FRESHFIELDS

Tax Planning and Disputes

Jill Gatehouse
Partner

London

E: jll.gatehouse@freshfields.com

T:+44 20 7936 4000

www.freshfields.com

The world’s biggest international organisations rely on us to help them make the right decisions in a fast-changing world. We combine the knowledge, experience and energy of the whole firm to solve our clients’ most complex challenges, wherever and whenever they arise. Deploying our unmatched strength in M&A, IPOs, financial regulation and dispute resolution from our City headquarters, we help the world’s biggest businesses with their most complex and challenging issues.

We enable our clients to succeed by navigating their most complex legal challenges and creating opportunity where others see barriers. We seek to create a better future for our clients, our people, and the communities in which we live and work.
We are committed to delivering exceptional experiences for both our people and our clients, and this is what makes working with Freshfields unique. This difference is shaped by our three core values. These are what drive our success and are at the heart of how we approach our work and relationships.

Freshfields.com.

Our global tax team

Clients rely on the recognised technical strength and commercial experience of Freshfields’ global tax team for advice on the most complex cross-border transactions, contentious tax matters and strategic tax advisory issues. Fast-paced changes in tax policy and legislation and increasingly litigious tax authorities mean businesses need a global view of tax strategies.

The Freshfields global tax team is known for consistently excellent technical ability, market-leading international credentials, and commercial judgement. Our ‘strength in depth’ is particularly important in the current climate, with our clients continuing to grapple with unprecedented challenges in the tax space – including the rapidly evolving international tax framework (with wide-reaching changes on the horizon at both an OECD and EU level) and increasingly litigious tax authorities.

We advise financial institutions, funds, and corporate entities from all sectors on the tax issues arising on their most difficult, and high-value, transactions, disputes, and risk-management issues. Our tax specialists collaborate with other Freshfields teams, including our corporate, disputes, antitrust, financing and IP lawyers, to provide robust commercial solutions across borders, working seamlessly with the firm’s StrongerTogether partner law firms.

Our transactional practice

Our global tax team advises on the most complex, strategic and high-value cross-border transactions.
Getting corporate tax right in a transaction is crucial to maximising value, and can mean the difference between success and failure. We provide cutting-edge tax advice on structuring and implementing deals, how to avoid tax pitfalls and the documentation needed to reduce or eliminate tax risks.

We advise on the full range of domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (both public and private), joint ventures, demergers and all manner of corporate re-organisations. We also advise on private capital deals, from optimising fund structures for investors and post-tax cash flows on leveraged buyouts, to advising on complex financings, maximising flexibility on exits, financial modelling and management remuneration. Freshfields also advises on the full range of financial transactions and structures, both directly for clients and as part of multidisciplinary teams.

We act as ‘deal counsel’ on cross-border transactions, which typically involves co-ordinating local tax advisers to ensure a consistent approach, a single strategic view and efficient client service across all countries.
We support our clients on their difficult tax questions, offering a unique blend of technical expertise and commercial acumen to deliver valuable strategic insights. In the ever-evolving landscape of taxation, our clients grapple with a wide spectrum of issues that transcend transactions or disputes. These matters span across various tax types, sectors and jurisdictions.

Our investigations and disputes practice

Tax administrations around the world continue to be under pressure to bring in more tax and to clamp down on avoidance. This has led to increasing scrutiny of tax affairs and an international rise in tax disputes and investigations.
Our team focuses on resolving these disputes and investigations. Our work ranges from advice on information requests, global investigations, tax audits and dawn raids to litigation and settlement of tax disputes, including through arbitration.
We work as one team, combining knowledge and experience from our award-winning corporate tax and dispute resolution practices across our offices and the firm’s StrongerTogether partner law firms.

We provide quality advice on complex, high-value tax disputes across all taxes and sectors for both local and international clients. Our experience covers corporate tax, transfer pricing and diverted profits tax (DPT), taxation of the digital economy, VAT and other indirect taxes, EU and contractual claims, employment taxes, state aid and public law/judicial review. We advise on civil and criminal investigations internationally.

We adapt our strategy to your specific needs. We often settle disputes without litigation, but we are also adept at taking cases to the courts at every level, including the European Courts.
Our directory rankings

• Chambers 2024 Band 1 UK tax
• Chambers 2024 Band 1 UK contentious tax