KPMG has won preliminary approval to establish a legal services arm in Arizona and become the first ‘big four’ firm to practise law in the US.
The Committee on Alternative Business Structures on Tuesday, January 14, found that the Arizona Supreme Court should grant KPMG Law US a licence, it has been reported.
Aaron Nash, the court’s director of certification and licensing, reportedly said it will decide on January 28 whether to grant KPMG’s licence, deny the application, or send it back for more information.
KPMG Law US would primarily deliver large-scale, process-driven work, such as volume contracting, remediation exercises, M&A-driven harmonisation of contracts, and other legal-managed services, according to the firm.
Tom Greenaway, a US-based principal in KPMG’s tax controversy and dispute resolution group, said: “We really think that we can bring innovation and a complete set of integrated legal solutions to our clients and to other clients here in Arizona.”
He added: “Our firm has a proprietary digital gateway platform that we are going to deploy across these business law problems that emerge.
“We think we can provide a more efficient set of solutions than a lot of existing providers.”
OECD releases global minimum tax tools
The OECD and G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS released tools designed to streamline the co-ordinated administration of pillar two on Wednesday, January 15.
Pillar two has a rule order which limits the application of the minimum tax in jurisdictions where there are ‘qualified’ rules in another jurisdiction.
Last year the IF agreed a fast-track process for confirming the qualified status of a jurisdiction’s domestic legislation on a transitional basis.
This week, jurisdictions whose minimum tax legislation has completed the agreed process and secured transitional qualified status have been listed.
Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK were among the jurisdictions listed in the document.
“This document will be updated on a regular basis and in a timely manner, to include additional minimum tax legislation that has completed the fast-track process,” the OECD has said.
Morrison Foerster hires new global tax group co-chair
Global law firm Morrison Foerster has hired Richard Nugent to serve as co-chair of its global tax group.
He will act in the role alongside Tony Carbone, the firm announced on Wednesday, January 15.
Nugent will also serve as a partner in the firm’s global tax group, based in its New York office.
“He brings over 25 years of experience to the firm advising clients on the tax aspects of public and private M&A transactions, spin-offs, internal restructurings, bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings, financings and other capital markets transactions, joint ventures, and tax controversies,” the firm said.
Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Nugent was a partner at Jones Day’s New York office for eight years.
“Morrison Foerster’s exceptional transactional capabilities, particularly in the areas of tax, M&A, private equity, and restructuring, have great synergies with my areas of focus and experience,” Nugent said.
KPMG appoints Sunil Badala as India head of tax
KPMG in India announced on Monday, January 13, the appointment of Sunil Badala as its head of tax, effective from February 1.
Badala has been with the firm for over 27 years and has led its banking and financial services tax practice for the last nine years.
He will succeed Rajeev Dimiri, who had acted as head of tax for the last five years.
“With [Badala’s] experience and expertise our tax practice will continue to thrive and meaningfully evolve,” said Yezdi Nagporewalla, KPMG’s CEO in India.
“As he transitions into this new role, he will have full support from the India leadership team and myself to ensure accelerated growth of our tax practice.”
HMRC investigations bring in extra £45.7bn in tax
UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs brought in an additional £45.7 billion ($55.9 billion) in tax through investigations last year, law firm Pinsent Masons reported on Monday, January 13.
The £45.7 billion collected in the year ending September 2024 represented a 28% increase on the £35.7 billion generated the previous year, Pinsent Masons said.
Steven Porter, head of Pinsent Masons’ contentious tax team, said the sharp increase in money raised resulted from additional HMRC funding paying off.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in October that HMRC would be reinvigorated by the hiring of 5,000 new compliance officers and a technology overhaul.
“The new government has set a challenging target for extra tax from its teams of investigators over the coming years,” Porter said.
“It will expect to see HMRC [making] the most of the new investigations resources it is getting.”
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