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Tax investigations and disputes
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Tax administrations around the world continue to be under pressure to bring in more tax and to clamp down on avoidance.

This has led to increasing scrutiny of tax affairs and an international rise in tax disputes and investigations.

Our team focuses on resolving these disputes and investigations. Our work ranges from advice on information requests, global investigations, tax audits and dawn raids to litigation and settlement of tax disputes, including through arbitration. 

We work as one team, combining knowledge and experience from our award-winning corporate tax and dispute resolution practices across our offices and the firm's StrongerTogether partner law firms. 

We provide quality advice on complex, high-value tax disputes across all taxes and sectors for both local and international clients.

Our experience covers corporate tax, transfer pricing and diverted profits tax (DPT), taxation of the digital economy, VAT and other indirect taxes, EU and contractual claims, employment taxes, state aid and public law/judicial review. We advise on civil and criminal investigations internationally. 

We adapt our strategy to your specific needs. We often settle disputes without litigation, but we are also adept at taking cases to the courts at every level, including the European Courts. 

Related capabilities
Tax
Strategic tax advisory
Transactional tax
Highlight experience

We helped:

  • Multiple multinational groups facing investigations into the application of the UK’s loan relationship unallowable purposes rules to their financing arrangements.
  • A multinational US-headed group defend their European sales and distribution companies against allegations by the French tax authorities that the structure relied on an inappropriate transfer pricing model and lacked economic substance.
  • Multiple multinational consumer products and technology companies contest the imposition of (and adhere to compliance requirements related to) extraterritorial German withholding tax on royalty payments between non-resident companies for IP registered in Germany.
  • An international group on a multi-faceted dispute with the UK tax authorities, including on the correct interpretation of an advance pricing agreement.

ContactsMeet the team
London
Helen BuchananPartner
Meet the team
Our thinking

Our thinking

Oct 23 2025
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The Procurement Act 2023 and Tax: What heads of tax and legal teams need to know
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025. As with the regime the Act replaces, suppliers to the UK government risk...
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Themes in UK corporate tax disputes for 2025 (and beyond)
Like climate change, while the corporate tax disputes landscape in the UK changes relatively slowly, distinct trends can be observed when...
Feb 7 2025
UK tax analysis: reflections on the Court of Appeal’s decision in BlueCrest - a “significant” change in approach?

In the article available at the link below, David Haworth and David Haughey from our London tax team discuss the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in HMRC v BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP [2025] EWCA Civ 23, which considers the application of the UK’s salaried member rules.

Dec 18 2024
Tax investigations and disputes across borders

Staying ahead in an era of heightened scrutiny

Apr 4 2022
Navigating risks: tax disputes and privilege

In this podcast senior knowledge lawyer Alison Dickie speaks to partner Sarah Bond, senior associate Simon Murray, and associate David Haughey about the relevance and practical application of legal professional privilege in the context of contentious tax matters. 

Feb 17 2023
UK tax analysis: How to handle ‘unallowable purposes’ enquiries

Nov 25 2024
International arbitration archive

Explore our previous editions of the international arbitration trends reports.

Related capabilities
TaxStrategic tax advisoryTransactional tax
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