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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

Ernst & Young's tax team is led by M&A expert Stephanos Mitsios and comprises of seven partners and 75 tax fee earners. One commentator described Themis Liannopoulos as a "good tax practitioner". The firm has recently been involved in a lot of restructurings ... [more]

Ernst & Young's tax team is led by M&A expert Stephanos Mitsios and comprises of seven partners and 75 tax fee earners. One commentator described Themis Liannopoulos as a "good tax practitioner". The firm has recently been involved in a lot of restructurings and also advises on M&A, VAT and human capital. The firm's clients include Shell, Heinz and Olympic Airways. The firm advised telecom providers Tellas and Wind in a merger which was a very complex transaction due to foreign participations. The firm assisted in the preparation of the Greek transfer pricing file of Shell Hellas and its subsidiaries. The file was drafted for the documentation of the prices of numerous and complex intercompany transactions. Mitsios worked on this matter.

PricewaterhouseCooper's tax team is led by financial services specialist Mary Psylla who replaced Alexandros Sakipis. Antonis Desipiris is the firm's transfer pricing specialist while Maria Trakadi works in M&A. The firm provides a full tax service to ... [more]

PricewaterhouseCooper's tax team is led by financial services specialist Mary Psylla who replaced Alexandros Sakipis. Antonis Desipiris is the firm's transfer pricing specialist while Maria Trakadi works in M&A. The firm provides a full tax service to a broad range of clients, from multinational companies to family businesses, entrepreneurs and private individuals. The firm's focus is on financial services and shipping and they recently advised Ellpe on the acquisition of BP Hellas. The firm has a number of high profile clients including Coca-Cola.

Zepos & Yannopoulos-Taxand is a member firm of Taxand and consists of 32 fee earners and five partners. Konstantinos Yannopoulos is the firm's litigation expert while Yarrisimos Yannopoulos specialises in capital markets, financial products and cross-border ... [more]

Zepos & Yannopoulos-Taxand is a member firm of Taxand and consists of 32 fee earners and five partners. Konstantinos Yannopoulos is the firm's litigation expert while Yarrisimos Yannopoulos specialises in capital markets, financial products and cross-border structuring. The firm's focus is on real estate, financial services and energy. Other areas that the firm advises on include VAT, excise duties and estate planning. The firm has one of the largest dispute resolution practices in the country and is involved with any type of complex tax litigation before the competent authorities all the way up to the European Court of Justice. Daphne Cozonis and Elina Filippou advised Iberdrola Energias Renovablese and C Rokas ABEE on an internal restructuring that involved a spin-off of a major electromechanical facility of Rokas. The deal was a complex sale of assets transaction. The firm is representing one of the largest European pharmaceutical groups as it fights against the largest stamp tax assessment on intercompany loans. The actions involve a complaint before the European Commission and legal proceedings before the Greek administrative courts. Marina Allamani advised Deutsche Post and its subsidiary DHL Express in a sale and lease back transaction involving Greek property. The Greek transaction was part of a €1 billion ($1.5 billion) divestment of DHL properties taking place simultaneously in seven jurisdictions. The firm had to deal with certain complex country specific issues without deviating from the pan-European business arrangements. Yarassimos Yannopoulos advised the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in their most important grant to the Greek state which involved the construction of a €450 million (655 million) cultural centre. This was the largest cultural project in the city of Athens with numerous regulatory and tax complexities involving the status of the property the operator as well as the tax treatment of construction and equipment costs.

Dryllerakis & Associate's tax practice is led by John Dryllerakis, who is widely praised for his skills in tax litigation and M&A. The firm specialises in corporate tax, including tax consulting, M&A and cross-border structuring. It has recently been ... [more]

Dryllerakis & Associate's tax practice is led by John Dryllerakis, who is widely praised for his skills in tax litigation and M&A. The firm specialises in corporate tax, including tax consulting, M&A and cross-border structuring. It has recently been advising on the restructuring of five subsidiaries of a major cement company.

Fortsakis, Diakopoulos, Mylonogiannis & Associates tax team is led by Theodore Fortsakis who advises on tax controversy, capital markets and financial products. The firm is involved in M&A, VAT and tax litigation. Fortsakis, George Pitsilis and Petros ... [more]

Fortsakis, Diakopoulos, Mylonogiannis & Associates tax team is led by Theodore Fortsakis who advises on tax controversy, capital markets and financial products. The firm is involved in M&A, VAT and tax litigation. Fortsakis, George Pitsilis and Petros Pantazopoulos were involved in the concession of the Piraeus Port in a deal worth $4 billion. The work involved a review of all the tax provisions relating to the concession of the Port. The firm advised a company on the tax deductibility and transfer pricing issues relating to intercompany transactions in a deal worth $40 million. This was interesting as until this time there had not been such an extensive request for documentation by the tax authorities to verify a company's compliance with transfer pricing rules.

KPMG's tax team consists of four partners and 68 tax fee earners. George Mavraganis leads the practice. He is heavily involved in litigation and has appeared before the European Court of Justice. He is also a professor of economics at the University ... [more]

KPMG's tax team consists of four partners and 68 tax fee earners. George Mavraganis leads the practice. He is heavily involved in litigation and has appeared before the European Court of Justice. He is also a professor of economics at the University of Athens. The firm has four people specialising in litigation but the firm also advises on VAT, EU issues, transfer pricing and international executive services. Despite the M&A market decreasing significantly, the firm recently carried out two major deals including one involving Hellenic Petroleum. The firm has been involved in a lot of restructurings.

Photopoulos & Associates is a family-run firm made up of father and son partners Ioannis Photopoulos and George Photopoulos, as well as Nikos Anastasopoulos and Elli Papadimitriou. The firm advised a major financial service provider on the restructuring ... [more]

Photopoulos & Associates is a family-run firm made up of father and son partners Ioannis Photopoulos and George Photopoulos, as well as Nikos Anastasopoulos and Elli Papadimitriou. The firm advised a major financial service provider on the restructuring of its Greek insurance activities. This deal involved tax issues of international reorganisations which had not been dealt with before by the Greek tax authorities. George Photopoulos and Anastasopoulos advised on the tax issues of the acquisition, through financial leasing arrangements, of 27 Airbus aircraft by a major airline operator. This was one of the first times a transaction of this size and complexity had been completed in Greece. The firm advised a major Greek transport provider on the financing of a new line. This involved financing through the securitisation of receivables from toll roads.

Deloitte's tax team is led by sole partner Iaonnis Tentes who is supported by senior associate Timos Lizardos. The firm is involved in corporate tax, tax planning and M&A. The firm's impressive list of clients include General Motors, the Swedish engineering ... [more]

Deloitte's tax team is led by sole partner Iaonnis Tentes who is supported by senior associate Timos Lizardos. The firm is involved in corporate tax, tax planning and M&A. The firm's impressive list of clients include General Motors, the Swedish engineering group ABB and Siemens. The firm has recently been advising an international oil company on an acquisition. The firm is heavily involved in the energy sector and has noticed a big growth in renewable energy with a dramatic rise in investment from foreign companies.

Karamanolis & Associates is a boutique law firm specialising in M&A and capital markets, and provides advice to banks, investment firms, listed companies. The firm is led by founding partner Padazis Karamanolis who has been widely praised for his work ... [more]

Karamanolis & Associates is a boutique law firm specialising in M&A and capital markets, and provides advice to banks, investment firms, listed companies. The firm is led by founding partner Padazis Karamanolis who has been widely praised for his work in M&A. The firm advised the board of directors of Alpha Bank on the sale of Alpha Bank treasury shares, representing 4% of its share capital, to the Qatar sovereign fund. Through a tax efficient structure, the Qatar sovereign fund has invested in the share capital of the second largest bank in Greece. Karamanolis advised on this deal. The firm has an impressive list of clients including Sidenor, Aegean Baltic Bank, Mytilineos Holdings and Emporiki Bank.

Kelemenis & Co is a transactional firm led by sole partner, Tom Kriakopoulos, who is supported by associate Eleni Pitsa. In the past year, the firm has increased the volume and value of its tax consulting business, including tax advisory work on complex ... [more]

Kelemenis & Co is a transactional firm led by sole partner, Tom Kriakopoulos, who is supported by associate Eleni Pitsa. In the past year, the firm has increased the volume and value of its tax consulting business, including tax advisory work on complex and cross-border transactions with the support of the Multilaw network of law firms it belongs to. The litigation department has undertaken numerous appeals before the administrative courts in Athens and other courts in Greece. The firm advised You Travel in the restructuring of its operations in the field of tourism and their internet travel agency business, which involved closing the business unit in Greece but keeping the infrastructure and personnel as a backstop for the rest of the group. This deal was innovative as the tax transactional cost was minimised according to Greek law and the group took advantage of special tax legislation that grants tax incentives to foreign companies using Greece for their back stopping activities. The firm is advising ICSS on the supply of cross-border services between multiple jurisdictions in the area of fire fighting. The consulting work includes the structuring of operations in the form of bundled and unbundled services, the review of jurisdictions with respect to withholding tax and VAT and the implementation of the structure. This deal, worth $20 million, involved a comprehensive approach to a tax project with highly complex elements, including aircraft leasing, public procurement, employment issues and social security in a multiple of jurisdictions. The firm's clients also include Housegroup and Endesa Hellas.

Stavropoulos, Tsiri & Papadopoulos's tax team is led by founding partner John Stavropoulos, who is highly regarded in the field of litigation. Commentators have recommended the firm for its work at the European Court of Justice. The firm also advises ... [more]

Stavropoulos, Tsiri & Papadopoulos's tax team is led by founding partner John Stavropoulos, who is highly regarded in the field of litigation. Commentators have recommended the firm for its work at the European Court of Justice. The firm also advises on tax planning and structuring.

TJ Koutalidis Law Office's tax team consists of two partners and is led by George Naskaris who specialises in capital markets. The firm advised Deutsche Bank, who intended to achieve a dual listing for a series of its shares on a foreign stock exchange ... [more]

TJ Koutalidis Law Office's tax team consists of two partners and is led by George Naskaris who specialises in capital markets. The firm advised Deutsche Bank, who intended to achieve a dual listing for a series of its shares on a foreign stock exchange market. This is only possible through a depositary receipt programme, which involves the deposition of the relevant shares, with a depositary which is a foreign entity and resident abroad. In the context of the depository receipt programme, the depositary acquires legal title of the underlying shares because Greek law does not recognise the concept of beneficial ownership. The firm argued that a change in depositary do not constitute a sale and therefore should not attract sales tax or capital gains tax. This deal was highly innovative as in the firm's submission to Hellenic Exchanges it attacked the consequences of a measure taken by a private law entity on the basis of the horizontal effect of the fundamental freedoms enshrined by the EC treaty on the free movement of capital and free provisions of services. The firm applied the horizontal effect with the purpose of combating a measure which resulted in the imposition of sales tax or capital gains tax. This was the first time the horizontal effect of the EC Treaty provisions have been used to attack a tax measure.