Taxation affects us all. Notwithstanding the popular appeal of tax simplification, there is nothing simple about tax regimes around the world. Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP provides clear and creative tax advice to clients for their transactions and tax controversies, and with respect to tax legislation and administration.

In transactional matters, our strength is assisting the client in weighing complex and often competing legal and tax considerations so the client can make an informed decision about whether to engage in a particular transaction. Once the client decides to proceed, we advise on the structure and review the transactional documents to ensure that the agreed-upon structure is in place.

To meet the challenge of double taxation, we are constantly developing new ways to structure transactions in order to minimize entity-level tax, generate tax benefits or defer taxable gains.

Our individual tax lawyers are focused on specific areas of the law, with national preeminence in:

• structured finance and securitization;
• financial products;
• real estate investment trusts and real estate mortgage investment conduits;
• master limited partnerships;
• private equity and hedge fund formation and investment;
• inbound investments in stock, securities, real estate and other US assets;
• renewable energy tax credits;
• energy transactions, including advising on tax consequences in sales and purchases involving oil, gas and other natural resources;
• tax audits and litigation;
• corporate mergers and acquisitions;
• executive compensation and employee benefits, including qualified plans and ESOPs;
• state and local taxation;
• private wealth advisory services in Texas; and
• family trusts and foundations.

In addition to serving tax clients directly, we work with our firm's corporate, securities and real estate lawyers to provide a tax perspective on their clients’ financings, mergers and acquisitions and other transactions. In every transaction, our tax lawyers are there at the outset, anticipating the tax consequences and working closely with our clients and the transactional lawyers to structure the transaction to best meet our clients’ business needs in a tax-efficient manner.

Other areas of our experience include:

• spin-offs and other corporate reorganizations and bankruptcies;
• corporate debt and equity offerings;
• international tax planning;
• partnerships and joint ventures;
• venture capital transactions;
• development of federal and state tax legislation, regulations and rulings;
• business development companies and mutual funds;
• public utilities;
• opportunity zone funds; and
• economic development incentives.