firm’s co-managing partner in the country, a role he’s had since 2017. The other co-managing partner is tax lawyer Bruno Domínguez. (Iberian Lawyer)
Jackson Walker picked up Baker Botts state and local tax attorney Ali Andrews as senior counsel in Austin, Texas. She’s a former tax litigation chief in the Texas attorney general’s office. (JacksonWalker.com)
- White & Case is shaking up its Germany leadership structure, appointing capital markets partner Karsten Woeckener to lead the branch starting in 2024. Woeckener, who’s US educated, is based in Frankfurt. (Juve.de)
