The Legal 500

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick’s eight-partner tax team primarily handles high-end advisory work, but is also very capable in litigation, and Henk Verstraete is assisting a financial institution in a €1bn dispute relating to Belgian tax on stock exchange transactions, and how that applies to internet-based transactions. On the non-contentious side, Philippe Malherbe is advising a multinational on a €1bn restructuring to allow its foreign parent company to benefit from new tax credit rules in its state of residence. Practice head Daniel Garabedian is recommended.

Linklaters is praised for its ‘fast response times and technical excellence’. Clients include BNP Paribas Fortis, Coca-Cola Enterprises and ArcelorMittal. Belgian practice chair Henk Vanhulle, who is an expert in corporate tax, was recently promoted to global head of tax. He advised GDF Suez on the tax aspects of combining its international energy business with International Power in 2010. Ivo Onkelinx has an ‘excellent appreciation of the balance between theory and practice’, and Guido De Wit is ‘an expert in VAT matters’.

Clients note the expertise, responsiveness, and appropriateness of advice as the key qualities of Loyens & Loeff’s tax department. Led by the ever reliable Xavier Clarebout, the group has clear expertise in general tax advice, tax litigation, transfer pricing as well as accounting law. In 2011, Christian Chéruy and Marc Dhaene advised a German group on structuring aspects of the acquisition of a manufacturing company with entities in the US and Europe. The firm also represented a US group in a tax controversy and the worldwide restructuring of its business. Accounting specialist Yvan Stempnierwsky is also recommended.

Baker & McKenzie’s tax practice is driven by Alain Huyghe, who assists clients with contentious tax matters as well as domestic and international tax planning and transfer pricing. Philippe Lion, who is recommended for corporate and international tax, advised Nyrstar on the legal and tax aspects of its €490m rights offering, which involved a review of the entire group’s tax structure. Other recent work for the practice includes advising Gimv on tax aspects of a new infrastructure investment fund, and obtaining a tax ruling for AG Insurance on the tax implications of an “umbrella” life insurance contract.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Axel Haelterman enjoys a leading reputation, but his team lost principal associate Mathieu Ex to Greenille in 2011. Nonetheless, the group is adept at contentious and non-contentious tax matters, and has particular expertise in real estate-related tax and advisory work for international investment bankers. Recent work includes acting for Blue Sky (a consortium of seven Belgian energy players) on structuring a cross-border pooling of energy production sites. The firm also continued to advise Solvay on the tax aspects of the €5.2bn sale of its pharmaceuticals division to Abbott Laboratories.

The tax group at Tiberghien (in cooperation with Altius) covers VAT law (particularly in real estate and finance transactions) and environmental taxes and contributions. Recent instructions include advising a major Belgian food and beverages group on restructuring its activities in Asia, and a Belgium-based multinational during a transfer pricing audit. Estate planning is another area of strength. Former managing partner Danny Stas left the firm at the end of 2011.

Niche firm Afschrift advises companies and individuals on contentious and non-contentious aspects of tax law. The firm fields 13 partners in Brussels and has a strong network of offices across Europe, all handling direct and indirect issues, concerning national and international tax law. Name partner Thierry Afschrift is highly recommended, and is described by some as a ‘genius’.

Allen & Overy LLP’s workload reflects sound capabilities in finance, M&A and real estate-related tax issues, but the firm also has a strong litigation practice. The team recently advised US-based Diamond Foods on the Belgian tax aspects of its $2.3bn acquisition of the Pringles snack business from Procter & Gamble. Practice head Patrick Smet is the key contact, and is supported by one counsel and a senior associate.

Clifford Chance had a strong year advising on real estate tax matters, financial structures and products, employee incentive plans and internal reorganisations. Thierry Blockerye heads the group, which recently advised Eurostar on restructuring its Belgian, French and English railway companies into one single entity; this involved the negotiation of a transfer pricing ruling. Other clients include BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC and Copeba.

DLA Piper boosted its tax practice in 2011 by recruiting Ortwin Carron from Monard – D’Hulst and senior associate Denis-Emmanuel Philippe from Loyens & Loeff. This ‘very good’ team is led by Jeroen Gobbin, who delivers an ‘excellent service in VAT matters’, and focuses on indirect taxes, real estate tax and tax disputes.

Eubelius’ tax practice encompasses tax fraud advice and tax litigation, and increasingly extends to advising wealthy Belgian taxpayers on taxation and estate planning. On the advisory side, the firm represented AXA Real Estate Investment on the Belgian tax issues of its €1.5bn international group refinancing. Practice head Philippe Hinnekens is the key contact.

Greenille provides ‘top-notch tax advice’ to private clients. It strengthened its resources by hiring Stéphane Martin from Allen & Overy LLP and Mathieu Ex from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, both of whom were made up to partner in September 2011. Recent instructions have included global wealth planning; analysing tax aspects of an investment fund; and obtaining a tax ruling on Belgian residency. Managing parner Alain Nijs is recommended, as is Yves-Henri Leleu, who is ‘very knowledgeable in the field of succession planning’ and ‘takes the global picture into account’. Anton van Zantbeek departed the firm in June 2011 to set up Rivus.

Jones Day is primarily recommended for the non-contentious tax aspects of US-related and pan-European transactions. In December 2010, it advised Soros Fund Management on tax aspects concerning the simplification of part of its €21.5m private equity arm, which involved the dissolution of four Belgian holding companies. Howard Liebman leads the tax department, and is supported by of counsel Werner Heyvaert, who is ‘a complete master of his trade’; ‘he says what he will do and he does it’.

Laga’s tax litigation practice has gone from strength to strength since the arrival of Luc De Broe and his tax team from Stibbe in 2010. For advisory work, Tim Wustenberghs and Eric von Frenckell are highly regarded, and are advising a major player in the airline industry on tax aspects of a multi-jurisdictional reorganisation.

Monard – D’Hulst’s ‘excellent’, 13-strong tax department spans offices in Brussels, Hasselt and Kortrijk, and provides tax advisory and litigation expertise, including support in criminal proceedings. Hilde Van den Keybus and Stefaan Lettens are the key contacts for private client matters, specialising in family, estate and inheritance issues. The firm has also developed significant practices in tax lobbying and tax regularisation of non-declared foreign income. Ortwin Carron joined DLA Piper and Joke Vanden Branden moved to Alfa Advocaten.

NautaDutilh dealt with Jan Werbrouck’s departure by recruiting international tax planning expert Pascal Faes from Van Bael & Bellis, and appointing him as the new head of practice. Benoît Malvaux is another key figure in the team. Recent work for the gorup includes representing Leleux Corporate Finance in a securitisation transaction to optimise tax rates. In real estate, the group advised City Mall Invest on tax structuring relating to the development of a €100m shopping centre in Verviers.

Stibbe’s ‘very professional’ tax team is particularly expert in VAT, and is advising PMV on a complex PPP structure, which enables the municipalities of the Flemish Community to invest in sports infrastructures in a more VAT-efficient way. The group recently attracted a number of new clients, including FIFA, Oyster Asset Management and Port de Bruxelles. Department head Thierry Denayer advises on domestic and international tax matters.

Bird & Bird is best known for its tax advice in relation to IP and aviation matters, but practice head Brent Springael also has expertise in advising non-profit organisations in Belgium on their VAT status and invoicing rules. In the aviation sector, the firm advised Dart Group (Jet2.com) on VAT aspects of the sale of an aircraft.

CMS DeBacker’s tax department does a ‘very good job at anticipating key issues and delivering practical and quick answers’. The team includes Didier Grégoire, who has a particular focus on real estate tax issues. However, international tax expert Lievin De Wulf recently left the firm.

Dumon Sablon & Vanheeswijck specialises in tax law and related business and estate matters, and has a longstanding reputation in the market, both for tax planning and contentious matters. Johan Dumon, Stefan Sablon and Luc Vanheeswijck are adept at advising on income tax, estate planning, corporate reorganisations, money laundering and criminal tax law.

Field Fisher Waterhouse’s main tax contact is Pierre-Philippe Hendrickx, who is ‘always positive and proactive’ and has ‘vast know-how on a range of tax matters’. In 2011, the group advised Floridienne Chimie on all tax, financial and contractual issues relating to the erection of a new chemicals factory.

Mayer Brown advises on cross-border taxes and transfer pricing. Practice head Astrid Pieron and senior associate Charles-Albert Helleputte are ‘particularly efficient lawyers’, who recently assisted Matéris in deploying its transfer pricing documentation across Europe.