Acting as principal counsel for a number of high-profile European banks, financial institutions and individuals for over 20 years, Afschrift Law Firm is proud the position it finds itself in: to be able to help companies and individuals get the best out of their tax situations, all while using the most ethical methods possible. Specialising in the rights of the individual or organisation and the wide spectrum of all that tax law incorporates, the company was founded in 1994, and policy demands its specialists are fully discerning of the importance of what is at stake ? the individual ? in each case it takes on.
Defending taxpayers with regard to their tax administration is at the core of the company?s working philosophy, as well as providing advice to make savings work for the individual and information on generally paying less tax. The firm has contributed to important tax trials in Europe over the years, and with its headquarters in Brussels, and offices in Madrid, Geneva, and Luxembourg, its lawyers are able to meet their clients all over the continent.
Encouraging competition
Leading the firm?s practice is Professor Thierry Afschrift, Deputy Advisor to the Brussels Court of Appeal, and Founding Partner at the firm that carries his namesake, who counsels a vast number of foreign companies and banks, as well as being a member of the Brussels, Antwerp, Geneva, Luxembourg and Madrid Bars. Armed with over 30 years experience in international and domestic tax law, Afschrift can be found regularly contributing to various seminars and conferences, making use of the five different languages he speaks.
According to EU tax policy strategy, ?member states are free to choose the tax systems they consider most appropriate and according to their preference,? so Afschrift and his team must maintain up-to-date competency in the areas of law they practice, in an ever-expanding market. ?In Europe, the most taxed continent in the world, it is essential that tax competition, as transparent as possible, is established and maintained to limit the ability of states to further increase the already disproportionate tax burden,? he says.
A specialist in tax law, including international tax, financial criminal law, mergers and acquisitions and financial instruments and products, Afschrift has strong opinions on current EU tax policy strategies and believes the existence of competition between companies can only encourage efficiency and improve conditions for the customer. ?In tax matters, it is important, as it is for many consumers, that taxpayers have the widest choice possible, in order not to clash with a monopoly state,? he says. ?A state that has a monopoly ends up abusing its position by producing mediocre products for high prices, a reasoning that also applies in the relations between the government and its citizens. The EU, which has an important role in ensuring competition, would be well advised to do so, also in the area of taxes. Unfortunately, this is not always what the EU does.?
Tax law, stripped back to its bare essentials, seems to be getting more complicated by the day, but the field is at the heart of the Afschrift Law Firm, and it provides tax consultancy services concerning all existing tax matters across the board. Afschrift and the firm defend both private individuals and companies in consultations and lawsuits in direct and indirect taxation, national and international tax law. ?Nowadays, all questions about taxation are handled in an increasingly global context,? says Afschrift. ?Fiscal rules proliferate, professional and private lives overlap more and more, and both personal assets and business activities become ever more international. The firm advises all types of taxpayers in order to organise their personal, real property or professional patrimony in due respect of the law and their individual situation in the best way possible.?
Guiding informed decisions
The firm is regularly consulted by companies operating in finance, real estate and other commercial sectors. During its inception, the firm deliberately chose ?boutique? status in order to dedicate its entire activity to the sphere of tax law and financial criminal law. This situation allows them to gather specialist lawyers, and gives the firm independence. ?Being a tax lawyer is a job like no other,? says Afschrift. ?Tax lawyers defend the rights of individuals and companies against the state, against power. Fighting against the state presupposes some strength, determination and independence.?
As a specialist firm, Afschrift mainly helps its clients to perform transactions including the setting up of international financial packages that minimise tax costs, while remaining legally compliant. ?We give preventative, rigorous advice in relation to the decisions and behaviour clients plan to adopt, so as to avoid the application of criminal law,? Afschrift says. ?The firm deliberately chooses not to create distinct departments for consultancy and litigation, in order for each lawyer to practice simultaneously in the two spheres of activities. As a consequence, our clients are guaranteed that our opinions are not merely theoretical and far from reality, but practically viable, taking into account the usual policy and reactions of the tax authorities as well as the courts? position. This enables clients to make informed decisions.?
Afschrift believes innovation and maintaining an open mind are key characteristics of the company. ?As an example of the application of these criteria in the developing fields of tax law, Afschrift Law has often appeared as a pioneer in the development of argumentation,? he says. ?The firm defends all types of taxpayers in all kinds of disputes concerning taxes: corporate tax, individual income tax, taxation of non-residents, VAT, inheritance tax, registration duties and customs duties. It represents them in their disputes with tax authorities and before the courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court, the Court of Arbitration and the Council of State. It also contacts the authorities in order to negotiate preliminary tax agreements, which are binding on the authorities with regard to transactions and dealings not yet taken concerning specific taxpayers.?
Afschrift also defends taxpayers undergoing criminal prosecution in tax and all other financial cases, during both preliminary investigation phases and before the courts. He says that when clients are involved in criminal proceedings, the firm assists them ?assertively and effectively,? and always with respect for their fundamental rights as individuals.
Worldwide collaboration
?These precarious times are an additional incentive to minimise costs,? says Afschrift. ?Moreover, faced with legal rules becoming more complex, sometimes involving actual criminal risk, taxpayers also face increasingly demanding tax authorities. In this context, the firm assures the respect of their rights because no one has to pay more taxes than those prescribed by law.?
Afschrift Law has a large customer base, both in Belgium and in other countries, including offices in Madrid, Luxembourg, Antwerp, Geneva and Tel Aviv, and pays particular attention to European law (especially in VAT matters). Taking into account internationalisation and clients? needs in the scope of consultancy activity, the firm also works closely with cases appealing for a solution with foreign jurisdictions.
?We are now working to reinforce our presence and our activity in Luxembourg, a country of major importance for taxpayers,? says Afschrift. ?The extremely innovative Luxembourg law is interesting due to its sophisticated and advantageous structures for tax purposes.? The firm also continues to maintain strong and long-standing professional links with law firms established in other countries like France, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Monaco, Panama, Liechtenstein, the US and UK, among others.
Afschrift Law has strong associations with the Universit? Libre de Bruxelles and the Solvay Business School, where members of the firm offer their services to the teaching departments. This, according to Afschrift, is highly important for the firm?s contribution to social development and the role it plays in its own ongoing development.
?In the firm?s culture, it is essential to couple the traditional lawyer?s practical approach with a solid, purely scientific background, and this is why we systematically encourage our partners and associates to have a ?lawyering? activity and a scientific activity concurrently,? says Afschrift, himself Chairman of the Master on Tax Management, the ?Mast?re en Gestion Fiscale?, at the Solvay Business School. ?Most of the lawyers who have scientific activities are university professors either for day lessons or in the frame of executive education programmes. This openness in the academic world allows our lawyers to be at the cutting edge on tax issues and to maintain our legal, as well as our economic and accounting knowledge, to assure the best service possible.?
Keeping up with regulation
Afschrift partners also hold regular conferences in order to deal with topical tax issues, organised by Belgian or foreign universities, private companies, or the Bar, and Afschrift says these are hugely beneficial to the more than 300 clients, business contacts of the firm, accountants and lawyers who usually attend. ?Afschrift Law organises colloquiums on tax law in French and Flemish at least twice a year,? he says. ?In 2010, they were also produced in English and Hebrew, all organised in the frame of the Association Internationale ? But Scientifique IDEFISC?, linked to the firm.?
Afschrift maintains it is important people are informed about their options when it comes to the way taxes are to be paid: ?In Belgium, taxpayers have to face frequent and complex modifications in the tax legislation,? he says. ?It is therefore important for us and our clients to always have an up-to-date knowledge of those evolutions. In this way, they can avoid bad surprises and organise their patrimony while remaining legally compliant. Moreover, they are always aware of their rights, and so they are able to react properly when they are confronted by and have to deal with tax authorities.?
Afschrift Law defends much more than just a person and their financial portfolio; the firm often contributes its stance on particular bills, cases or financial laws that are making the headlines. ?It?s essential that our clients are kept informed about tax actuality,? Afschrift says. ?Along with information continuously updated on our website, we also issue a newsletter sent to more than 14,000 subscribers.? This newsletter breaks down tax issues in a style accessible to non-tax specialists. 15 years ago, the company singled out a practical approach for this publication, rather than the usual inventory of new regulations and new jurisprudence, making it an important, yet highly accessible publication.
Afschrift lawyers also publish various articles in law reviews and papers. In 2011, Thierry Afschrift wrote a book on banking secrecy in Belgium and Europe, and his opinion on tax matters is often requested from the Commission des Finances du S?nat or the Chambre des Repr?sentants de Belgique. In 2011, he was particularly involved in the public debates linked to tax issues such as the removal of banking secrecy, as well as the new tax measures adopted by the government.
?We?ve also supported the actions of the Make a Wish foundation by being an official sponsor,? says Afschrift. ?The firm is also committed to the protection of bears in the Pyrenees, notably by giving financial support to local associations.
Maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professional ethics remains top of the agenda for Afschrift and his team as the company moves into 2013 and beyond. After being voted Tax Law Firm of the Year 2012 at the Belgian Legal Awards this year, the company will continue to provide state-of-the-art legal services to its clients. ?The firm maintains in-depth and up-to-date knowledge, as our clients move in an ever-changing world in crisis, while complying with an important number of laws and regulations, and all of this in an increasingly competitive business,? says Afschrift.
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