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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

The tax team at Allen & Overy is comprised of 15 fee-earners and is led by Jean Schaffner. It is a large department, counting for about 20% of the fee earners in the office. The bulk of their work relates to M&A and structured finance.Last year Schaffner ... [more]

The tax team at Allen & Overy is comprised of 15 fee-earners and is led by Jean Schaffner. It is a large department, counting for about 20% of the fee earners in the office. The bulk of their work relates to M&A and structured finance.

Last year Schaffner advised the Luxembourg cable telephone distributor Eltrona on its acquisition of the cable business of Nokia Siemens Networks. This was an interesting deal since it was a Luxembourg-only M&A transaction. The acquisition also involved interesting structuring work to mitigate any tax leakages, including a reverse merger and then a tax consolidation of the surviving company.

Schaffner also advised a US investment fund in the context of their joint venture with a major investment bank on the securitization of a multi-billion Euro loan portfolio. This deal made use of the Luxembourg securitisation law of 2004. Careful tax structuring was carried out to make sure that the laws were not breached through the management of the assets by the securitisation company.

Tax litigation work has also increased this year. The group successfully represented the Luxembourg Indirect Tax Administration after they challenged the migration of a company from Luxembourg to the Netherlands and considered that a contribution to the capital of the company had been made before the date of the move.

Nearly all of the practice's clients are multinational groups. The tax practice has stepped up its efforts to increase its Russian client base with the creation of a Luxembourg-Russia desk in November last year. Clients they have worked for this year include Intesa Saopaolo, Westbrook Partners, Lone Star, Lapithus, Hutton Collins and Société Générale.

KPMG is viewed by the market as "one of the strongest out of the big-four". The team is headed by Georges Bock and comprises 180 professionals, including 16 partners. It is expected that five new directors will be appointed in October this year. Bock ... [more]

KPMG is viewed by the market as "one of the strongest out of the big-four". The team is headed by Georges Bock and comprises 180 professionals, including 16 partners. It is expected that five new directors will be appointed in October this year. Bock is regularly mentioned by his peers as a leading practitioner in the Luxembourg market; Louis Thomas is also mentioned for cross-border structuring

The financial services team, led by Sébastien Labbé, Gérard Laures and Claude Poncelet, is particularly strong. The group advises eight of the 10 largest banks in Luxembourg, and advised this year on a number of major structured finance transactions, all valued between €3 billion ($4.3 billion) and €5 billion. The transfer pricing team is also strong having benefited from heavy investment by the firm. It has a dedicated team of five professionals, led by Philippe Neefs.

The practice has seen an increase in EU disputes, especially regarding discriminiation cases. The team recently advised a number of Luxembourg investment funds on the filing of claims for the repayment of withholding tax after the European Court of Justice's decision in the Aberdeen case two years ago.

In addition to financial services, the team also has a specialist commerce & industry team, which is headed by Thomas. The practice has also established itself in niche areas such as Islamic finance. The real estate team has worked on three Sharia-compliant real estate fund structures.

Loyens & Loeff is viewed by the market as one of the best tax law firms in Luxembourg. The team comprises 36 fee earners and is led by Jean-Pierre Winandy, who is considered to be one of the best tax professionals in Luxembourg. "He is a big name in ... [more]

Loyens & Loeff is viewed by the market as one of the best tax law firms in Luxembourg. The team comprises 36 fee earners and is led by Jean-Pierre Winandy, who is considered to be one of the best tax professionals in Luxembourg. "He is a big name in the Luxembourg market and has a good reputation with clients, and deservedly so," said one tax partner.

Ayzo van Eysinga joined Stibbe this year after it opened a new office in Luxembourg. Otherwise, the team remains largely unchanged and has added about four new associates have joined in the last year. The group is well-known for its experience in international corporate tax matters including structured finance, tax related fund practice, M&A, VAT and tax litigation.

A number of their professionals are also highly involved in activities beyond their tax practice. Winandy is chairman of the board of the Luxembourg section of the International Fiscal Association and also serves as assistant professor at the University of Luxembourg.

PwC maintains its standing at the top of the rankings. The practice is led by Wim Piot and comprises about 330 fee earners. Michel Guilluy, for capital markets, and Laurent Grençon, for indirect tax, are both mentioned by their peers as leading practitioners.The ... [more]

PwC maintains its standing at the top of the rankings. The practice is led by Wim Piot and comprises about 330 fee earners. Michel Guilluy, for capital markets, and Laurent Grençon, for indirect tax, are both mentioned by their peers as leading practitioners.

The practice established a tax research team this year, which is led by Olivier Buscheman and contributes to the global firm's annual Total Tax Contribution study, where, in more than 100 jurisdictions around the world, member firms measure how much tax businesses pay, how many taxes they pay and how long they take to pay them. "We want to play in every market in which we can add value, we are certainly not a niche player" Buscheman said.

The international tax services team, led by Valéry Civilio, has grown impressively this year. The transfer pricing team in particular has expanded after the issuance of guidance by the Luxembourg authorities and the team now comprises 10 practitioners. More traditional areas such as M&A and real estate have also responded well after the recession. Fund structuring work is also increasing, under the leadership of Laurent de La Mettrie.

Arendt & Medernach's tax team is led by four partners, Eric Fort, Thierry Lesage and Alain Goebel, who specialise in corporate tax and Bruno Gasparatto, who is singled out by his peers as a leading figure in indirect tax. Andrea Koller-Weil has joined ... [more]

Arendt & Medernach's tax team is led by four partners, Eric Fort, Thierry Lesage and Alain Goebel, who specialise in corporate tax and Bruno Gasparatto, who is singled out by his peers as a leading figure in indirect tax. Andrea Koller-Weil has joined this year from Deloitte in Frankfurt to help bolster the practice's transfer pricing capabilities. She is one of 11 new hires.

The tax practice is integrated fully into the rest of the firm, and provides a lot of support work to the other departments, particularly the banking and corporate groups. This year Lesage advised Perella Weinberg Partners on the acquisition of a shopping centre in Bochum, which involved a complex tax structuring regarding Germany's thin capitalisation rules and real estate transfer tax.

Lesage also advised Libra Advisors on the setting up of an investment platform, which meant work regarding Canada's anti-abuse laws. Other work this year includes advising mezzanine lenders Sankaty, NIBC and GSC Group in connection with the €400 million restructuring of the Jost-World Group. Other clients include AXA Private Equity, Apollo, HSBC Bank, BC Partners and HIG European Capital Partners.

ATOZ - Taxand offers expertise across all areas of tax with a particular focus on international corporate tax work. The group has continued to grow this year and comprises 64 fee earners. Keith O'Donnell heads the practice and is praised for his work ... [more]

ATOZ - Taxand offers expertise across all areas of tax with a particular focus on international corporate tax work. The group has continued to grow this year and comprises 64 fee earners. Keith O'Donnell heads the practice and is praised for his work in the real-estate and private-equity sectors. Both Christophe Plainchamp and Jamal Afakir stepped up to partnership.

The firm advise financial institutions and blue-chip companies, especially US, on cross-border matters. O'Donnell and David Cordova advised Heitman, a real estate investment firm, on the acquisition of a group of companies holding real estate in Moscow. The structure they proposed overcame Russia's real estate rules on the location of bank debt. In implementing a new structure the two were able to trigger the deduction of interest from the related income.

The group helped LaSalle Investment Management overcome a trapped cash problem regarding a booked depreciation asset by use of an innovative hybrid instrument, an asset-linked equity certificate. Partner Oliver Remacle represented Compagnie de Banque Privée in their merger with the private banking business of Quilvest. This was one of the largest deals this year involving Luxembourg companies.

ATOZ-Taxand has also launched a new transfer pricing group this year led by Jean-Michel Chamonard. This follows Circular 164/2, which was issued by the authorities to bring advance pricing agreements for financial companies more in line with the OECD model. The firm is representing a group of leading US investment funds in their dispute with a number of authorities concerning an excess of withholding tax levied in the EU.

Bonn Schmitt Steichen's tax practice is led by the highly-regarded Alain Steichen, who is seen as a leading figure in the Luxembourg tax market. Though small the practice is held in high regard by the market. It focuses on corporate tax work mainly, ... [more]

Bonn Schmitt Steichen's tax practice is led by the highly-regarded Alain Steichen, who is seen as a leading figure in the Luxembourg tax market.

Though small the practice is held in high regard by the market. It focuses on corporate tax work mainly, especially for financial institutions, and also structured finance work, both traditional strengths of the Luxembourg economy. Transfer pricing work has also increased this year and the practice is rare in being one of the few law firms that do their own transfer pricing studies.

This year the group advised on the €3 billion acquisition of a credit card system from the Royal Bank of Scotland by a private-equity house. The size of the transaction was unusual for the firm and is an example of the increasing exposure of the tax practice to some of the biggest deals in Europe.

The practice also advised on the refinancing of a distressed Spanish food and beverages company. This involved complex structuring since waterfall provisions for new investors had to be put in place. It also involved the use of profit participation agreements to avoid withholding tax.

The firm will legally cease to exist as of January 1 2012 after notice of termination was given on June 30 2011 under the partnership agreement of 1999 between the then firm of Bonn & Schmitt and Alain Steichen. Two groups will go their separate ways from the beginning of 2012 , one led by Alex Schmitt and Guy Arendt, called Bonn & Schmitt, and one led by Steichen. Lionel Noguera will lead the tax practice of Bonn & Schmitt, which will be a full-service firm. Initially, the tax practice will consist of four full-time tax attorneys or advisers and will deliver a complete range of tax services, including advice and opinions in direct tax and VAT matters, representation in such matters before the competent authorities (in particular for purposes of advance clearances), as well as tax litigation.

Deloitte's tax practice in Luxembourg is led by Georges Deitz and consists of around 250 fee-earners. The practice has been growing this year, adding 30 fee earners over the 12 months. Revenue has also increased by 10% from the previous year. Karine ... [more]

Deloitte's tax practice in Luxembourg is led by Georges Deitz and consists of around 250 fee-earners. The practice has been growing this year, adding 30 fee earners over the 12 months. Revenue has also increased by 10% from the previous year. Karine Thil, Yves Knel and Stephan Tilquin have all been promoted to partner this year.

The practice offers a broad range of tax services across its different sub-service lines including international tax services, corporate tax, financial services, VAT and M&A, which has the biggest team in the practice. The group has worked on the structuring of a number of acquisitions for private equity houses over the last year.

Transfer pricing work has also increased; Five full-time professionals are part of that team. This is an area which is expected to carry on growing over the next few years. The practice has seen an increase in work from Asia over the last few years with Luxembourg used to investment in the rest of Europe. This is partly because the firm launched a Luxembourg desk in Hong Kong.

The tax team at Ernst & Young is strong in cross-border tax work. The group is led by Marc Schmitz, who is recommended for his M&A work. He leads a team of about 250 feeearners. Typical of the big-four the practice is structured according to areas of ... [more]

The tax team at Ernst & Young is strong in cross-border tax work. The group is led by Marc Schmitz, who is recommended for his M&A work. He leads a team of about 250 feeearners. Typical of the big-four the practice is structured according to areas of tax and industries.

There are five sub-service lines. John Hames heads both the business tax and human capital service lines, though this is to change shortly as Sylvie Leick will take control of human capital. The indirect tax team is led by Yannick Zeippen. Katrin Lakebrink and Frank Muntendam head the transaction tax and international tax teams perspectively.

The practice advises multinationals in nearly all areas of tax and in most industries. The telecommunications team is doing well this year after Bart Van Droogenbroeck was appointed global head. The group is now close to nearly every initiative in this sector. The high tech industry is also growing, benefiting from Vincent Remy's position on the Silicon Valley desk.

International tax is the largest service-line of the five, consisting of about 100 fee earners. The group's workload has grown this year and it is seeing more cross-border reorganisation and intellectual property work. The practice takes part in global firm projects for multinationals involving up to 25 jurisdictions. The team expects to expand their international reach soon when it establishes an Asian desk.

Baker & McKenzie opened a new office in Luxembourg in October last year. The office was co-founded by André Pesch who joined from Ernst & Young to head the tax practice. The practice has already developed a strong reputation in cross-border structuring, ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie opened a new office in Luxembourg in October last year. The office was co-founded by André Pesch who joined from Ernst & Young to head the tax practice. The practice has already developed a strong reputation in cross-border structuring, financial products and capital markets work.

The group advised a major manufacturing company on the restructuring of the group through a migration of a US corporation to Luxembourg. This deal required the use of different tax techniques such as the use of hybrid instruments, hybrid entities and intellectual property tax optimisation.

The group has also been involved in plenty of fund structuring work this year. Pesch and his team advised a major private equity group on the implementation of a new structure in view of their proposed investment in a large French company. The group also been advising large global banks on their structured finance transactions.

Kremer Associés & Clifford Chance's tax practice is led by sole partner François-Xavier Dujardin and comprises a team of seven. Christophe Clément, of counsel, is praised by his competitors for his private equity and international structuring work.Clément ... [more]

Kremer Associés & Clifford Chance's tax practice is led by sole partner François-Xavier Dujardin and comprises a team of seven. Christophe Clément, of counsel, is praised by his competitors for his private equity and international structuring work.

Clément advised AZ Electronic Materials Group on their IPO on the London Stock Exchange. The offering raised around $400m and is expected to be one of the largest equity capital markets transactions of 2011.

The group has also been active this year on private equity work. Clément advised Ares Management on the structuring of a Luxembourg platform investing in European private debt assets on behalf of an external investor and entering into an asset management agreement with Ares Management Limited. Dujardin and senior associate Vincent Marquis also advised Resource Partners, a Polish private equity firm, on their investments in three Polish companies.

Other clients they have worked for this year include Citigroup, Altarea Cogedim, GDF Suez, Chequers Capital and Crédit Agricole.

Elvinger Hoss & Prussen is an independent non-affiliated law firm that has significant tax expertise. The main tax partner in the firm is Dirk Richter, though the multi-disciplinary nature of the firm means that a number of other partners, such as André ... [more]

Elvinger Hoss & Prussen is an independent non-affiliated law firm that has significant tax expertise. The main tax partner in the firm is Dirk Richter, though the multi-disciplinary nature of the firm means that a number of other partners, such as André Elvinger, Jean Hoss and Yves Prussen, spend some of their time on tax work.

This year the practice advised on the tax aspects of the pre-IPO corporate reorganisation and the IPO of Adecoagro, a South American agriculture company that includes George Soros among its investors, and its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. And Richter advised O'Key, a Russian food retailer, on the tax aspects of one of the first listings by a Russian group of its Luxembourg holding company in London since the financial crisis.

Other work this year includes advising on the restructuring of Wind Hellas, and advising LBO France on tax matters in relation with the set-up of a series of regulated and unregulated Luxembourg investment vehicles for the investment in distressed debt assets. Though the firm does not have international offices the practice has a lot of exposure to cross-border work, often through close ties to foreign law firms.

Linklaters's tax practice is headed by corporate partner Laurent Schummer after Paul Tulcinsky left to go to Stibbe. Pierre-Régis Dukmedjian has joined this year having previously worked at ATOZ – Taxand and PwC. There are six tax professionals at the ... [more]

Linklaters's tax practice is headed by corporate partner Laurent Schummer after Paul Tulcinsky left to go to Stibbe. Pierre-Régis Dukmedjian has joined this year having previously worked at ATOZ – Taxand and PwC. There are six tax professionals at the firm now.

The tax team works closely with other practice groups in Luxembourg and with the extended Linklaters network, often providing support work in corporate, regulatory and financing issues. The practice has seen a particular increase in private equity work over the last year, often advising on the structuring of real estate, infrastructure and distressed debt funds.

Schummer, Rachel Blaise and Danièle Buchler advised on the setting up of a real estate investment fund structure for BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Services. Other work this year includes advising on a €2 billion restructuring for Anheuser-Busch InBev, and acting for ArcelorMittal on the demerger of its stainless and specialty steels businesses from its global steel and steel related products businesses. Other clients are AXA, BNPP, Credit Suisse, Triton and Nomura.

NautaDutilh's tax practice is co-headed by Jean-Marc Groelly and Christian Joosen. They lead a team of six. The strength of the firm's network mean that the practice has a greater market exposure than their size might suggest. The practice has developed ... [more]

NautaDutilh's tax practice is co-headed by Jean-Marc Groelly and Christian Joosen. They lead a team of six. The strength of the firm's network mean that the practice has a greater market exposure than their size might suggest. The practice has developed an in-house transfer pricing capability, working with colleagues with similar experience in the rest of the firm outside Luxembourg.

This year Groelly and Jean-Nicolas Bourtembourg advised on the refinancing of the WIND group, which involved €3.9 billion of new senior credit facilities and the issuance of €2.7 billion of high-yield senior secured bonds. This was the largest high-yield refinancing transaction in Europe this year.

Other work this year includes advising Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners in relation to their $1.4 billion on their acquisition of Brit Insurance Holdings and Ocwen Financial Corporationm, a listed financial services company, on the spin-off of its real estate mortgage and default management services business. Other clients include Deutsche Bank, Taconic Capital Advisors, Oak Hill Advisors and Masonite.

Stibbe opened an office in Luxembourg in August 2010 but did not launch a tax practice until 2011. It aims to become one of the key players in the Luxembourg legal market .Ayzo van Eysinga joined in April from Loyens & Loeff to head the practice. He ... [more]

Stibbe opened an office in Luxembourg in August 2010 but did not launch a tax practice until 2011. It aims to become one of the key players in the Luxembourg legal market .

Ayzo van Eysinga joined in April from Loyens & Loeff to head the practice. He specialises mostly in private equity and tax advice for US multinationals in relation to cross-border transactions. Paul Tulcinsky also joined this year from Linklaters. He specialises in international tax law, in particular the implementation of acquisition and financing vehicles.

Managing partner Frédéric Feyten leads a team of six professionals at Oostvogels Pfister Feyten. He specialises mostly in the structuring of cross-border transactions. The practice has a number of private equity clients such as Terra Firma and Apax. ... [more]

Managing partner Frédéric Feyten leads a team of six professionals at Oostvogels Pfister Feyten. He specialises mostly in the structuring of cross-border transactions. The practice has a number of private equity clients such as Terra Firma and Apax. Other clients include Eaton and Tiffany. The firm also has offices in London, which increases its visibility in the financial services sector.