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

ADMD/Mavioglu & Alkan Law Office, which focuses on tax as a core practice area, handles the tax aspects of M&A and foreign investments, tax audits, tax incentive programs, tax planning and regulatory matters. Tax disputes are another bedrock of the practice; the firm advises on the annulment of administrative proceedings and sanctions, and the cancellation of tax calculations and fines. Team head Duygu Alkan is experienced in tax-based controversies, and tax and administrative litigation. Orhan Yavuz Mavioglu is also recommended.

Esin Attorney Partnership, Member of Baker & McKenzie International is well-placed to cover the entire spectrum of tax matters for clients, with its specialist team working closely with members of the compliance, real estate, banking and finance, employment, trade and commerce and corporate maintenance practices. Areas of expertise include transfer pricing, tax planning, internal taxation and dispute resolution. The group also provides M&A-related tax support, and is also knowledgeable about international taxation, tax restructuring, wealth management, employee benefits and indirect tax. Practice head Erdal Ekinci undertakes a significant amount of work for multinational companies. Güneş Helvacı is recommended for her experience of cross-border transactions and international tax matters that involve Turkish tax legislation. Senior associate Orhan Pala joined from an in-house role at Erdemir.

GSG Attorneys at Law/GSG Hukuk's team, which undertakes a mix of advisory and contentious work, has recently seen a notable uptick in criminal tax matters. In addition, it has assisted clients with assessing the potential implications of the Tax Amnesty Law. It acts for clients operating in areas such as retail, media (including social media) and professional networking. Zeki Gündüz advises global multinational companies on various matters, including tax investigations and customs disputes. Ezgi Turkmen co-heads the team with Gündüz. Gulcan Caliskan was promoted to director.

Pekin & Pekin serves as a one-stop shop in the tax sphere, with the firm being able to leverage the breadth of its resources across multiple departments to cover the entire ambit of issues impacting clients. Ahmed Pekin and Firat Yalçin jointly lead the specialist tax team, which has extensive expertise in  domestic and international tax issues and disputes. Its work covers audits by the Tax Authority, tax litigation and advice on tax optimisation strategies. The firm is also noted for its strength in taxes related to financial instruments, such as OTC derivative transactions, FX transactions, loan transactions and supply chain finance structures. Senior associate Onur Çeliker is experienced in providing tax advisory and litigation services to multinationals.

NAZALI Attorney Partnership advises domestic and international clients on the tax aspects of M&A and restructurings, tax inspections, transfer pricing and tax litigation. Recent developments in the team included Murat Demir and Ali Özdin joining from Ernst & Young and Eren Holding A.Ş respectively.  Other names to note are Ersin Nazalı, Begüm Solak Ekler, Gözde Saruhan Berk and Mükerrem Yanar. Anil Ecevit left the firm for an in-house role at Rönesans Holding.

Paksoy advises clients on a wide variety of tax issues, including corporate taxation, taxation of investments, customs and excises, tax litigation and transfer pricing. On the transactional side, the team provides tax support on finance, capital markets and real estate transactions. Other areas of expertise include the tax aspects of restructuring, cross-border investments and acquisitions. Counsel Şansal Erbacıoğlu leads the group.

Bezen & Partners advises on corporate tax, VAT, special consumption tax, stamp duty, banking and insurance transaction tax and customs duties. Customs disputes and tax litigation are other areas of activity for the group, which is also knowledgeable about M&A-related matters and investment incentive schemes. Serdar Bezen and counsel Ege Göktuna head up the team. Another notable individual is Can Özilhan, who made partner. Uğur Sebzeci left the firm for an in-house role at Rönesans Holding.

Hergüner Bilgen Özeke has been increasingly active in tax-related court proceedings arising from an increase in property tax imposed on real estate owned in Turkey. In addition to being adept at tax litigation, the team works closely with the corporate department. Ayşe Hergüner Bilgen leads the team, which was strengthened by the arrival of Emre Ergin from a multinational audit company. Ece Başaran Küçük was promoted to senior associate.