Tax and legal advice for national and international law firms

PwC has provided tax and legal advisory services to national and international law firms since 1994 through its team of tax advisers, lawyers, auditors, accountants and assistant tax advisers working under a single Competence Center.

The Law Firm team also draws on the resources of our international network of experts. With its many years of experience, the team is well versed in meeting the specific requirements of international law firms and provides tailored support for developing innovative solutions.

PwC offers the following tax and legal advisory services for law firms:

• Tax advice during M&A projects as well as advice on opening new offices in Germany
• Coordination of advisory services within the international PwC network on international restructuring programs and overseas tax implications
• Payroll and financial accounting, preparation of financial statements, including the adaptation of the results from international accounting systems (such as ELITE, Aderant) to German legal requirements and drawing up tax declarations for the firm or partners with unlimited or limited tax liability, including identifying German partners’ overseas income
• Advisory services during audits, including routine tax authority audits, VAT audits, social security audits and wage tax audits, as well as advice and assistance on tax litigation
• Compiling of and providing guidance on binding rulings
• Advisory services on trade tax risk avoidance: certain activities or structures within a law firm could lead to trade tax, increasing the tax burden in Germany
• VAT advisory services
• Support on structuring transfer pricing systems for transactions between a permanent establishment and its head office, design and implementation of attribution of profits to permanent establishments in the light of the Authorized OECD Approach (AOA) and implementation of individual solutions to ensure compliance with BEPS requirements
• HR services such as advice on income tax and social security law, including drawing up and assisting with requests for wage tax clearances as well as advising on the costs of secondments and tax planning
• Legal advisory services via PwC Legal on all legal issues relating to restructuring of international law firms and on matters relating to employment law, company law and regulatory/bar rules