The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > Sweden > Tax

Mannheimer Swartling has 'a long history of dealing with the most complex clients and tax matters'; the group specialises in all aspects of transactional structuring issues, transfer pricing, tax litigation and real estate tax work. 'Excellent practitioner' Anders Erasmie leads the group and focuses on tax issues relating to the sale of companies and real estate, restructurings, private equity matters and financings; he advised D. Carnegie & Co on the tax aspects of its €312m refinancing with AIG Asset Management and related €72m revolving capex facility. Other clients include GE, Ratos, Handelsbanken and Uniper. Martin Nilsson is also a key name to note, Sven-Åke Bergkvist is now a senior adviser, and Niklas Hagbard made partner in 2018. Henrik Johansson departed for an in-house position at Nordic Capital.

Advokatfirman Vinge's practice is widely recognised as a go-to group for private equity firms for fund structuring matters. The team works closely with the firm's capital markets and M&A teams to handle the tax elements of transactions and IPOs, and also acts for clients in tax litigation. In a recent highlight, highly experienced group head Mattias Schömer assisted a healthcare provider with its restructuring in preparation for its IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm; other work includes counsel Thomas Andersson representing Svenska Handbollslandslaget in the Swedish Court of Appeal in a dispute relating to a contribution from the International Handball Federation. Counsel Maria Schultzberger and associates Lina Hansson and Karolin Ekström are also key names to note, and specialist Ulrika Bengtsson joined the team in 2018 from an in-house position at Deloitte.

Clients praise Bird & Bird for its 'competent, driven and business-minded approach'; the team is well-versed in the tax structuring elements of real estate transactions and developments, and also handles matters in the private equity and technology sectors. Group head Carl-Magnus Uggla  is an expert in tax planning, transactional work and tax controversy issues; he recently worked with corporate lawyer Mårten Willamo to advise Tempur Sealy International on the tax elements of its joint venture with Sova. Senior counsel Staffan Anderson specialises in international tax issues, and senior associate Victor Stålblad is another name to note.

The department at DLA Piper is particularly experienced in the real estate, life sciences and capital markets sectors; it regularly advises on a variety of transactional tax matters and is increasingly involved in tax litigation. Erik Björkeson leads the team and has notable expertise in cross-border corporate tax structuring work; he has recently handled a range of global incentive schemes and VAT issues. Senior counsel Fredrik Gustafsson is another key practitioner.

Setterwalls' practice is 'very knowledgeable' and 'finds pragmatic solutions' and is led by Sören Brekell, 'problem-solver' Karl-Johan Nörklit and Christian Sjökvist in Malmö, Stockholm, and Gothenburg respectively. The team is often instructed by clients from the real estate, private equity and non-profit sectors; Nörklit recently performed a tax due diligence for Railcare relating to its listing at Nasdaq Stockholm. Clients also single out Niclas Hermansson, who combines 'a business-minded and practical approach with very high integrity levels'.

The 'experienced' practice at Wistrand specialises in advisory work and tax litigation across a variety of sectors; Christian Luthman acted for an IT developer in a cross-border tax dispute, and newly promoted specialist counsel Victor Palm advised multiple individuals and companies on the taxation of cryptocurrencies. The team is jointly led by Conny Otteland and the 'competent and up-to-speed' Peter Brandt. In 2018, Johan Linder Säverman made counsel and Rickard Jonason was promoted to the partnership.

Linnea Back is the key practitioner at Baker McKenzie and works closely with the firm's M&A and capital markets teams to assist clients with transactions, contentious matters and the tax structuring of management incentive schemes; she recently advised Cubera on the tax elements of its investment in Anticimex.

MAQS Advokatbyrå's tax practice is led by Lars Odinge and Krister Hjelmstedt in Gothenburg and Malmö respectively. The group assists the firm's corporate team with tax issues in wider transactions and restructurings, and also handles tax planning matters, double taxation agreements and incentive schemes.