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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

The tax team at KPMG comprises more than 150 fee-earners. The practice is headed by Paul Op de Beeck, though Koen Maerevoet will take over this role in October this year.The group has a particularly strong real estate practice. It believes it advised ... [more]

The tax team at KPMG comprises more than 150 fee-earners. The practice is headed by Paul Op de Beeck, though Koen Maerevoet will take over this role in October this year.

The group has a particularly strong real estate practice. It believes it advised in more than 30% of real estate deals in 2010 by transaction volume. The practice has also carried out a lot of work in the automotive industry this year under the leadership of Frank Vancamp.

This year Dirk Van Stappen advised a Belgian chemicals group on a supply chain reorganisation. By aligning the tax structure and transfer pricing policy with the operational business model of the group, the tax cost was reduced by 50%.

Vancamp also assisted an international industrial equipment group on the structuring of an acquisition of a UK company. The purchase of the shares in the UK company was financed by bank debt through the Belgian headquarters. By internal leveraging the group managed to achieve a debt-push down and generated a double dip.

Angelos Gregoriades leads a team of about 40 professionals at KPMG. He is one of five partners. Costas Markides was appointed partner this year and is singled out by his peers for his tax planning expertise. Fellow partner George Markides is also mentioned ... [more]

Angelos Gregoriades leads a team of about 40 professionals at KPMG. He is one of five partners. Costas Markides was appointed partner this year and is singled out by his peers for his tax planning expertise. Fellow partner George Markides is also mentioned for corporate tax work.

The practice provides a broad range of tax services including tax planning, transfer pricing, VAT, M&A, compliance and due diligence, though there are no clear sub-service lines within the practice. Legal and international tax is the largest area. The practice has advised this year on a number of group restructurings, particularly relocations from offshore jurisdictions to Cyprus. The VAT team is also particularly strong and is seen as one of the best on the island.

The practice provides tax services across a broad range of industries though are especially strong in certain fields such as shipping and financial services. The practice has seen a lot of work from Russia and the CIS, and also North America.

KPMG has a tax department in Denmark consisting of nearly 200 tax advisers lead by Soren Sonderholm. The firm provides a full range of tax services across Denmark and has an especially strong reputation in indirect tax, corporate tax advisory work and ... [more]

KPMG has a tax department in Denmark consisting of nearly 200 tax advisers lead by Soren Sonderholm. The firm provides a full range of tax services across Denmark and has an especially strong reputation in indirect tax, corporate tax advisory work and M&A. Their transfer pricing service has also garnered a good reputation and Henrik Lund is well respected by his fellow practitioners for his work in that area. With a steadily increasing flow of M&A transactions this year, the firm's M&A and crossborder structuring service lines have been busier than last year. In both of those areas, but in M&A advisory work in particular, Anders Bjørn is highly regarded by his competitors.

KPMG tax leader Timo Torkkel is a widely respected tax practitioner and peers recommend him for his ability in both corporate tax and cross-border structuring. One practitioner said: "He has been a very well known character in the Finnish tax world for ... [more]

KPMG tax leader Timo Torkkel is a widely respected tax practitioner and peers recommend him for his ability in both corporate tax and cross-border structuring. One practitioner said: "He has been a very well known character in the Finnish tax world for a long time." The tax team's expertise is not limited to those areas, though. It is one of the biggest tax practices in Finland and has expertise across the full range of tax issues. Timo Matikkala is very well regarded for his expertise in capital markets and financial products. "He is very good, very well known and very widely used," one adviser said. Clients of the firm include a number of Finnish public companies as well multinational companies operating in Finland. The firm's transfer pricing service line is well recognised by other practitioners and is said to have been more visible than in previous years.

Fidal Direction Internationale, a tax and legal affiliate of KPMG, is viewed in the market as particularly strong in providing a broad range of tax services including corporate tax, M&A, VAT and transfer pricing in several offices in France. Marc Crette ... [more]

Fidal Direction Internationale, a tax and legal affiliate of KPMG, is viewed in the market as particularly strong in providing a broad range of tax services including corporate tax, M&A, VAT and transfer pricing in several offices in France. Marc Crette is mentioned by his peers for being "a good practitioner" for cross-border structuring. Gwenaëlle Bernier is also highlighted for her indirect tax work.

KPMG's tax team in Germany is led by Ernst Gröbl. The practice provides a wide range of tax services in its 24 offices including international corporate tax, financial services tax, indirect tax, transfer pricing and M&A.A number of their practitioners ... [more]

KPMG's tax team in Germany is led by Ernst Gröbl. The practice provides a wide range of tax services in its 24 offices including international corporate tax, financial services tax, indirect tax, transfer pricing and M&A.

A number of their practitioners are frequently highlighted as leading individuals in their field. Martin Lenz and Christoph Kneip are mentioned as being strong in corporate tax; Ursula Slapio and Claudia Hillek are highlighted for their indirect tax work. Christian Jänisch, who is global head of the M&A tax practice, is seen as a rising star in the market. One partner describes him as "one of the leading young M&A guys".

KPMG's tax practice comprises around 70 people. Each of the professionals tend not to specialise in just one area of tax. Even so, the group is structured across six main areas: corporate tax, indirect tax, transfer pricing, international executive services, ... [more]

KPMG's tax practice comprises around 70 people. Each of the professionals tend not to specialise in just one area of tax. Even so, the group is structured across six main areas: corporate tax, indirect tax, transfer pricing, international executive services, global outsourcing and M&A.

General corporate tax work remains the strongest area, though it has decreased because of the problems in the Greek economy. The practice advised on three major group restructurings for Greek companies and expect work to increase next year if the privatisation of a number of public assets goes ahead.

Advice on audits and disputes has been in more demand this year. The practice successfully advised a client on the applicability of new withholding tax law where it was successfully proved that it was incompatible with EU law. The practice also successfully defended a client during a tax audit from the authorities's questions on the validity of the accounting books.

The practice is particularly strong in the energy, banking and pharmaceutical sectors.

KPMG has one of the strongest tax practices of the big-four accounting firms in Ireland. The practice is headed by Shaun Murphy and comprises around 400 fee-earners. Caroline O'Driscoll was promoted to partner this year; her focus is mostly on foreign ... [more]

KPMG has one of the strongest tax practices of the big-four accounting firms in Ireland. The practice is headed by Shaun Murphy and comprises around 400 fee-earners. Caroline O'Driscoll was promoted to partner this year; her focus is mostly on foreign direct investment. Otherwise the team remains similar to last year. A large number of their professionals are regularly singled out in the market as leading practitioners.

Mike Farrell was mentioned on several occasions as a leading figure for corporate tax work; Erin Wallace is also mentioned for the same area. Pat O'Brien and Michael Hayes are singled out for their capital markets and financial products skills, while Sharon Burke and Terry O'Neill are mentioned for cross-border structuring and indirect tax work respectively.

Work has has begun to increase again for the M&A group, though that has not been spectacular. This has been compensated for by the strength of the practice in other areas such as insolvency, where the team is led by Colm Rogers. The practice also served as the primary tax advisers to Nama this year. Foreign direct investment has also been increasing under the auspices of Conor O'Sullivan.

One advantage the practice has is its high levels of speciality, with an increasingly greater amount of concentration in certain areas. Olivia Lynch focuses on the pensions industry and is a leading practitioner in this area; Ken Hardy is also a leading figure in the field of tax credits.

The practice services clients across all the major global industries. Work in the energy sector has certainly increased this year. The team also sees a lot of inbound work from Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

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.

KPMG's tax practice is described by one partner as a "a growing tax practice" and "very active", especially in the fields of international and corporate tax generally. The practice is headed by the well-respected André Zarb, who is one of four partners ... [more]

KPMG's tax practice is described by one partner as a "a growing tax practice" and "very active", especially in the fields of international and corporate tax generally. The practice is headed by the well-respected André Zarb, who is one of four partners and leads a team of about 65 professionals.

International tax is the largest part of the practice, counting for about 60% of all work. Both Zarb and Juanita Brockdorff, who is highly regarded for international and corporate work, specialise in this area. . Brockdorff has been active over the last year advising financial service companies on regulatory issues. The practice has advised all of the banks in Malta over the last year.

Anthony Pace and Doreen Fenech split their time between local client matters, which makes up a substantial part of the practice's day-to-day work, and advising on VAT matters. The team advised the Maltese government on VAT issues, particularly checking their internal control procedures.

Other work this year includes advising a number of multinationals on tax-efficient supply chain management. This involved in one instance making the principal training company of a group in Malta. The practice is also active in policy. They advised the Maltese government on the Code of Conduct for Business Taxation among other projects.

KPMG Meijburg's tax practice provides a broad range of services across its 14 different offices including cross-border taxation, corporate restructuring, M&A, transfer pricing and indirect tax.A number of their professionals are regularly mentioned by ... [more]

KPMG Meijburg's tax practice provides a broad range of services across its 14 different offices including cross-border taxation, corporate restructuring, M&A, transfer pricing and indirect tax.

A number of their professionals are regularly mentioned by their peers as leaders in the fields: Otto Marres for corporate tax: "He is a very good technical person, one of the best in the Netherlands" said one partner; Leo Mobach for indirect tax; Jaap Reyneveld for transfer pricing and Andre Boekhoudt for cross-border structuring.

The practice advises mostly multinationals and also makes use of 20 country desks, which support the rest of the staff. The group also has a number of domestic clients.

KPMG provides a full range of tax services in Norway and has several Norwegian multinationals among its clients. The tax department is led by Per Ivar Skinstad, though each service line is headed by a different partner. Svein Andresen leads a transfer ... [more]

KPMG provides a full range of tax services in Norway and has several Norwegian multinationals among its clients. The tax department is led by Per Ivar Skinstad, though each service line is headed by a different partner. Svein Andresen leads a transfer pricing team which consists of both lawyers and economists. The indirect tax team is headed by Oddgeir Kjørsvik and covers VAT and customs issues. In a relatively buoyant market for M&A Johannes Andersen's department has been in high demand from clients. The firm also has an employee incentives tax service under the leadership of partner Cathrine Bjerke Dalheim, who also leads the tax compliance services group alongside Torbjørn Amundsen. The firm also hasa department dedicated to providing services to companies in the oil sector under Jan Samuelsen. Many of their clients are involved in that industry, which has its own tax regime for companies in that sector.

KPMG's Portuguese tax practice has been investing in the firm's capabilities in Angola as investment there from Portugal and from North and South America and Asia via Portugal develops. The practice is led by Luìs Magalhães and covers a full range of ... [more]

KPMG's Portuguese tax practice has been investing in the firm's capabilities in Angola as investment there from Portugal and from North and South America and Asia via Portugal develops. The practice is led by Luìs Magalhães and covers a full range of tax issues for clients. As in previous years, indirect tax and VAT are strong practice areas for the firm. Like other firms in Portugal, the firm's transfer pricing service line has also been in demand.

Maria José Aguilo is the head of the tax practice at KPMG. The department is completed by 35 other partners and 397 fee earners. The firm has added 12 partners and senior associates this year with Fernando Marcos, formerly of the tax authorities, a notable ... [more]

Maria José Aguilo is the head of the tax practice at KPMG. The department is completed by 35 other partners and 397 fee earners. The firm has added 12 partners and senior associates this year with Fernando Marcos, formerly of the tax authorities, a notable new partner. KPMG provides a full range of tax services but competitors recognise indirect tax and cross border structuring as particularly strong areas for the practice. Both Joaquim Herrera and Natalia Pastor are identified by peers for their ability in indirect tax and Victor Hernán is widely recommended by contemporaries for cross-border structuring. The firm recently advised Banco Santander on the best structure to use for its acquisition of a majority stake in Bank Zachodni WBK, a Polish bank, to ensure tax efficiency both during and after the transaction. Other work in the financial sector included handling tax due diligence and tax structuring of the acquisition by two Goldman Sachs managed funds of an 80% stake in Endesa Gas. The structure used two Dutch special purpose vehicles. The firm's expertise in the financial sector ensures that banks such as Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya are among its clients as well as companies such as multinational utilities company Iberdrola and Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica.

KPMG's tax team in Sweden is headed by Helena Robertsson and has this year expanded to include an additional 23 associates, bringing the number of practitioners to 10 partners and 118 fee earners. The firm has an impressive list of clients including ... [more]

KPMG's tax team in Sweden is headed by Helena Robertsson and has this year expanded to include an additional 23 associates, bringing the number of practitioners to 10 partners and 118 fee earners. The firm has an impressive list of clients including energy company Vattenfall, ferry line Stena, truck retailer Scania, construction company Skanska and Nordea Bank. The firms this year advised Skanska on its sale of Autopista central highway in Chile. Before the sale, KPMG coordinated substantial international restructuring to ensure that the company could benefit from the Swedish participation exemption rules on the sale and so optimise the tax treatment for the client. Nordic Capital also sought the firm's tax advice in their acquisition of Munters. The matter involved a public tender offer process and Nordic Capital relied on the tax planning provided by Jan Källqvist when putting their successful tender. Other highlights included the reorganisation of the Thule group's intellectual property rights to provide for tax-efficient treatment and commercial efficacy. The process entailed careful attention to tax risks and transfer pricing provisions and KPMG ensured that the company complied with applicable regulations in as tax efficient a manner as possible.

Jörg Walker leads the Swiss tax practice of KPMG. The firm provides clients with a full range of tax services including M&A, cross-border structuring and international tax, transfer pricing and indirect tax.

KPMG's UK tax team is led by Alastair McLeish and the firm is well regarded in a wide range of tax issues. This year partner Julie Hughff was awarded one of HMRC's inaugural tax transparency awards. This comes after Anneli Collins' efforts to improve ... [more]

KPMG's UK tax team is led by Alastair McLeish and the firm is well regarded in a wide range of tax issues. This year partner Julie Hughff was awarded one of HMRC's inaugural tax transparency awards. This comes after Anneli Collins' efforts to improve the firm's relations with HMRC when she was appointed as head of tax policy last year, as Hughff was recognised for encouraging clients to engage in an open dialogue with HMRC about their tax affairs.