Joulus Gazit & Co.

Joulus Gazit & Co. is a well-established boutique law firm and one of Israel’s top-ranked practices specializing in the tax sector.

The firm was established by Adv. Ram Joulus and Adv. Racheli Gazit, two of Israel’s most prominent and esteemed tax specialists, to provide professional and creative solutions to a broad range of clients – public companies, private Israeli and international companies in high-tech, real estate, hotel and catering industry, energy and infrastructure, developers, public entities including banking institutions, government agencies, NPOs, local authorities, as well as high-net-worth families and individuals in Israel and abroad.

The firm provides its clients with legal representation, advisory, and support of the highest professional standard in Israel across a wide range of tax aspects. These include income tax, real estate taxation, insolvency taxation, international taxation, compensation claims under the Israeli Property Tax and Compensation Fund Law (including war damage and COVID-19 relief claims), and indirect taxes (VAT, customs, purchase tax, and excise). The firm’s services encompass tax planning and advisory, preliminary examination of tax exposure, detailed legal opinions, voluntary disclosure proceedings, representation in assessment proceedings and pre-rulings before the tax authorities, as well as litigation before the courts. Additionally, the firm advises leading companies on tax planning and optimization for complex transactions.

Owing to its deep familiarity with tax laws, taxation systems, legislation, and case law, alongside its specialized expertise, the firm’s team provides clients with a comprehensive, precise, and strategically creative tax overview, tailored to the unique characteristics and requirements of each client.

An “elite unit” operates within the firm, composed of experienced, sharp, knowledgeable, and visionary lawyers. They serve as a professional address for the firm’s clients and for leading law and accounting firms seeking support for their clients’ complex tax matters. The firm’s team is deeply involved in the tax sector, lecturing at academic and professional conferences, leading professional panels, and publishing articles and literature.

In addition, the firm regularly provides advisory services to governmental ministries, regulatory agencies, and public institutions on tax policy and legislative matters.

Practice Areas

Income Tax
The firm’s team possesses extensive knowledge and practical experience in income tax, built upon a strong institutional legacy - including the expertise of the firm’s late consultant partner, Adv. Yacov Joulus (former Deputy Income Tax Commissioner), and the leadership of founding partner Adv. Ram Joulus (former Head of the Liquidations, Receiverships, and Bankruptcies Unit at the Income Tax Commission). The firm is actively involved in significant commercial transactions, optimizing tax liabilities, issuing professional opinions, conducting assessment proceedings before tax authorities, and representing clients in tax appeals across various legal instances. Practice areas include tax aspects of mergers and spin-offs, corporate tax, partnership taxation, individual taxation, employee stock option plans (ESOP), capital markets taxation, voluntary disclosure arrangements, trust taxation, capital investment encouragement laws, and transaction financing.

Insolvency Proceedings Taxation
Joulus Gazit & Co. is Israel’s leading law firm in insolvency taxation, covering a full spectrum of proceedings including debt restructurings, bond arrangements, liquidations, stays of proceedings, receiverships, and bankruptcies. The firm advises a wide range of stakeholders, including banking institutions, institutional bodies, bondholders, local authorities, corporate entities, as well as officeholders such as liquidators, receivers, debt/bond trustees, and bankruptcy trustees. As a recognized authority in this domain, the firm is involved in major insolvency and debt restructurings in Israel, contributes to legislative initiatives, and serves as an advisor to the Official Receiver.

Real Estate Taxation
The firm’s team provides close legal support and guidance in complex real estate transactions, including combination and consideration deals, urban renewal programs (including TAMA 38 seismic retrofitting and Pinui-Binui evacuation-and-reconstruction projects), purchasing groups, real estate associations, building rights taxation, and related matters. The firm’s client base includes real estate developers, financing entities, investment funds, insurance companies, public and private construction firms, renewable energy developers, and property owners in urban renewal projects. Services include transaction planning, legal opinions, contract drafting, complex filings, pre-ruling applications, assessment proceedings, and tax litigation.

Value Added Tax (VAT)
The firm’s team is actively involved in providing professional tax opinions, tax planning, legal guidance, and representation before tax authorities and courts, including on complex issues such as cross-border VAT, VAT exemptions, financial services taxation, and real estate-related VAT matters.

International Taxation
The firm provides top-tier advisory services on international taxation, including cross-border investment structuring, foreign direct investment into Israel, tax residency matters, returning residents and new immigrants (Olim), voluntary disclosures, tax treaties, international tax planning, transfer pricing, and intergenerational wealth transfers. The firm represents private individuals, corporations, and public entities, and collaborates closely with leading foreign tax advisors.

The Partners

Adv. Ram Joulus: Holds an LL.B. in Law and a B.A. in Accounting from Tel Aviv University. Admitted to the Israeli Bar in 1994. Regularly advises and represents leading Israeli companies and entities in complex transactions and substantial tax arrangements. Adv. Joulus established and headed the Liquidations, Receiverships, and Bankruptcies Unit at the Income Tax Commission, where he formulated most of the operational protocols in the field and contributed to precedent-setting cases. Following his public tenure, he founded the firm and earned a prominent reputation for uncompromising quality and professionalism. He has served as a lecturer in taxation and accounting at Tel Aviv University, Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), the College of Management, and Ruppin Academic Center, co-authored textbooks published by The Open University, and published numerous articles in professional journals and press. Additionally, Adv. Joulus is regularly appointed as a court-appointed tax expert and as an expert on behalf of officeholders in insolvency proceedings.

Adv. Racheli Gazit: Holds an LL.B. (cum laude) and an LL.M. in Law from Bar-Ilan University. Admitted to the Israeli Bar in 2001. Adv. Gazit possesses unique expertise and extensive experience in managing tax assessment proceedings before tax authorities and courts. She advises public and private entities, conducts large-scale tax planning, and leads major insolvency taxation cases in Israel. Previously, she served as a prosecutor in the Military Advocate General’s Corps, acting as Deputy Command Military Prosecutor, where she accumulated extensive experience in courtroom litigation and complex legal proceedings.