Dr Kaido Künnapas > Sorainen > Tallinn, Estonia > Lawyer Profile

Dr Kaido Künnapas

+372 6 400 923 kaido.kunnapas@sorainen.com View profile

Work Department

Tax, Ukraine

Position

Partner, head of the firm’s Tax practice in Estonia.

Career

Kaido helps clients on a variety of topics relating to taxation, including taxes in M&A deals, designing employee incentive plans, tax structuring of investment funds, and cross-border employment taxes. Adapting novel business models, such as crypto businesses and digital economy operators, to the existing tax rules is an everyday task for him.

Kaido is a vocal proponent of modern and fair tax laws. He has successfully represented technology sector companies facing unclear tax rules when issuing employee equity incentives – the most popular way to remunerate staff these days. Kaido has a doctor’s degree and gives lectures and supervises graduation theses at several Estonian universities.

Keeping the Estonian tax system competitive. Kaido has contributed to the modernization of taxation of participation options in Estonia together with the leading players in the technology sector. Frequent work with novel tax issues in the field of crypto and digital economics provides him with the opportunity to play a role in designing taxation law.

Integrating technology into taxation and tax advice. As a Fulbright scholarship holder at the University of San Diego, Kaido has researched the logic of automation and applications related to international tax treaties. His mission is to find technological solutions that could help to simplify the “user experience” of tax law and allow to integrate taxation with products and services.

Promoting R&D through taxation. His participation in a working group of scholars representing acknowledged European universities discussing the current status and further development of research and development (R&D) tax incentives led to a comprehensive report and a chapter in a book reaching global audiences.

Educating the new generation. Lecturing on tax and business law as well as procedural law at TalTech, the University of Tartu, the Estonian Business School, and the Sorainen Student Academy has improved his ability to put complex issues into simple terms.

Languages

Estonian, English

Memberships

• Estonian Bar Association
• International Fiscal Association Estonian Branch, member of the board
• Estonian Society of Academic Jurisprudence
• Estonian Association of Young Lawyers

Education

• University of San Diego School of Law (The U.S. Law and Policy program, Fulbright Scholarship)
• University of Tartu, Estonia (PhD in law)
• University of Tartu, International Summer University (recent developments in EU law. Proceedings at the ECHR)
• Academy of European Law (European Taxation Law)
• University of Tartu, Estonia (MA in Law)
• University of Tartu, Estonia (BA in Law)