Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is pleased to announce the upcoming opening of MHM Tax Advisory Services.

As business activities have become increasingly globalized and complex, companies now require fully integrated tax and legal advisory services.  This is particularly true in fields such as cross-border M&A and group reorganizations, business turnarounds, and business successions for family-owned companies.  We are increasingly asked to provide services covering both the tax and legal aspects of:

-    transaction structuring (including business turnarounds and reorganizations);
-    due diligence;
-    transaction documentation;
-    reorganization proceedings;
-    tax return preparation and filing; and
-    tax investigations.

MHM Tax Advisory Services will be primarily staffed by lawyers, tax accountants, and certified public accountants who are members of the Japan-based law firm of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (including Mori Hamada & Matsumoto LPC).  Operating in a manner that incorporates the legal services of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, the new entity will provide tax services relating to M&A and group reorganizations, business turnarounds, business successions for family-owned companies, and other business activities.  In addition, by providing tax-related services such as tax due diligence and tax filing services, which traditionally have been difficult for Japanese law firms to provide, MHM Tax Advisory Services will be able to offer “one-stop service” for our clients.  We are also currently considering means of bolstering services not only in the field of tax but also in the field of accounting.

MHM Tax Advisory Services’ mission will be to provide tax-related services with an emphasis on legal considerations.  In terms of structuring transactions, our focus will be on risk analysis that is based not only on laws and cabinet ordinances but also on judicial precedent, as well as ensuring the maintenance of evidence that verifies that appropriate consideration has been conducted.  Additionally, in tax investigations, MHM Tax Advisory Services will pursue the client’s best interests by comprehensively reviewing, from a legal perspective, the gathering of evidence, the application of private laws, and interpretation of tax laws.

MHM Tax Advisory Services is scheduled to open in November this year.  The main office will be in Tokyo, with local offices in Nagoya and Fukuoka.  Further details about this new venture will be announced at a later date.

October 2015