Photo of Thomas Schanzle

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 in providing tax advice to German and foreign multinationals on complex domestic and international corporate tax issues with strong focus on deal related tax structuring and internal optimized group reorganizations.

Thomas joined Baker McKenzie in April 2018 after having held the position as International Tax Partner at PwC for 6 years. 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 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 the structuring of a multi-territory carve out of a business division in 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.

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

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