Tax consulting

Tax consulting, as we practise it, is work on one concrete situation rather than a set of general advice. The question is put as a task: can the deal be built this way, what will each option cost, what risk does the company take on. The answer is a calculation and a written opinion citing the rules it rests on.

It differs from the services either side of it. A one-off consultation closes a single question quickly. Tax planning rebuilds the model a year ahead. Consulting sits between them: a project around a decision that is already on the table.

When people come to us

• before a transaction that changes the tax picture: sale of an asset, a contribution to share capital, a reorganisation;
• when starting to work with a non-resident counterparty – VAT, withholding tax, currency settlements;
• when choosing between a sole trader, a company, or several legal entities inside one group;
• when the law has changed and it is unclear what to do about contracts already running;
• when the accountant and the auditor give different answers and a third, reasoned one is needed;
• when the price of a past mistake has to be counted before the tax office finds it.

What you get at the end

Not a spoken view but a document. It contains the facts as we understood them; the options; the tax consequence of each in hryvnia; an assessment of risk – from “the rule is explicit” to “the position is arguable, and the practice runs like this”; and a recommendation with the reasoning for it.

Where a question is arguable, we say so. An opinion in which everything is unambiguously fine usually means the risk was simply not looked for.

How we count risk

Risk has two parts: the possible assessment with penalty and interest, and the likelihood that the position is questioned at all. We show them separately, so the decision stays yours rather than ours. Sometimes it is better to pay more tax and sleep; sometimes the opposite. That is the owner’s call – our job is to supply the figures it is made on.

Confidentiality

The non-disclosure term is part of the contract and survives the end of the work. We disclose neither the substance of the engagement nor the fact of it.

What the fee depends on

Scope follows the number of transactions and documents to be examined and whether a written opinion is required. A question inside a single rule and the structuring of a group of companies are very different jobs. We quote before starting, after a short conversation about the facts.

Common questions

Do you guarantee the tax office will agree with the opinion?

No, and nobody can. What we show is how strong the position is: whether there is an explicit rule, whether individual tax rulings and court practice run in the taxpayer’s favour. The decision is then yours.

Can we engage you if another firm keeps our books?

Yes. What we need is the documents and the ability to put questions to your accountant, not a transfer of the accounting.

Will you help implement the decision?

Yes: redraft contracts, correct returns, prepare documents. That is a separate scope, and we state it in advance.

How long does the work take?

A question inside a single rule – a few days. A structuring project – two weeks or more, depending on the volume of documents. The timing is fixed at the start.