On the Principles of Gibraltar Taxation

I was lying awake at 3am sometime in late March 2023 and a thought floated into my brain…a single phrase “On the Principles of Gibraltar Taxation”, 14 months later the book with that title has become a reality. Some of those reading may know that in recent years I have been writing quite a lot, sometimes with my colleague Harriet Brown and sometimes alone. But always on matters of international tax. 

It is the curse of small jurisdictions that even though they may have a very interesting legal system, the market for texts is so small those who can write rarely do so in their home jurisdiction. It was with this in mind, and conscious of the fact that there had not been a text written on Gibraltar taxation matters since 2006, that I and my co-editor Isaac Levy embarked on the foolhardy task of bringing  a new text into existence.

The aim of “On the Principles…” is not to be a textbook, in it you will not find a turgid recitation of the law. Instead it is a book which comments on the position and seeks to identify an intellectually coherent system within our tax law. The tax law of any jurisdiction is a growing organic whole and instead of simply re-wording the legislation for practitioners we have attempted to find themes and history and applied our professional experience to those themes.

The book is divided into eight chapters, each of which identifies a single principle which is intrinsic to the Gibraltarian taxation system. The chapters themselves were written by associates and partners in Hassans and edited by myself and Isaac Levy. This decentralised approach means that the book features many voices and perspectives.

We hope that “On the Principles…” contributes to the creation of a literature in Gibraltar which is a free flow of information and ideas between professionals. Jurisdictions become real when they speak and discuss their law. We hope we have contributed a little to that.