Esther Geldenhuys
Partner | Johannesburg
Contact
T: +27 11 669 9389
E: esther.geldenhuys@bowmanslaw.com
Overview
Esther specialises in international tax and exchange control in respect of both outbound and inbound investments, with a keen focus on African investments. She has experience in international corporate tax, foreign-controlled companies, double tax agreements, offshore acquisition financing structures, foreign structures, foreign trusts, transfer pricing and South African exchange control. She also has experience in voluntary disclosure programmes, emigrations and international tax planning for wealthy individuals and families. Esther has significant project management skills and have worked on various high-profile deals and transactions.
Professional Memberships
- Esther was admitted as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa in 2014.
Experience
Having previously worked for two other big South African law firms, Esther has a broad set of technical skills in the individual tax, corporate tax, international tax and exchange control space, including the following:
- assisting and providing tax advice to Linde plc, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company, on the take private of its JSE listed subsidiary Afrox Limited through a scheme of arrangement;
- assisting and providing tax advice to the South African Breweries and Anheuser-Busch InBev on the unwind of their existing B-BBEE transaction and the launch of a new B-BBEE transaction;
- assisting and providing tax and exchange control advice to Allianz SE, a multinational financial services company, in respect of the establishment of a joint venture with Sanlam;
- assisting and providing tax and exchange control advice to Digital Realty, a real estate investment trust company, in respect of the acquisition of a majority stake in TDE Investments (which in turn holds shares in Teraco, one of Africa’s largest carrier-neutral data centres and interconnection services providers);
- assisting and providing tax and exchange control advice to Amazon in respect of the launch of its e-commerce business in South Africa;
- assisting South African multinationals and non-resident companies with the tax and exchange control implications arising from internal restructures, mergers and acquisitions;
- assisting South African and non-resident companies with acquisition transactions and providing due diligence assistance, deal structuring advice, post deal implementation advice and advice on management incentive schemes;
- assisting high net worth individuals with tax and estate planning, voluntary disclosure programmes and emigrations;
- provide expatriate tax advice, including the application of double taxation agreements where individuals work in and outside of South Africa, as well as in respect of the corporate tax implications for foreign employer companies conducting business in South Africa;
- advising multinationals on transfer pricing; and
- assist South African companies and individuals with exchange control applications.
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
- BCom (Law) degree and LLB degree from the University of Stellenbosch (2009 and 2011).
- Post Graduate Diploma in International Tax from the University of Johannesburg (2014).
- LLM (Tax Law) degree, with distinction, from the University of Johannesburg (2018).
INSIGHTS
Africa: Tax and currency controls in infrastructure-build projects
South Africa: Multilateral instrument – instrument of ratification deposited
South Africa: Recent tax court case deals with the deductibility of finance charges in terms of section 24J of the Income Tax Act
Chambers and Partners: The Corporate Tax 2022 Guide: South African Chapter
South Africa: Most favoured nation dividends tax treatment – the end is near(er)
South Africa: Exchange Control – emigration
South Africa: Exchange control: loop structure relaxations
Important tax developments of the post-BEPS world
COVID-19: Does the opening of South Africa’s borders offer tax relief for individuals?
COVID-19: Beneficial ownership declarations and written undertakings
Africa: Important tax developments of the post-BEPS world
Exchange control update
Update on the application of the most favoured nation clause in the South Africa and Netherlands tax treaty
Overview
Esther specialises in international tax and exchange control in respect of both outbound and inbound investments, with a keen focus on African investments. She has experience in international corporate tax, foreign-controlled companies, double tax agreements, offshore acquisition financing structures, foreign structures, foreign trusts, transfer pricing and South African exchange control. She also has experience in voluntary disclosure programmes, emigrations and international tax planning for wealthy individuals and families. Esther has significant project management skills and have worked on various high-profile deals and transactions.
Professional Memberships
- Esther was admitted as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa in 2014.
Experience
Having previously worked for two other big South African law firms, Esther has a broad set of technical skills in the individual tax, corporate tax, international tax and exchange control space, including the following:
- assisting and providing tax advice to Linde plc, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company, on the take private of its JSE listed subsidiary Afrox Limited through a scheme of arrangement;
- assisting and providing tax advice to the South African Breweries and Anheuser-Busch InBev on the unwind of their existing B-BBEE transaction and the launch of a new B-BBEE transaction;
- assisting and providing tax and exchange control advice to Allianz SE, a multinational financial services company, in respect of the establishment of a joint venture with Sanlam;
- assisting and providing tax and exchange control advice to Digital Realty, a real estate investment trust company, in respect of the acquisition of a majority stake in TDE Investments (which in turn holds shares in Teraco, one of Africa’s largest carrier-neutral data centres and interconnection services providers);
- assisting and providing tax and exchange control advice to Amazon in respect of the launch of its e-commerce business in South Africa;
- assisting South African multinationals and non-resident companies with the tax and exchange control implications arising from internal restructures, mergers and acquisitions;
- assisting South African and non-resident companies with acquisition transactions and providing due diligence assistance, deal structuring advice, post deal implementation advice and advice on management incentive schemes;
- assisting high net worth individuals with tax and estate planning, voluntary disclosure programmes and emigrations;
- provide expatriate tax advice, including the application of double taxation agreements where individuals work in and outside of South Africa, as well as in respect of the corporate tax implications for foreign employer companies conducting business in South Africa;
- advising multinationals on transfer pricing; and
- assist South African companies and individuals with exchange control applications.
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