The enhanced anti-avoidance measures announced in a Bill on 10th April 2025 have now been enacted and included in Gibraltar’s tax legislation. These measures apply with effect from 11th July 2025.
The changes to Gibraltar’s Income Tax Act 2010 are contained in the
Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2025.
Key changes include:
► A wider definition of tax avoidance (see below).
► Powers for the Commissioner of Income Tax to refer a person to their professional or regulatory body in certain circumstances.
► A specific provision that may be applied in respect of the liquidation of companies with accumulated profits.
► Powers to disregard the “income from occasional presence” tax exemption in certain circumstances.
The Commissioner of Income Tax may counteract or disregard any tax advantage that a person obtains from a “tax avoidance arrangement.” A tax avoidance arrangement is now defined as an arrangement that directly or indirectly shows* that:
- The primary purpose or one of the main purposes of the arrangement is to obtain a tax advantage; and*
- The arrangement results in a tax advantage not consistent with the intention of the relevant tax provisions; or
- The arrangement has the effect of undermining the objectives of the Income Tax Act
* This is a change from the legislation proposed in April, which defined a tax avoidance arrangement as one that “shows or indicates” any one of the above three conditions being met.
We circulated a Bulletin on the 11th of April containing further details on the changes. If you don’t have that to hand please do ask us to forward a copy, or see our international tax alert published at the time.
The above is provided for informational purposes only, does not take into account specific facts and circumstances and does not constitute advice. For further details please contact either neil.rumford@gi.ey.com or stephen.carreras@gi.ey.com .
Neil Rumford | Partner | Tax Services
EY Limited
