Our services in tax litigation

As your tax litigation experts, we are at your side at every stage of the process. We specialize in tax disputes, both in assessing the chances of success and the costs of litigation, as well as in representation in litigation.

An audit meeting risks an unexpected adjustment in tax base and a substantial increase in taxes owed. This means that you now have to ask yourself, if you should defend yourself rather than accepting it. You will need a well-founded estimate of the likelihood to succeed, costs and time frame of a tax litigation, since this is the only alternative to accepting either the original ideas of the tax auditors or a modified version thereof as a compromise. In principle, this is necessary regardless of whether your first impulse is to reduce the amount at stake by compromise or to defend yourself against the ideas of the tax audit completely.
We will assist you in gaining a realistic view of your situation and the chances in a litigation or a mutual agreement proceeding. In doing this, we also concentrate on how the situation can be improved by identifying potential evidence that may not have been taken into account. We use the results for the discussion with the tax auditors in order to secure the best possible outcome for you. Presented with new evidence or new perspectives on what might be relevant at court level, tax auditors are often open to a new appraisal of the situation themselves. In the case that this does not work out, we discuss with you the procedural options, the expected related costs and the expected time frame of a litigation. As a result of our estimate of the likelihood to succeed, you will be in a position to make a well-founded decision about whether litigation is the preferable option. We might also discuss with the tax authorities the structuring of a proceeding with a view to reduce complexity and potential costs of the litigation for both parties.
Should you wish to find a compromise with the tax auditors, it may be beneficial to try to include years and/or tax assessments in such a compromise solution that are not covered by the tax audit in order to avoid a repetition of the controversy in another tax audit in the future. If you wish, we can assist in implementing a solution that you can rely on in future tax years.

As a rule, an administrative appellate proceeding must be finalized prior to the litigation in front of the tax court. We would represent you in an objection proceeding (Einspruchsverfahren or Widerspruchsverfahren, as the case may be) including an informal discussion hearing (Erörterungstermin).

We represent you in tax court. We present the relevant facts of the case and support the court in correcting potential misconceptions of the facts, so that the tax court is better able to base its decision on the actual facts of the case. We also take care that your procedural rights remain intact, that the tax court takes the appropriate measures to determine the facts of the case and that you are unrestricted in your remaining legal remedies in the case that the tax court dismisses the lawsuit.

We assist you in your appellate proceeding at the Federal Fiscal Court (Revisionsverfahren), if the tax court or the Federal Fiscal Court has already allowed an appeal. If the tax court hasn’t allowed an appeal, we also assist you in the proceeding to allow an appeal (Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde). The jurisprudence of the Federal Fiscal Court shows that many pitfalls exist in the proceeding to allow an appeal and some also exist in the appellate proceeding itself. If these are not taken into consideration, the consequence may be that the Federals Fiscal Court may not look into the details of the case at all. Based on experience, we know the most relevant facts to take into account when representing you in the Federal Fiscal Court.

We also represent you in your tax affairs in front of the European Court of Justice and the Federal Constitutional Court.

We assist you in securing binding statements from the tax authority, so that you can rely on the information in future tax years. In a scenario where you agreed on the essentials of a mutual compromise regarding a specific fact pattern, we assist you in the execution of a so-called factual understanding (tatsächliche Verständigung) with the aim that the result of your agreement cannot be ignored in future tax years. Where appropriate in the course of a tax audit, we assist you in the proceeding for a so-called binding confirmation (verbindliche Zusage). We also assist you in the application for binding information (verbindiche Auskunft) on the tax treatment of envisaged transactions and other acts, so that you can be certain that the tax authority will not qualify your acts in a different way for future tax purposes.

You can also involve us in a more limited stage or portion of your proceeding. You may ask us for a second opinion at any stage of the proceeding, even if you are represented by a different attorney. For instance, we can make our expertise available to you by participating in a tax court hearing next to your regular advisor. We are also glad to represent you in an appellate proceeding or a proceeding to allow an appeal (Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde). If you wish, you may also involve us to evaluate the chances of success in other legal remedies. You may also appoint us to represent you in an appeal, where we were not involved in the prior stages of the proceeding.

When you as the regular advisor of a client refer this client to us, we guarantee that we will not seek to, and will not accept to, advise in other matters than the ones referred to us.

We also assist you in criminal tax law proceedings. As a rule, we work closely with colleagues specialized on criminal tax law litigation. However, in criminal tax law cases, parallel tax litigation and criminal tax law proceedings are not uncommon. In such a scenario, it is vital that there is seamless cooperation