We provide tax advice on all business activities. Our services include:

• Tax training.
• Advance tax rulings.
• Voluntary disclosure programmes.
• Tax management.
• Tax dispute resolution.
• Independent tax reviews and tax due diligence.
• International tax advisory.
• Exchange control.
• Indirect tax consulting.
• Customs and excise.
• Value-added tax.

• Negotiated settlements with SARS in respect of significant transfer pricing disputes.
  
  
• Advised clients on the structuring and implementation of BEE transactions and associated corporate restructurings.
  
  
• Advised clients on assessments from SARS based on simulation and the general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR), and settled disputes in respect thereof.
  
  
• Advised clients on 'black box' transactions and settled disputes in respect thereof.
  
  
• Advised clients on REIT legislation and made submissions to National Treasury and SARS in respect of REITs.
  
  
• Advised clients on tax allowances and obtained SARS rulings pertaining to the renewable energy sector.
  
  
• Advised clients on tax and exchange control implications of South African and offshore investments.
  
  
• Prepared the technical report on OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action 2: Mismatch Arrangements, at the invitation of the Davis Tax Committee (DTC) for submission to the Minister of Finance - which report was acknowledged in the compilation of the Davist Tax Committee Interim Report on BEPS released in December 2014.
  
  
• Advised clients on the tax efficient utilisation of hybrid debt and hybrid equity instruments in funding transactions.
  
  
• Challenged the 'pay now argue later' rule in the High Court.
  
  
• Advised clients on the tax implications of implementing dividend income schemes and settlement of disputes in respect of these schemes.
  
  
• Advised clients on the conclusion of cross-border intellectual property transfer agreements.
  
  
• Advised clients of the tax implications of implementing various exchange traded note products.
  
  
• Advised on the establishment, implementation and amendment of share incentive schemes (eg share appreciate rights schemes and broad-based empowerment schemes).
  
  
• Advised local and international private equity funds on the formation of their private equity fund and carried interest arrangements; in particular, private equity funds considering making investments in sub-Saharan Africa.
  
  
• Settled various mining tax and VAT disputes with SARS.
  
  
• Prepared the technical report on OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action 2: Neutralise the effects of Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements, at the invitation of the Davis Tax Committee for submission to the Minister of Finance - which report was acknowledged in the compilation of the Interim Report on BEPS by the Davis Tax Committee.
  
  
• Advised clients on the tax efficient utilisation of hybrid debt and hybrid equity instruments in funding transactions.

• Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is representing First World Trader Proprietary Limited, the South Africa-based, award-winning investortech and fintech company.  Our fintech team is the on-going adviser to First World, providing strategic and legal tax, exchange control and financial services regulatory advice.  This work includes advising on issues linked to the Financial Advisory & Intermediary Services Act.  We have also been advising this client on the launch of South Africa's very first US Securities Fractional Trading Platform.  Our work on this latter project encompasses drafting novel legal terms & conditions for investors to repatriate funds and purchase a combination of whole securities and fractions of securities listed on US stock exchanges.  This project also included advice on the nominee structure; offshore custodial and brokerage arrangements; required exchange control approvals from the South African Reserve Bank; tax considerations; and ancillary matters.
  
  
• Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr represented Sea Harvest Group Limited (Sea Harvest), the leading South Africa-based, globally-recognised fishing and food business.  Our capital markets team advised this client in its corporate restructuring which included a JSE listing and an initial public offering.  The initial public offering and JSE listing resulted in the creation of a black-owned and controlled listed fishing business with Brimstone Investment Corporation, a black-controlled and managed investment company, as its anchor shareholder.  The transaction involved navigating through a complex regulatory environment, and the innovative pre-IPO and listing restructuring of the entity.

Practice Area Rankings

• Chambers Global 2018-2023 ranked our Tax & Exchange Control practice in Band 1 for tax.
• Chambers Global 2011–2017 ranked our Tax & Exchange Control practice in Band 2 for tax.
• The Legal 500 EMEA 2009–2022 recommended our practice in Tier 2 for tax.
• The International Tax Review 2011 ranked our practice in Tier 3 for tax.
• World Tax 2011–2012 ranked our practice in Tier 3 for tax.
• The Tax Directors Handbook 2012 and 2014 ranked our practice in Tier 2 for tax.
• World Finance Legal Awards 2012 awarded our practice the Best Tax Firm accolade.

Ranked Practitioners

• Emil Brincker is the National Practice Head of the Tax & Exchange Control team. Chambers Global 2003–2023 has consistently ranked him in Band 1 for tax. The Legal 500 EMEA 2017–2022 recommended Emil as a leading individual for tax. The Legal 500 EMEA 2016 recommended him for tax, and from 2012–2015, The Legal 500 EMEA recommended him as a leading individual for tax and named him Lawyer of the Year for tax. IFLR1000 2012 recommended him for tax. Emil was identified as a leading lawyer by Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Tax – Advisory and Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Tax – Controversy for 2017. He was also identified in The International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers 2013 and The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers 2014. ILO Client Choice Awards 2010–2013 named Emil as the exclusive winner of the corporate tax category in South Africa. The Tax Directors Handbook 2012 listed him among the top 250 lawyers in the world.
  
  
• Chambers Global 2022-2023: Gerhard received an "Individual Spotlight Ranking" for Tax: Indirect tax. From 2009–2021 ranked Gerhard Badenhorst in Band 1 for tax: indirect tax. The Legal 500 EMEA 2012–2022 recommended Gerhard for tax. Who’s Who Legal 2016–2017 identified him for corporate tax: advisory.
  
  
• The Legal 500 EMEA 2017–2020 recommended Dries Hoek for tax.
  
  
• Chambers Global 2017–2023 ranked Mark Linington in Band 1 for tax: consultants. Chambers Global 2007–2016 ranked Mark in Band 2 for tax: consultants. The Legal 500 EMEA 2019-2022 recommended Mark in investment funds. In 2013, 2016–2020 recommended Mark for tax. The Legal 500 EMEA 2016 recommended him for commercial, corporate/M&A. Mark was identified as a leading lawyer by Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Tax – Advisory for 2017. The Legal Experts EMEA 2012 listed him as an expert in his field. Mark was endorsed as a tax adviser by PLC Which Lawyer 2008–2012.
  
  
• Chambers Global 2012–2023 ranked Ludwig Smith in Band 1 for banking and finance and in Band 3 for tax. Legal 500 EMEA 2017-2022 listed Ludwig as a 'leading individual' for banking and finance and recommended him for tax. In 2013–2015 he was recommended for banking and finance, and tax. Who's Who Legal 2017 identified Ludwig as a leading lawyer in Banking: Regulatory. Who’s Who Legal 2011 identified Ludwig as a leading lawyer in Banking: Finance and Corporate Tax: Advisory. Ludwig Smith has been named a leading lawyer by Who's Who Legal: Corporate Tax – Advisory for 2017 and 2018. Ludwig Smith was named one of the world’s leading Banking lawyers by Who’s Who Legal: Banking 2018.
  
  
• Chambers Global 2019-2023 ranked Stephan Spamer in Band 3 for Tax. The Legal 500 EMEA 2021-2022 recommended him for tax. Who’s Who Legal 2017 identified Stephan for Corporate Tax: Advisory. Stephan was the exclusive winner of the 2016 Client Choice M&A award for South Africa and the exclusive winner of the 2018 Client Choice Corporate Tax award for South Africa.
  
  
• Chambers Global 2016-2023 ranked Sammy Ndolo in Band 4 for Corporate/M&A. Chambers Global 2017 ranked Sammy in Band 3 for Banking & Finance. IFLR 1000 2020 ranked Sammy as a notable practitioner.
  
  
• The Legal 500 EMEA 2021-2022 recommended Howmera Parak for tax.