GATA Tax Essay Prize 2026 Winners Announced

Today, Nigel Feetham KC MP, Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry with responsibility for Taxation, presented the overall prize for the Gibraltar Association of Tax Advisers (GATA) Gibraltar Tax Essay Prize 2026, sponsored by Sovereign Gibraltar, to William Saunders of Deloitte, Gibraltar. The Prize, which seeks to promote rigorous and original thought leadership on Gibraltar taxation and international tax issues relevant to Gibraltar, attracted a strong field of submissions from both professionals and aspiring practitioners. 

Held biennially, the competition provides a platform for the exploration of domestic Gibraltar taxation and international tax matters with relevance to Gibraltar, encouraging high-quality research, analysis and debate on issues affecting the jurisdiction and the wider tax profession. 

A distinguished judging panel comprising Grahame Jackson ADIT CTA (Fellow), Chair of GATA and Tax Partner at Hassans; Rory Mullan KC of Old Square Tax Chambers; John Azzopardi CTA, Tax Director at RSM; Lynette Chaudhary CTA, Tax Director at Sovereign Tax Services; and Jamie Trinidad KC, Consultant at Isolas LLP and Senior Counsel at Albertson Solicitors, reviewed the entries submitted this year. 

The overall prize has been awarded to William Saunders for his essay, “Gibraltar’s Approach to Transfer Pricing: A Systematic Review”. The judges praised the essay for its rigorous analysis of one of the most significant areas of modern international taxation and its relevance to the continued development of Gibraltar’s tax framework.

The Under-25 Prize has been awarded to Katherine Azra Happold for her essay, “The Return of Taxation as Unlawful State Aid: Implications of the UK-EU Agreement in respect of Gibraltar.” The judges recognised the essay as a thoughtful and timely examination of an important issue for Gibraltar’s evolving relationship with the United Kingdom and the European Union. Katherine joined Hassans as a summer student for the last two years and her success reflects both her academic ability and the exceptionally high standard of entries received in this year’s competition. 

Minister Feetham said;

“I was very happy to present the award to William. The Tax Essay Prize is a very worthy project which encourages experienced professionals and younger thinkers to engage and think about our tax system. I am particularly impressed by the focus on the younger professional with the Under 25 category. It is important we help our professionals grow and engage with our tax system on an intellectual level. That can only make us all better. Thanks to the judging panel and GATA for organising this.”

Commenting on the results, Grahame Jackson, Chair of GATA and Chair of the judging panel, said:

“We had a record number of entries this year with entries from the UK, Spain, Gibraltar and South Africa. The standard of entries this year was exceptionally high and made for a very challenging judging process. William’s essay tackled the increasingly important issue of transfer pricing from a Gibraltar perspective, while Katherine’s explored a complex and highly topical aspect of state aid and the UK-EU relationship. Both submissions demonstrated intellectual rigour, originality and a strong understanding of issues relevant to Gibraltar’s tax system.

On behalf of the judging panel, I congratulate both winners on their outstanding achievements. The GATA Tax Essay Prize exists to encourage thoughtful engagement with taxation issues affecting Gibraltar and to showcase the depth of talent within and beyond our profession. Both winners have produced work of real merit and should be extremely proud of their accomplishments.”

Lynette Chaudhary, Tax Director at Sovereign Tax Services, added:

“Sovereign is proud to continue supporting an initiative that promotes excellence in tax scholarship and encourages informed discussion of Gibraltar’s tax framework. Congratulations to both winners and to all those who submitted essays. The quality of this year’s entries demonstrates the continuing strength and vibrancy of Gibraltar’s tax community.”

The winning essays, together with a selection of other highly-rated submissions, will be considered for publication in due course.

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