YEARS

1985 – 2015
YEARS

www.dehnen.de
THINKING IN NETWORKS
DECIDING IN DIALOG.
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ABOUT DEHNEN.
Founded in 1985 by Peter H. Dehnen,
the law firm became known as a German
tax law boutique. Besides, DEHNEN.
became specialized in the development of
lawyers’ and tax advisers’ networks, in problem
solving competence, and the management of
top-notch professional teams.
What counts most in the firm’s relationships with its clients
is the principle of trust, and also exceeding the client’s
expectations. The clients of DEHNEN. are top decision makers
from around the globe and their advisers.
Since 2009, DEHNEN. has had a representative office
in Washington, D.C.
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It might sound like a paradox, but taxpayers
nowadays have to defend their rights with
the same amount of effort as they fulfill their
duties – always bearing in mind the strong legal
position of the tax office. Taking the right steps
to protect one’s legal position is sometimes easier
said than done. Therefore, the areas in which we
offer advice and assistance include the following:
TAX LAW.
• Drafting of tax optimized sales contracts and company
agreements;
• Structuring and implementing a company succession plan;
• Estate and gift tax matters – advice on preventing
and solving disputes;
• Appeal to the tax office and tax court proceedings;
• Mutual agreement and arbitration procedures under
double tax treaties;
• Advice on tax audits and other legal tax proceedings;
• Advice on international tax matters, i.e., permanent
establishments, transfer pricing and related documentation
and filings and double taxation treaty issues;
• VAT issues; and
• Legal expert opinions on tax issues.
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Being on par
with the tax authorities
To be right and to be proven to be right are sometimes two
different things. When arguing with the tax authorities, chances
are that the taxpayer comes out second best – at least in the
mind of many taxpayers who consequently crack under the
pressure of the authorities.
Those breakdowns can be observed in the process of tax
assessment as well as in audit situations. Problems occur not only
in situations that immediately come to peoples’ minds when they
think about conflicts with tax authorities: the denial of tax
deductions for corporation tax purposes, concealed distribution
of profits, company splits for tax purposes, reinterpretation of
income as business income, concealed donation, value added
sales tax, and others. These substantive, law-based issues
frequently emerge in combination with procedural matters like
the burden of proof, the right to a fair hearing, prescription,
suspension of enforcement, and fiscal litigation, both inside and
outside of the courts. Also, the Sword of Damocles of criminal
law, specifically of the allegation of tax evasion, constantly
hangs over every single tax matter.
If not before, now the time has come when the taxpayer is in
need of professional advice and assistance – this is, where we
come into play.
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When the tax investigators
knock on the door
To be right and to be proven to be right – part two. A nightmare
for every taxpayer: At 7 o’ clock in the morning a band of tax
investigators makes an appearance at the reception desk of
your company and the front door of your family home, which
is answered by your children because you are out of town. The
investigation could be based on an anonymous hint concerning
the German Foreign Trade & Payments Act. What happens next
is beyond the expectations of the average taxpayer – unless you
have experienced something similar before or know somebody
who has had similar experiences. The crucial question is: are you
prepared, when your computer systems are confiscated or taken
out of service and you are in danger of being arrested because
of your position as an entrepreneur or manager?
We deliver professional advice and assistance – including the
preventive preparation of an emergency plan and the provision
of a first-aid phone service.
Tax attorney and tax advisors –
more than a team
When is the tax advisor in need of the support of an experienced
tax attorney? The first situation coming to mind may be the
discovery of tax evasion. But in fact, tax evasion only plays a minor
role in the cooperation between attorney and advisor.
In many cases the tax lawyer is the “second opinion” the tax
advisor needs when analyzing and evaluating complex situations.
An experienced tax attorney with his skills in procedural questions
and negotiations who is also an expert in drafting briefs,
objections, claims to the fiscal courts, and special applications
is the ideal supplement to any tax advisor.
When it really matters to the client, four eyes see more than two.
This is where we come into play. Our cooperation with tax advisors
has a longstanding tradition.
Heritage shows the true
character of a family
It happens sooner than you expect: A business woman, principal
shareholder of a traditional family business and manager of the
asset-management trust of the family has suffered a stroke and
realizes for the first time that she has to take responsibility for the
time after her.
Since most cases go beyond the ordinary when it comes to complex
financial circumstances, including real estate and company shares,
or heirs having their habitual residence in foreign countries, there is
a very real risk of a situation that cannot be resolved by a simple
last will or an agreement as to succession. The legal situation in
each country involved has to be taken into consideration as well
as the different national tax regulations. To make matters worse,
unfortunately heirs often fight over the assets of the deceased.
Only comprehensive and farsighted arrangements that actually
work in case of an emergency and which help to avoid the wide
range of tax-related obstacles will preserve peace in the family.
Such situations cannot be dealt with without professional advice
and assistance – this is where we come into play.
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If you have invested or done business in
Germany, you have first-hand experience with
German business partners, authorities, courts
and politicians. Foreigners should be aware of
many avoidable and sometimes costly “traps”.
In most cases, obtaining qualified on-site advice
is inevitable.
GERMAN BUSINESS.
Collaboration with advisers has its pitfalls, too. As problems
and stressful situations sometimes cannot be avoided or easily
be solved, we offer legal advice and assistance: We become part
of your team as temporary International Legal Managers.
• We advise strategic alliances, partnerships and
joint ventures – from start to finish.
• We assist with company formation in Germany, including
authorization and licensing procedures, public funding
and building a tailor-made people network.
• We offer mediation support and counseling in
contract disputes.
• We help build and maintain contacts with German and
international authorities, associations and organizations.
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Catalytic converter
for innovation
Having been international lawyers for over 30 years, we have
gathered considerable experience. The fact that “doing business
in Germany” is different from doing business in other countries
seems to be common knowledge. Even the fact that Germans
have a different mentality seems to be widely known. Still, many
people make the same mistakes like people used to “back in the
days”. The list of possible traps would go beyond the scope of
this article. What makes Germany special: If you are looking
for innovative ideas and you follow the rules, you will be
successful. Germany as the biggest market in Europe offers
almost unlimited possibilities.
We cannot help you if you prefer to go out on your own to
make your individual experiences and personal mistakes. But
if you prefer to be a business person and decision-maker who
cultivates a style of avoiding errors and using opportunities, we
come into play. Our ideas and our contacts are at your service.
Mediation in transatlantic
business relations
Imagine the separation from a longtime executive employee or
fellow partner who may even have co-founded and established
the company. Imagine the dispute with a German-speaking
distribution agent or senior consultant who does not meet the
requirements of the German company. In those and many other
cases, the reputation of the entire company is at stake – and
therefore the parent company is in danger. In the US, people
already realized more than 30 years ago that most conflicts
between humans cannot be thoroughly resolved by the ruling
of a court of law or by arbitration procedures. That perception
led to the rise of an entire industry – the professional mediator.
Once the right mediator for the specific matter has been found,
professional preparation and monitoring of a case can be
the most elegant and cost-efficient way to remove even large
obstacles from the path of settlement.
Avoiding and resolving disputes with German and international
business partners – this is where we come into play.
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German-American
tax compliance
Everyone knows that nowadays, aggressive tax planning
is being challenged by the tax authorities with equal
aggressiveness. Every nation develops its own methods, while
double taxation agreements and international conventions
help with cross border coordination.
Many taxpayers now experience for the first time that their local
tax office is in no mood for joking. Any company having an entity
in another country should bear in mind that being compliant in
tax matters goes beyond what the laws already demand from
them as taxpayers. Some classic subjects of tax disputes are
permanent establishments and transfer pricing. Due to complex
statutes and regulations, those problems cannot be solved with
mere business experience. Turning a blind eye to those questions
leads to a toll to be paid. Especially multinational corporations
are subject to claims, not only from the national tax authorities
but also from the states and communities. As a consequence,
companies are facing comprehensive reporting and documentation
requirements. And this is only the beginning. Double taxation
should be avoided. Here, taking chances means losing.
We come into play if you decide to take German and international
taxation seriously for you, your business and your employees.
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
A
company’s success is built on the trust
between the management board and
supervisory board and the strategy they
jointly follow. Knowledge and experience is as
important as communication between management
and its supervisors. To create sustainable
communication, a company’s legal structures
must provide clear guidelines for information and
decision making. All corporate governance-related
contracts have to be in line with these guidelines
in order to successfully manage success, crises and
conflicts. As this is not always easily done with the
company’s in-house resources alone, we offer our
advice and assistance, including the following:
• Drafting and updating of corporate governance-related
company agreements;
• Mediation support and counseling in disputes;
• Advice on compensation systems for management boards,
supervisory boards and their committees;
• Risk management and compliance related matters;
• Drafting and negotiation of management contracts; and
• Legal expert opinions on German Corporate
and Company law.
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Constitutions
for family businesses
The most challenging task for a company is managing its
succession. The transfer of assets to the next generation does
not only involve the handover of company shares and real
estate but also social engagement as well as the company’s
values. Even though the task is clear and the tools needed for
a creative solution are at hand, only few successions succeed.
One of the reasons is that families and their members (including
in-laws and grandchildren) have not learned to talk openly
about values, property and death in order to develop a
sustainable concept. This is the first step that has to be taken
before the family business ”can learn to walk”.
Examples of successful succession tools include a third-party
manager, an advisory committee, a board, a family trust, or
a family pool. Those elements have to blend in with the whole
family constitution. The family constitution marks the end of a
long series of talks and discussions, documenting the consent
of all participants. Just as everyone’s life, this constitution is
always subject to adaption and change as the circumstances
may change.
We come into play when you decide to provide a framework
with clear rules for your large or small family as a supplement to
a will, to a legacy, to an agreement as to succession, to a waiver
of forced heirship rights, to a health care proxy or to a patient’s
provision.
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Contracts are
not made forever
Contracts are important and useful, but only if they work in the
situations that they were designed for. That is true for business
contracts as well as for manager or executive contracts. The
“basics” are easily drafted, but what has not found its way into
the contract but should be there? How to address uncomfortable
topics and how to negotiate difficult issues – all of that under
the pressure of time and emotions? This applies particularly
when unexpected events are about to take place or have
already happened, e.g., a constructive dismissal by relocation,
sale of the business, new corporate structure, or dangerous
financial investments ordered by the shareholder. In any of these
cases, a contract is just as good as the creativity of its drafters.
We come into play when you plan to enter into an agreement which
concerns your professional future or plan to alter or terminate such
an agreement.
Prevention
is better than cure
Imagine you take over the administration of a business. In case
you have done that before, you can rely on your experience.
If this is a first for you, you need a “100-day-plan”. You have
your strategy and your goals in mind and you can agree on
them with the board or the shareholders. But is the team on
your side? Do you recognize a minefield when you see it?
Lawyers are not all-rounders and do not always have a better
solutions than tax advisors. But experienced lawyers can teach
you how to install and maintain your personal risk management –
and how to deal with problems appropriately.
We come into play when you are in need of a qualified dialog
partner for important business decisions.
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Action
not words
Holistic
not isolated
Experience
not theory
Individual
not standard
Reality
not models
CREDO.
We understand consulting as a service
with a concrete result. Our work is
guided by clear and simple rules.
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Results
not promises
Inconspicuous
not intrusive
Implementation
not advice
Systematic
not coincidental
Discretion
not publicity
LONDON
AMSTERDAM
HAMBURG
BRUSSELS
DÜSSELDORF
BERLIN
FRANKFURT
MUNICH
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OFFICE DÜSSELDORF
Prinz-Georg-Str. 91, 40479 Düsseldorf
Tel. +49 (0)211-4497-07
Fax +49 (0)211-4497-722
E-Mail office@dehnen.de
OFFICE WASHINGTON D.C.
1425 K Street NW, Suite 350
Washington, D.C. 20005
Tel. +1 202-587 5678
Fax +1 202-587 5601
www.dehnen.de
© DEHNEN.Rechtsanwälte 2015 | © Photos by Irschik
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