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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

The market views Ernst & Young as possibly the strongest tax practice in Hungary. The group is led by Botond Rencz and has about 150 fee earners. This year 36 new hires have helped to bolster the firm's ranks as its revenue grows. Péter Király is singled ... [more]

The market views Ernst & Young as possibly the strongest tax practice in Hungary. The group is led by Botond Rencz and has about 150 fee earners. This year 36 new hires have helped to bolster the firm's ranks as its revenue grows. Péter Király is singled out by his rivals as one of the best in Hungary for transfer pricing.

The practice is structured across five different service lines: international tax, corporate tax, indirect tax, transfer pricing and human capital. The team is often commended for its strength in transfer pricing work. The group is structured along industry lines too and is particularly strong in the energy sector.

There is a good balance among the practice's clients between foreign and domestic companies. Locally-run projects make up the majority of their revenue though in most cases there is a cross-border element. The group does a lot of structuring work for US and Chinese clients that seek to use Hungary as a way to invest into Europe.

Besides their work, the practice has worked hard to make sure its views are regularly represented in the media. Szabolcs Vámosi-Nagy, a member of the Hungarian tax administration for decades and now with Ernst & Young, is perhaps the most famous tax professional in Hungary and is often cited in the media.

PwC's tax practice is led by Russell Lambert. David Williams has joined this year from Ernst & Young in Australia; he heads the practice's compliance centre. Dóra Máthé has also become a partner this year; she focuses mostly on international tax structuring ... [more]

PwC's tax practice is led by Russell Lambert. David Williams has joined this year from Ernst & Young in Australia; he heads the practice's compliance centre. Dóra Máthé has also become a partner this year; she focuses mostly on international tax structuring for multinationals.

The practice is focuses across seven main areas: transfer pricing, corporate tax advisory, compliance, human resources services, indirect tax, international tax and customs. Corporate tax advisory, led by Lambert, is the main area of focus for the practice. This year the team advised on one of the largest M&A transactions, which involved structuring across five different jurisdictions.

Transfer pricing work has grown over the last year or so, though this is more defence work and planning as opposed to documentation work. Indirect tax work has also increased. This is largely due to Hungary joining the EU in 2004, and also its fortuitous geographical position within Europe for supply chain structuring. The team is led by Tamas Locsei.

The number of local clients has increased dramatically over the last few years because of the establishmentof a service focusing on this area just over a year ago. The practice also cooperates with Réti, Antall and Partners, as its correspondent law firm in Hungary, allowing them to provide a complete service to their clients.

The Hungarian branch of Deloitte has expertise in all areas of tax. The group comprises about 70 fee earners and is headed by Attila Kövesdy. He is singled out by the market for his expertise in international tax. István Veszprémi and László Winkler ... [more]

The Hungarian branch of Deloitte has expertise in all areas of tax. The group comprises about 70 fee earners and is headed by Attila Kövesdy. He is singled out by the market for his expertise in international tax. István Veszprémi and László Winkler are also mentioned for their M&A work.

This year Veszprémi advised a client on the planning and structuring of work-out procedures regarding non-performing real estate loans. This was structured in such a way to avoid any significant VAT that was non-recoverable. Kövesdy advised on the first renegotiation of an advanced pricing agreement in Hungary. It was unique because the pricing methodology meant that the new agreement required less profit to be attributed to the Hungarian company.

The group advises multinationals and financial institutions, but also has a significant number of domestic clients, for example, eight of the top 10 Hungarian banks and the largest Hungarian insurance companies.

The tax team at DLA Piper Horváth & Partners is one of the strongest among the international law firms in Hungary. Levente Torma leads the practice which has six fee earners. Torma is often praised by other professionals for his international structuring ... [more]

The tax team at DLA Piper Horváth & Partners is one of the strongest among the international law firms in Hungary. Levente Torma leads the practice which has six fee earners. Torma is often praised by other professionals for his international structuring work.

The tax team is trying to build a stand-alone practice and is particularly strong in structuring, M&A, real estate and litigation. Ákos Becher is advising a Hungarian company on a partial migration to Luxembourg to realise a step-up in asset value under Hungary's capital gains rules. Torma is also advising a client on a restructuring to would allow for a tax neutral exit.

The group has also been busy with tax disputes work. It is advising Vienna Capital Partners in a dispute about withholding tax recovery, which is now before the Supreme Court. Other clients that the practice has represented this year include Fibria, IKO Group, ENI and Carion.

Gobert, Fest & Partners – Taxand was formed out of a spin-off from one of the big-four in 2002. The firm joined the Taxand network in January 2010 which has led to an increase in cross-border work. "The big difference now is the network, we get a lot ... [more]

Gobert, Fest & Partners – Taxand was formed out of a spin-off from one of the big-four in 2002. The firm joined the Taxand network in January 2010 which has led to an increase in cross-border work. "The big difference now is the network, we get a lot of work out of it". Still, about 80% of the practice's clients are its own. The tax team advises across all the areas of business tax, including domestic and international corporate tax, transactions, real estate, indirect tax, structuring and litigation. Previous work includes planning for an automotive company concerning settlement of negative equity by waiver of intercompany loans and advising a US real estate investor on setting up business in Hungary.

The practice advises clients across all the major global industries and is especially strong in real estate. Tax advisory for state-owned companies has increased recently.

The tax team at HLB Klient comprises 13 professionals and is a correspondent firm of WTS in Germany. Tax director Tamás Gyányi is mentioned by his fellow professionals as an individual with a growing reputation.The practice focuses mainly on advisory ... [more]

The tax team at HLB Klient comprises 13 professionals and is a correspondent firm of WTS in Germany. Tax director Tamás Gyányi is mentioned by his fellow professionals as an individual with a growing reputation.

The practice focuses mainly on advisory work, rather than planning and structuring. Around 30% of its work is in VAT, which makes it the biggest source of fees. Transfer pricing work is also important and has been increasing this year after the regulations introduced in 2010.

This year the practice carried out the due diligence of a major telecommunications company where it was able to avoid large amounts of tax exposure. The group represents multinationals, Austrian and German in particular, and domestic clients. Clients the practice has worked for this year include Siemens, Robert Bosch, IVG and GlobalSantaFe.

KPMG's tax practice in Hungary is led by Mike Glover. Its revenue has grown every year since 2003, even during the 2008 global recession. The number of professionals has also grown during the same period, increasing from around 35 to 130 today. Partner ... [more]

KPMG's tax practice in Hungary is led by Mike Glover. Its revenue has grown every year since 2003, even during the 2008 global recession. The number of professionals has also grown during the same period, increasing from around 35 to 130 today. Partner Csaba László, previously with the Ministry of Finance, is well-known in the market.

The practice is structured across four main service-lines: M&A, VAT, corporate tax and transfer pricing. The practice has undertaken a shift in emphasis since the recession since with a greater emphasis placed on compliance work than M&A. The VAT compliance centre, headed by Philippe Norré is a market leader and serves as a centre of excellence for KPMG globally.

This year the group advised on two out of the three largest property transactions in Hungary. The group has a good balance to its clientele with 60% coming from the local economy, as opposed to being sourced from the KPMG network.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners was the Hungarian office of Clifford Chance for 15 years until it split two years ago. Despite being not being part of an international firm now, the practice focuses mostly on multi-jurisdictional matters and maintains a good ... [more]

Lakatos, Köves & Partners was the Hungarian office of Clifford Chance for 15 years until it split two years ago. Despite being not being part of an international firm now, the practice focuses mostly on multi-jurisdictional matters and maintains a good cross-border client base; this is in part due to the best friends relationship the firm maintains with Clifford Chance.

The tax practice is headed up by István Keményfy and comprises eight practitioners. The practice focuses on a broad range of business tax services with transactional work and tax planning making up a sizeable amount.

Work this year includes advising SaGa Food, the Hungarian branch of Bernard Matthews, the UK poultry producer, on a tax-effective remuneration structure, and advising Antenna Hungária on the basis for challenging the new crisis tax imposed on the telecommunications sector in Hungary. Other clients include Cargill, AMTEK, GLL and Avestus Capital Partners.

Andrékó Kinstellar's tax practice comprises three professionals and is led by managing associate Gábor Antal. The tax practice typically provides support work for the firm's other departments, especially banking, corporate and real estate.This year the ... [more]

Andrékó Kinstellar's tax practice comprises three professionals and is led by managing associate Gábor Antal. The tax practice typically provides support work for the firm's other departments, especially banking, corporate and real estate.

This year the team advised MOL, a leading Hungarian oil and gas company, on firsta domestic bond programmevalued at that was the first non-bank such programme in Hungary for several years.

The group also advised the Raben Group, a Netherlands logistics company, on two acquisitions, which are its first investments in Hungary. This involved advice on intricate transaction tax rules such as VAT, financing, transfer tax and the tax treatment of goodwill. Other clients include OTP, JPMorgan, Sanofi-Aventis, Johnson & Johnson, and Johnson Controls.

Along with Grant Thornton, BDO is viewed as having the strongest tax practice of the accountancy firms outside the big-four. The practice provides a good range of tax services including but not limited to tax planning, tax due diligence, binding ruling ... [more]

Along with Grant Thornton, BDO is viewed as having the strongest tax practice of the accountancy firms outside the big-four. The practice provides a good range of tax services including but not limited to tax planning, tax due diligence, binding ruling requests, transfer pricing, VAT, representation in tax authority proceedings and corporate restructurings. The practice has a particular expertise in the energy, real estate, health care and financial services sectors.

Orientax Consulting is an independent tax advisory firm which was formed in 2009. The four-strong practice led by Károly Radnai, managing partner.General tax advisoryaccounts for about 60% of all fee income. The practice also distinguishes itself by ... [more]

Orientax Consulting is an independent tax advisory firm which was formed in 2009. The four-strong practice led by Károly Radnai, managing partner.

General tax advisoryaccounts for about 60% of all fee income. The practice also distinguishes itself by its expertise in niche areas, such as tax advice to the film industry, which makes up about 30% of revenue, and the new tax incentives for sports that were just introduced asfrom July 1 2011 in Hungary.

Examples of work include tax advice to the National Film Fund on the reform of the Hungarian system of subsidies of films , and reviewing the activity of a Hungarian airline company to verify if it complied properly with Hungarian green tax requirements. Clients include SAP, Telenor, Bunge, Omnicom Media, Nike, IBM, NBC Universal, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Brothers.

Faludi Wolf Theiss's tax practice is headed by Balázs Békés, who joined in 2009 to launch the tax practice having previously been leader of the international tax group of Deloitte in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Balázs Horváth and ... [more]

Faludi Wolf Theiss's tax practice is headed by Balázs Békés, who joined in 2009 to launch the tax practice having previously been leader of the international tax group of Deloitte in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Balázs Horváth and Erzsébet Varga have both joined in the last 12 months to increase the number of professionals at the tax practice to three.

The three cover the main areas of business taxation including disputes and litigation, corporate tax, M&A, transfer pricing, restructuring and VAT. Horváth brings with him a lot of experience in transfer pricing and EU law from his time at Deloitte and Lovells, while Varga is particularly experienced in transactional work.

Work this year includes advising Viacom Global on the tax aspects of setting up a worldwide

holding structure through which licences are given to third-country broadcasting companies, and Hewlett Packard on transfer pricing documentation and binding ruling issues. Other clients include ECE Projektmanagement Budapest and Ethanol Europe.

Ilona Szarka, head of tax and legal services at IB Grant Thornton, leads a team of six professionals, a number that has remained constant for some years.The group provides a broad range of business tax services. The most prominent advisory area is VAT; ... [more]

Ilona Szarka, head of tax and legal services at IB Grant Thornton, leads a team of six professionals, a number that has remained constant for some years.

The group provides a broad range of business tax services. The most prominent advisory area is VAT; The practice also has a lot of experience advising on the establishment of company operations in Central and Eastern Europe. Transfer pricing work has increased this year and the group has advised a number of clients on documentation.

The practice advises mostly subsidiaries of multinationalsin industries such as automotive construction.