International Taxation

Whether you are seeking 

• tax planning and advice in navigating the cross-border tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Act, taking advantage of the dividends received deduction, repatriating pre- 2018 earnings from foreign subsidiaries, and planning for the use of unused foreign tax credits
• to address the challenges of today's dynamic market and ensure compliance with perpetually changing domestic and international tax laws
• tax-efficient structures for in-bound and outbound investments, international joint ventures, and business planning

we have the experience to help every step of the way. 

We help clients with tax-efficient inbound and outbound structures to assist clients with U.S. and foreign taxes  

Our Nelson Mullins team relies on decades of experience and close relations with foreign counsel to assist our clients with tax efficiency and compliance.  

Our team includes attorneys with diverse experience, skills, and education, including:

• Prior experience as partners and associates in multinational legal and accounting firms
• Comprehensive international banking, real estate, finance, and tax experience 
• Fluency in multiple languages and deeply familiar with various business and social cultures throughout the world
• Frequent speakers at local, national, and international conferences and authors on a broad array of international taxation topics
• Former and current adjunct professors at multiple top law schools
• Fellows of American College of Tax Counsel

When particular circumstances require additional areas of experience, the International Taxation Group cross-leverages the talents and experience of several Nelson Mullins practice groups: Federal Tax; State and Local Tax; Estate Planning; Litigation; Corporate; Banking & Financial Services; Real Estate; and other Nelson Mullins practice groups.

Clients we serve

Our clients include U.S. and foreign nationals and range from local businesses to global corporations.

Diverse Clientele Served:

• Large, closely, and privately held businesses; pass-through entities
• Publicly traded corporations and multinational enterprises
• Domestic and foreign industrial and manufacturing companies
• Commercial, retail, and wholesale companies engaged in import and export activities
• REITs and other large real estate investors, developers, and operators participating in cross-border real estate investments 
• Family offices, private trust companies, foundations, and corporate trustees
• Special purpose investment management entities and private equity funds

Our International Tax Practice Group has the right blend of tax knowledge and business understanding to help you bridge complex and differing cross-border tax and compliance issues so you can 

• Respond to the tax challenges you face and apply the solutions you need, and develop creative advocacy solutions designed to help you deal with cross-border tax issues efficiently and cost-effectively, and maximize your opportunity to prevail
• Develop, document, and implement cutting-edge international tax structures and solutions that help achieve business objectives and minimize tax liabilities
• Establish, continue, and exit operations through the formation, operation, and unwinding of domestic and international joint ventures, private equity funds in fund formation and acquisition transactions, operators and investors on structuring complex real estate transactions, and other pass-through and corporate entities on achieving tax-efficient operations
• Select the most advantageous structure and choice of entity for cross-border business operations,  efficiently utilizing partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), disregarded entities, and other pass-through entities
• Reduce or eliminate U.S. income taxes for international inbound transactions both for U.S.-source passive income (including gain from the sale of U.S. real estate) and on income connected with U.S. trade or businesses 
• Minimize U.S. and foreign country taxation for international outbound transactions, including the deferral of tax on income earned outside of the U.S., foreign tax credit planning, and the efficient repatriation of profits to the U.S.
• Make decisions about wealth preservation and estate planning for U.S. and foreign high net worth individuals, families, and closely-held businesses with property interests and investments in multiple jurisdictions, including structuring U.S. and foreign investments to maximize U.S. tax advantages using tax-efficient methods of transferring assets to succeeding generations
• Understand the tax implications of your real estate investments, including advice on tax aspects rising from property acquisitions and sales, and 1031 or "like-kind" exchanges and structuring special purpose vehicles, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs) or equity funds 
• Make decisions on cross-border investments, financial products, funds (both registered and unregistered), derivatives, tax credit investments, and insurance products

Following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

• Advised buyers, sellers, and private equity funds on the international tax aspects of inbound and outbound mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, spin-offs, split-offs, and other business combination and divestiture transactions
• Advised public and private REITs, institutional real estate investors, and real estate fund managers and developers in connection with the structure and tax aspects of inbound and outbound real estate investments
• Evaluated business operations, reviewed tax-planning initiatives, international corporate structures, choice of entity for foreign and domestic subsidiaries, and tax efficiency and minimization strategies under former US global and new US territorial tax regimes
• Advised Korean investment firm on structuring cross-border investments and loans to qualify for portfolio interest exemption
• Advised S corporation with foreign subsidiaries on conversion to the new territorial tax regime under 2017 tax reform and the deferral of the transition tax on the deemed repatriation amount for S corporation shareholders under new Section 965
• Advised clients on structure and organization of off-shore captive insurance companies
• Restructured Honduran cigar company through a tax-efficient foreign grantor trust structure in anticipation of a sale of the company to a multinational corporation   
• Advised a U.S.-based grower of agricultural products in Latin America on outbound tax restructuring to take advantage of the changes under the 2017 tax reform, in particularly the benefits of the new category of Foreign Derived Intangible Income (“FDII”) 
• Advised a Latin American digital entertainment company’s shareholders on structuring the sale of company to a U.S. buyer, to avoid U.S. tax on the sale prior to client’s immigration to the U.S.  
• Advised an Argentine software company on restructuring the operations in South America to maximize the availability of foreign tax credits to the U.S. shareholders, defer income taxes until repatriation of dividends, and receive qualified dividends through a tax treaty jurisdiction 
• Advised foreign investors in US real estate on proper structuring of investments to avoid U.S. estate tax while maximizing income tax efficiency 
• Created an inbound investment structure for a South African investment fund with a portion of the investment qualifying for the portfolio interest exemption in order to increase income tax efficiency for the investment
• Advised ultra-high net worth individuals emigrating to the US on pre-immigration tax planning and sale of businesses interests prior to obtaining U.S. tax residence 
• Advised U.S. real estate investment fund on maintaining status as domestically controlled REIT in order to attract foreign investors in the REIT  
• Restructured foreign corporate structure for ultra-high net worth family owning various aviation operations to maximize availability of foreign tax credits, avoiding anti-deferral income and protection from the U.S. estate tax 
• Advised shareholder of a Dominican financial institution on expatriating from the U.S. under Section 877A 
• Advised U.S. beneficiaries of income tax reporting obligations with respect to distributions from foreign grantor and non-grantor trusts
• Advised foreign and domestic clients in connection with their day-to-day compliance and cross-border operations
• Negotiated tax and economic incentives for numerous large and small investment projects and advised prospective recipients of state and local tax and economic development incentives
• Prepared and advised on tax aspects of various domestic and international contracts
• Advised foreign and domestic clients on international trade, tariff, and customs compliance matters
• Advised clients on tax aspects of international sales, distribution, and licensing, including tax aspects of international intangible property registration and licensing
• Represented U.S. clients before the Internal Revenue Service in presenting voluntary disclosures of unreported foreign assets under the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (“OVDI”) and the Streamlined Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program 
• Advised financial and non-financial clients on FATCA compliance for their offshore investment vehicles or in relation to accountholders/investors with foreign entities held by US persons