Yaron Shidlo, Yitzhaki & Co. Law Firm

Yaron Shidlo, Yitzhaki & Co., is one of the leading firms in Israel’s tax law field. The majority of the firm’s activities focus on international taxation, and it also provides excellent legal services in the field of real estate taxation. All of the firm’s partners are former employees of the Israel Tax Authority, and thus they bring with them a great deal of unique experience and in-depth knowledge that they amassed from inside the system. The senior positions they held at the Tax Authority involved familiarity with the Authority’s proceedings, norms and directives, as well as extensive theoretical knowledge, resulting in in-depth expertise of the Authority’s modes of action in all fields. The synergy that arises from the firm’s extensive expertise in international taxation and its experience with the authorities creates added value that greatly benefit the firm’s clients.

The boutique firm enjoys a distinct mix that combines civil and criminal law with extensive international activities, focusing mainly on the EU, and especially England – including counseling residents returning from abroad. The firm specializes in civil matters, such as income tax, international taxation, Israeli taxes and real estate taxation, as well as representing clients in criminal cases, such as voluntary disclosure proceedings and criminal investigations in various tax-related fields. This combination of specialties can be attributed to the unique experience garnered by the firm’s partners – Adv. Yaron Shidlo in the field of international taxation and Adv. Eli Yitzhaki in the field of Israeli tax law, both civil and criminal.

Practice Areas

The firm provides legal services in fields of civil law, including income tax, international taxation and tax procedures in a range of real estate transactions. The firm’s expertise lies in providing representation in criminal cases and in real estate taxation, assisting in planning the tax aspects of transactions, reducing tax liabilities and proper, routine conduct vis-à-vis the tax authorities. The professional services offered by the firm’s legal team encompass the entire lifecycle of a transaction, from its early planning stages, through the implementation and reporting process and including supervision. The firm specializes in providing solutions for complex tax matters, including implementing instructions for transfer prices and applying PSBE instructions (the OECD program to deal with international tax plans), both in Israel and internationally. The firm provides counsel and solutions in a wide range of tax-related fields in Israel as well as the taxation of international business activities, including multi-national deals and close counseling for complex transactions in Israel, and international taxation, including comprehensive, advanced tax planning and its implementation. In addition, the firm handles voluntary disclosure proceedings and appears on the list of law firms recommended by the Swiss banks for such proceedings. The firm provides opinions in the field of taxation and managing pre-rolling proceedings vis-à-vis the tax authorities, representation in assessment deliberations, appeals processes and handling of legal proceedings in the various courts of law. Real estate taxation is a diverse field with many branches and it has a significant impact on the feasibility of a transaction and business decisions. The law firm handles deals involving the option of buying or selling land rights, trusts, bankruptcy and the transfer of real estate to shareholders, residential real estate deals and real estate associations, among others. In the area of taxes on real estate deals, the firm provides counsel for combination deals, representing the land owner or entrepreneur, handles compensation deals, deals involving “Tama 38/1” and “Tama 38/2” rights, and deals for selling building rights and transferring building rights.

The Legal Team

Adv. (CPA) Yaron Shidlo – has about 20 years of experience in senior management positions at the Israel Tax Authority, during which he founded and managed the Tax Authority’s International Taxation Unit. He led the drafting of the 2003 tax reform pertaining to international taxation and transfer prices, and served as a senior advisor for international tax matters and real estate taxation, both as an attorney and as an accountant. Adv. Shidlo’s experience includes a series of senior positions at the Israel Tax Authority, including as tax assessment supervisor for large companies, management positions in the Professional and Legal Departments, and Director of the International Taxation Unit. After leaving the Tax Authority, he served as Managing Partner of the tax division at a leading accounting firm, specializing in international taxation and providing solutions for complex tax matters.

Adv. Eli Yitzhaki – is a unique tax expert in both the civil and the criminal fields. His distinguished career in those fields is rare, and imparts him with a singular expertise. Adv. Yitzhaki left the Israel Tax Authority in 2010, after serving 25 years in various positions related to both the civil and criminal aspects of taxation. During the last decade of his work at the Tax Authority, Adv. Yitzhaki served as a tax assessor for assessment offices, managing the offices in Jerusalem (handling the Tax Authority’s NGO cases) and Kfar Saba and as the investigative tax assessor in Tel Aviv and Central Israel. The significant experience and expertise he acquired included providing counsel and implementing innovative work methods that are still relevant today. During his career at the Tax Authority, Adv. Yitzhaki stood at the helm of professional committees and was appointed to various positions at a national level. His expertise in the complexities of the law and the work of the Authority enable him to provide comprehensive legal services in the field of taxation and to blend the law with the complex economic reality of businesses, both in Israel and abroad.

Adv. (CPA) Amir Sekler – is responsible for the field of real estate taxation in the firm. He has a great deal of knowledge in the field of Israeli taxation in general and real estate taxation in particular, as a highly-esteemed expert who combines unique skills in the area of income tax and real estate taxation. Adv. Sekler is an alumnus of the Israel Tax Authority, where he served as assessment supervisor of real estate tax, income tax supervisor and coordinator of the Contractors Unit in the Assessment Office for Large Enterprises.

Adv. Aharon Oz (Aharale) – specializes in taxation in the criminal sector. He completed his Bachelor of Social Sciences and Law, and his master’s in Administration and Public Policy at the Hebrew University.

Aharon served at the Tax Authority in various positions for 32 years. Over the course of the years starting as Inspector in the Department of Investigations, Coordinator (Chief of Staff), Deputy Unit Director and Director of the Investiga-tions Unit. In addition, he gained experience in the civil taxation sector and served for five years as Official Assessor in Jerusalem. Starting in 2008, he served as Director of the National Investigations Unit Field Intelligence (Official As-sessor Central Investigations). From 2010 he directed the establishment of a new unit in the Tax Authority: The Ya-halom Unit – dedicated to national investigations and the fight against organized crime and other criminal activities. From 2011 and for seven years, Aharon served as director of the Yahalom unit working in close coordination with Israel Police and various legal departments, criminal and civil.