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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

KPMG is a big player in the Finnish market, with a team of 12 partners and 130 fee earners led by the respected Timo Torkkel. The team covers all advisory areas of tax, with peers reporting the firm as an almost omnipotent presence."KPMG is around all ... [more]

KPMG is a big player in the Finnish market, with a team of 12 partners and 130 fee earners led by the respected Timo Torkkel. The team covers all advisory areas of tax, with peers reporting the firm as an almost omnipotent presence.

"KPMG is around all the time," said one competitor, and another partner agreed: "In the market, KPMG is the firm we see most often."

The firm puts a lot of resources into its corporate team, which has more than 90 professionals. A good representative piece of work was advice from a team, led by Jyrki Holla, on a large due diligence matter worth $4 billion to the client that took in 10 different jurisdictions.

Transfer pricing is of course a big concern for taxpayers everywhere and Eric Sandelin has led teams that have provided transfer pricing audit assistance in more than 50 cases this year.

Deloitte's tax team is led by Tomi Karsio, a respected practitioner who runs the M&A team, too. A number of senior professionals also manage service lines: Mikko Jantunen on business tax; Jani Hirvonen on private company tax; Outi Ukkola on international ... [more]

Deloitte's tax team is led by Tomi Karsio, a respected practitioner who runs the M&A team, too. A number of senior professionals also manage service lines: Mikko Jantunen on business tax; Jani Hirvonen on private company tax; Outi Ukkola on international tax; Harri Huikuri on indirect matters and recent arrival Titta Heikkinen, who joined on 1 June 2012, leads the transfer pricing and business model optimisation team.

"Deloitte does have very good people," said a market participant.

In anotable piece of work for the firm,Karsio and Tomi Pitkänen teamed up to advise the Finnish multinational PKC Group as it acquired a number of companies from AEES, a manufacturer of electrical distribution utilities. This was done though funds controlled by Platinum Equity and cost $141 million dollars in cash and almost $1.7 million in new PKC shares.

The firm advised onrestructuring the holding vehicle of a global internet company and Petri Salomaa and Anna Mannio assisted an aviation client with VAT litigation that was referred to the European Court of Justice from the Finnish Supreme Administration Court. The outcome is still to be determined.

Ernst & Young's tax team experienced something of a rocky period after some departures in the past few years, but things have steadied over the past 12 months. Led by Kari Pasanen, it is viewed as particularly strong in both corporate and indirect tax ... [more]

Ernst & Young's tax team experienced something of a rocky period after some departures in the past few years, but things have steadied over the past 12 months. Led by Kari Pasanen, it is viewed as particularly strong in both corporate and indirect tax matters, with Markku Järyenoja and Leena Äärilä both highly thought of by peers in the market.

It has been a busy period too, with a number of important cases worked on. One standout mandate came with Kennet Pettersson winning a landmark transfer pricing valuation case to do with the transfer of trade names from a Finnish group to a related party in a lower tax jurisdiction. If the case had gone against the client, it would have led to double taxation in the millions of dollars. Another sizeable piece of work involved Raimo Hietala in the corporate team, who advised a client in connection with the establishment of a NewCo that would then acquire both shares and business assets from another company within the same sector, with the seller becoming a minority shareholder in the new entity. The team carried out due diligence and transaction structuring on the companies, coordinating similar local work in Brazil and Italy. This €120 million deal is still not complete.

Hannes Snellman is a notable corporate and business law firm that maintains a tax team numbering five partners (one full time) and two other professionals. Litigation work has surged this year, but the team has been active in a number of different areas."The ... [more]

Hannes Snellman is a notable corporate and business law firm that maintains a tax team numbering five partners (one full time) and two other professionals. Litigation work has surged this year, but the team has been active in a number of different areas.

"The team was very competitive and very skilled in drafting the appeals when the issues were open to interpretations. Time management is also a strength of theirs," says one client, while another singles out the practice head for praise: "I consider Ossi Haapaniemi to be a very skilled and expert lawyer."

An example of the notable work done by the firm this year overlapped both litigation and transfer pricing, as Ossi Haapaniemi and Meeri Tauriainen continue to assist the Finnish subsidiary of a international group in the Supreme Administrative Court with regards to the arm's-length valuation of a sold subsidiary. Haapaniemi has been working on defending Finnish and international clients against the tax avoidance rules, which has meant litigation and second opinions on the deduction of interest expenses.

The busy Haapaniemi has also been working on some indirect matters, both advisory and court-based. He is working on a test case over the right to recover input VAT for the parent company of a Finnish group.

Alder & Sound has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2010 and has had another active year. The team of three partners and three fee earners is led by Hannu-Tapani Leppänen.The firm does have a certain focus on and expertise in transfer ... [more]

Alder & Sound has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2010 and has had another active year. The team of three partners and three fee earners is led by Hannu-Tapani Leppänen.

The firm does have a certain focus on and expertise in transfer pricing matters, and has seen significant workflow in this sector. Leppänen, alongside Raima Linnanvirta, advised a global sporting goods company on value chain optimisation, taking in entities in over 50 countries. The same team also researched and produced transfer pricing documentation for an international recycling company for transactions worth $329 million.

The two advisers also worked on acquisitions inHong Kong for a manufacturing multinational and the US for and recycling services company..

Henri Becker joined Leppänen and Linnanvirta to assist in a tax audit of transactions with a value of more than $10.4 billion. This case finished with the auditors dropping their inquiries in December 2011.

Janne Juusela leads the 10-strong tax team at Borenius – Taxand. Two advisers from Deloitte joined the practice this year.Juusela advised 3i Group, Goldman Sachs and Ilmarinen on the financing of the €1.5 billion acquisition of energy company Vattenfall's ... [more]

Janne Juusela leads the 10-strong tax team at Borenius – Taxand. Two advisers from Deloitte joined the practice this year.

Juusela advised 3i Group, Goldman Sachs and Ilmarinen on the financing of the €1.5 billion acquisition of energy company Vattenfall's assets in Finland. He and Einari Karhu, also acted for Moventas on its €350 million debt restructuring.

The team has also been engaged on a clutch of disputes regarding the taxation of previous group restructurings for Finnish multinationals.

Castrén & Snellman's practice of five fee earners led by Sari Laaksonen, has worked with clients such as Catella Real Estate and Sponda over the past 12 months.In line with the focus on transfer pricing within the Finnish market, Laaksonen has produced ... [more]

Castrén & Snellman's practice of five fee earners led by Sari Laaksonen, has worked with clients such as Catella Real Estate and Sponda over the past 12 months.

In line with the focus on transfer pricing within the Finnish market, Laaksonen has produced transfer pricing documentation for both Fenestra, the window and door supplier, and Valbruna Nordic, a stainless steel importer and stockist, as well as advising, with Kristiina Virtanen, Heidelberg Finland on cross-border restructuring and tax planning after a cross-border Baltic merger in 2011.

Another notable deal saw Laaksonen advising Crown Asset Management and Niam Retail Finland Holding on the divestment of almost 70 commercial grocery properties to the Svafastigheter II property fund and Capital Asset Management. A real estate deal of rare scale in Finland over the past few years, this closed for an amount believed to be more than €100 million.

Krogerus is a firm that is gaining more recognition in the tax market, in part due to hire of Antti Lehtimaja at the end of 2010. He became a partner in April 2012 and heads the tax law group of two partners and three other professionals."Krogerus' practice ... [more]

Krogerus is a firm that is gaining more recognition in the tax market, in part due to hire of Antti Lehtimaja at the end of 2010. He became a partner in April 2012 and heads the tax law group of two partners and three other professionals.

"Krogerus' practice has improved as it has managed to sign several known professionals, including partner Antti Lehtimaja," said one peer.

In January 2012 Lehtimaja assisting a private-equity house on transfer pricing issues arising from a tax audit, and is still advising an insurance company as it looks to ascertain the VAT treatment in connection with acquisition of an insurance portfolio.

Lehtimaja has been working a colleague in restructuring the Finnish portfolio of a real-estate investor as well as restructuring three new private-equity funds for CapMan.

Lehtimaja is also advising on litigation matters regarding capital gain taxation at the Supreme Administrative Court.

Roschier has a tax team of six professionals led by practice head Mika Ohtonen, who is described as an "amazing partner" by a client. Pekka Talari left for Ernst & Young in January 2012. partner Jouni Weckström and an associate were recruited from Büztow ... [more]

Roschier has a tax team of six professionals led by practice head Mika Ohtonen, who is described as an "amazing partner" by a client. Pekka Talari left for Ernst & Young in January 2012. partner Jouni Weckström and an associate were recruited from Büztow Attorneys in May.

Clients are extremely happy with Roschier's service. "They are a real full service provider, able to think beyond their role, remind the in-house counsels of important business matters as well as media, communication styles, everything. They give holistic advice and counselling," said one.

The firm has been active in court matters,Ohtonen has drafted transfer pricing documentation for a large European group and other notable work came in the corporate area.

Ohtonen worked with Talari and a colleague to advise Vattenfall on structuring and tax due diligence with regards to the separation of entities to be sold off to a consortium of financial buyers, and also acted for a private-equity firm the acquisition of a Finnish healthcare company.