Tax Law

Wood & Lee’s Tax practice provides a full range of services in the areas of taxation, including complex capital markets transactions and inbound and outbound foreign investment transactions and operations.  We handle tax matters for all types of taxpayers – from businesses dealing with multiple complex tax problems to individuals facing isolated issues. While we typically work closely with lawyers in other Wood & Lee practice teams, we also act as special outside tax counsel to companies and their boards. In addition, we provide international tax and estate planning for foreign individuals and entities and for multinationals and individual entrepreneurs engaged in business enterprises overseas.

About Our Practice

Although our tax practice embraces all aspects of commercial and individual tax law, our experience in several areas distinguishes us:

• Intellectual Property
• Transactional Tax Planning
• Real Estate
• Securitisation
• International Tax
• Executive Compensation
• Employee Benefits
• Equipment Leasing/Facility Financing
• Tax Controversies
• Local Tax
• Wealth Management
• Non-profit Organisations
• Emerging Markets
• Emerging Technologies

Transactional Tax Planning

A central part of our tax practice is tax planning for business transactions.  Our lawyers have extensive experience handling the broad range of tax issues that arise in corporate acquisitions, dispositions and reorganisations; private equity transactions and fund formations; leveraged buyouts; capital structure restructuring; joint ventures; technology transfers; and stock option and executive compensation planning.  Our lawyers have particular experience concerning the tax issues facing a number of specific industries, including financial services (investment advisors, financial institutions, angel investors, venture capitalists and investment banks), real estate (REITs, syndicators, developers, and tax-exempt and foreign investors), high technology enterprises (biotechnology and computer software and hardware) and equipment leasing.

Real Estate

We handle both traditional real estate transactions (such as like-kind exchanges, workouts and partnership and limited liability company transactions) and complex multiparty securitised transactions (such as REITs, tax-exempt/taxable entity pools and transactions involving foreign investors).

Securitisation

We regularly represent issuers in securitisation transactions such as intellectual property securitisations, real estate mortgage investment conduits and off-shore collateralised debt obligations.  Our lawyers handle offshore net interest margin securities transactions.

International Tax

Our international activities arise from two separate sources:  we represent foreign-based clients and we assist the firm’s corporate clients with tax issues they face as they expand globally.  Our foreign-based clients include foreign trading companies and individuals.  We also represent traditional clients in transactions ranging from highly complex cross-border acquisitions and reorganisations to the establishment of foreign entity structures to export sales and cross-border transactions.

Executive Compensation

We regularly assist clients with the full range of issues involving compensation for both private and public companies.  We draw upon the knowledge and experience of lawyers across practice teams to address matters that arise in the context of compensation design and operation, employment agreement negotiation, executive tax planning and tax law compliance with respect to stock options and other equity compensation, merger and acquisition compensation planning and negotiation, and corporate governance with respect to executive and equity compensation.

Employee Benefits

We represent commercial employers as well as government and non-profit organisations in their sponsorship of employee pension and welfare benefit plans and various types of deferred compensation arrangements.  We also advise financial institutions that offer trustee and investment management services to employee benefit plans, counsel sponsors of pooled investment funds and advise executives on the tax consequences of distributions from employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts.  Our employee benefits knowledge is frequently called upon in corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts using employee stock ownership plans.

Tax Controversies

We regularly represent clients in administrative proceedings before tax authorities and in courts.  Our lawyers have particular proficiency in highly contentious audits.

Local Tax

We have a vibrant local tax practice, focused heavily on tax controversy matters for large multijurisdictional matters.  Our lawyers deal regularly with problems of corporate franchise and income tax, personal income tax, taxation of partnerships and limited liability companies, sales and use tax, property tax, employment taxes, local business taxes and miscellaneous special taxes. In addition to tax controversy work, we regularly advise clients on local tax matters affecting myriad business transactions.  We also have considerable experience in legislative and quasi-legislative work and have represented both individual clients and trade associations in drafting and commenting on legislation and regulations affecting local taxes.

Wealth Management

Our wealth management lawyers provide premium estate planning services to the firm’s individual clients.  We are especially adept at assisting entrepreneurs in anticipating a liquidity event in the near future.  We also have extensive experience representing trustees, executors, and beneficiaries.