2_1_DiscoverGermany_May 2015_Issue26:Scan Magazine 1
27/4/15
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An alliance with a heart for tax For many people, tax affairs are a dreaded necessary evil, and mail from the tax office often puts a dampener on your day. But could one really love matters of tax? There’s a German-Austrian alliance of tax attorneys and advisors who are proving that it is possible: you can love tax. And be successful at it too. TEXT: EMMIE COLLINGE | PHOTOS: PRESS IMAGES
Since 2010 the German firm of Flick Gocke Schaumburg and the Austrian tax and auditing consultancy LeitnerLeitner have formed an exclusive alliance with the objective of advising corporate groups, familyowned businesses and wealthy individuals from both countries on cross-border tax matters. Typical joint ventures include the relocation of headquarters or the founding of a subsidiary company, moving abroad and the development and implementation of transfer pricing systems. ”Although law is becoming more and more internationalized and more requirements are becoming
94 | Issue 26 | May 2015
unified, particularly within the EU, tax law still largely remains the domain of individual countries,” says Jens Schönfeld, partner at Flick Gocke Schaumburg. “This means that local experts are required with a deep understanding of the tax law,” continues Gerald Gahleitner, partner at LeitnerLeitner.
It’s evident that the same holds for Flick Gocke Schaumburg as it does for LeitnerLeitner: As so-called ‘top tier’ firms, both are traditionally ranked amongst the leading tax-focused companies in Germany and Austria. But it isn’t just in these relevant rankings of the best legal and tax consulting companies where they both feature at the fore; they’re both highly prominent
Portraits: Jens Schönfeld (left) & Gerald Gahleitner (right)