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Photo, Dr. Thomas Schänzle

Dr. Thomas Schänzle

Partner
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern

Biography

Dr. Thomas Schänzle is co-head of the German Tax Practice Group. He has extensive experience (more than 26 years) in providing tax advice to German and foreign groups, including German family-owned groups, on complex domestic and international corporate tax issues with strong focus on deal-related tax structuring and internal group reorganizations.

Thomas joined Baker McKenzie in April 2018. Before he was an international partner with PwC and a highly ranked German tax law firm and held key positions in the central tax department of Siemens in Munich and Brussels. He holds a diploma in International Business Administration from the European Business School (ebs) and is a certified German tax advisor since 2001. On top of that, Thomas holds a PhD in International Taxation and a Certificate in International Accounting (CINA).

Thomas has published numerous tax articles during his professional career and is a frequent speaker at national and international tax conferences and, inter alia, a member of the Tax Committee of Frankfurt's Chamber of Commerce and IFA.

Practice Focus

Thomas' tax practice focuses on the structuring of inbound and outbound investments and (cross-border) corporate restructurings. He also has ample experience in advising on all aspects of transactions including acquisition and carve-out structuring, as well as post-deal integration and joint venture structuring.

Representative Legal Matters

Prior to joining the Firm, Thomas was involved in several notable transactions, including:

  • Advised a German multinational joint venture on simplified and tax efficient restructuring of its domestic and international group structure prior to an IPO.
  • Advised a German IT company on tax efficient restructuring of its group structure prior to an IPO.
  • Advised US multinationals on IP migrations and IP related withholding tax matters.
  • Advised a French multinational on a carve-out of a business division.
  • Advised a leading German Dax30 life science firm on structuring of an international group reorganization and a post-deal integration covering multiple jurisdictions.
  • Advised a family-owned German led multinational on a post-deal integration covering multiple jurisdictions.
  • Advised a German led energy supplier on the reorganization of the entire group structure and structuring of offshore wind park joint ventures.
  • Advised on the structuring of a joint venture between two German automobile manufacturers, advising both parties.
  • Advises German and foreign multinationals in tax audits.

Professional Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in Germany 2022 edition for Tax Law
  • Top Lawyer 2020 International Tax Law, highly recommended advisor, Wirtschaftswoche 2020

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • International Fiscal Association (IFA) - Member
  • Tax Committee of Frankfurt's Chamber of Commerce - Member

Admissions

  • Germany (2001)

Education

  • European Business School (ebs) (PhD) (2000)
  • European Business School (ebs) (Dipl.-Kfm.) (1996)

Languages

  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish

Publications

Publications

Co-author, “§ 8 Ermittlung des Einkommens,“ in Körperschaftssteuer KStG, 2. Aufl., § 8a KStG (Zinsschranke), Arne Schnitger / Oliver Fehrenbacher (Hrsg.), 2018

Co-author (with Sonja Klein, Christian Port, Lars Haverkamp, Udo Henkel), contributed article in handbook "Steuerrecht international tätiger Unternehmen," Verlag Dr. Otto Schmidt, 5th edition, 3 April 2018

Geschäftsführer: Dr. Alexander Wolff, Dr. Oliver Socher, Dr. Christian Vocke
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern is registered with the Local Court of Frankfurt/Main (registered seat) HRB 123975. It is associated with Baker & McKenzie International, a Verein organized under the laws of Switzerland.