29.04.2020

Practice Areas: Tax

Type: Abreu News

Abreu Advogados leads in Tax

The tax team at Abreu Advogados is in the running for the International Tax Review award for tax firm of the year in Portugal.

According to information released this week by the prestigious British magazine International Tax Review, Abreu Advogados is part of the shortlist for the prize, together with six other law firms and tax consultancies in Portugal, as a result of the quality, depth, complexity and innovative nature of the tax advice and legal counsel that Abreu Advogados provided in major tax planning operations, international mergers and acquisitions and major contentious tax issues during 2019.

The tax practice of Abreu Advogados had an extraordinary year in terms of the work and prominence of its team, which led on some of the biggest transactions in the national and international tax market.

It’s worth remembering that in 2019, the Abreu Advogados tax partners Miguel Teixeira de AbreuMaria Dulce SoaresPedro Pais de Almeida and Alexandra Courela were joined by the previous coordinator of the tax practice of PLMJ Nuno da Cunha Barnabé (together with his team), along with new partner hires: Marta Costa (focused on private client) and Mariana Gouveia de Oliveira (expert in VAT) that came from Miranda, making Abreu have one of the largest and most senior tax teams in the country.

The tax team, with more than 19 lawyers dedicated to this practice, has relied upon a multidisciplinary approach, covering all the areas of tax advice, of which we highlight, on the consultancy side, the firm’s track record in foreign investment tax, in particular, real estate/tourism and technology, company restructuring, energy sector tax and its specialisation in wealth tax and financial investments. On the contentious side, the team acquired an excellent reputation as a result of the success obtained in complex legal trials in European Tax Law, including Stamp Duty and VAT and transfer pricing, although the contentious practice covers all types of tax. In 2019 the team strengthened its environmental tax capabilities, with the awareness that taxation can’t ignore the social responsibility of the climate conditions affecting future generations.

In the view of the Abreu Advogados tax practice partner coordinators, Alexandra Courela and Nuno Cunha Barnabé, “this external recognition of that which our clients already identify in our team, which is a combination of skills that differentiate us from the national tax market mainstream and a practical and hands-on approach to issues, is only possible in a team that brings together many years of experience and different backgrounds, such as ours” said Nuno Cunha Barnabé.

In 2019 the team had a success rate over 80% in court trials and developed various innovative approaches where the team challenged Portuguese legislation in relation to new European directives and developed new approaches to constitutional law in disputes related to adjustments to international transfer pricing that in particular altered current jurisprudence”, emphasised Alexandra Courela.

The International Tax Review awards that have been carried out since 2005, recognise the operations and notable performance of professionals and tax businesses in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region during a 12 month period.

All information about the prizes can be found here.

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