WTS, a global full-service provider of tax, financial & deal advisory, is further expanding its market-leading VAT division. The team, which won the 2022 JUVE award of “VAT Firm of the Year”, was recently reinforced with the addition of four new partners: three of them joining from international advisory divisions and one from within the company.
"Advising our clients on VAT issues continues to grow in importance. Dynamically changing international supply chains in the current environment, the further digitisation of business models and the underlying processes, as well as the high attractiveness of the German economy for the international financial industry are key drivers behind the demand for our advisory services. The excellent additions to our team and partnership and our new Service Line Head have further extended our portfolio and enable us to provide optimum support to our clients," comments WTS board member Jürgen Scholz.
Matthias Hiller is joining WTS at the Stuttgart office together with Senior Manager Anne Griesfeller for the Automotive and Diversified Industrial Products division. The tax advisor spent 18 years working in the Indirect Tax division at EY, where his most recent position was Associate Partner since 2018. Hiller has an extensive track record in advising on domestic and international substantive law, such as supply chain change or the founding of permanent establishments. He also advises on procedural issues such as electronic invoicing.
Nils Neuhaus joins us from KPMG, where he worked in Indirect Tax Services from 2014. He primarily advises clients in the automotive & technology sector on the digital transformation of their VAT divisions. Neuhaus also specialises in the auditing and optimisation of VAT-related processes within companies. Neuhaus worked for the North Rhine-Westphalia tax administration at the Bonn tax office for eight years in his capacity as special VAT auditor and main contact for the sales taxation of American companies in Germany, among other things.
Markus Salzmann has been with WTS in Hanover since July 2022. He advises domestic and international companies on classic VAT issues - from support during audits and the completion of VAT Health Checks, to providing VAT advice during transactions. He also specialises in advising on the implementation of tax compliance management systems for VAT. Markus Salzmann worked at EY for 16 years. He is joined by Director Katrin Soßna and Senior Consultant Ilja Mamutov, who are also changing to WTS.
Anton Appel has been with WTS since 2013 and has been working as VAT Partner in Düsseldorf in the E-commerce division since July 2022. The primary focus of his team, which has been built up over recent years, is on VAT advisory for the digital economy, including for platform business, international supply and service constellations, as well as for M&A transactions.
Nils Bleckmann is taking over the management of the VAT Service Line at WTS. One year after joining WTS from EY, the former Head of VAT at Deutsche Bank is taking over the management of the division, which has since grown to almost 140 VAT specialists. In the past year he has significantly expanded the financial services advisory, working alongside the Director Sebastian Kratz, among others, who recently joined WTS from PwC.
VAT Service Line on track for success
The VAT Service Line at WTS Germany is one of the leading and fastest growing divisions on the market. It has won numerous awards in recent years (including the award of "European VAT Practice of the Year" from the International Tax Review in three of the last five years and recently winning the 2022 “VAT Firm of the Year” from JUVE-Steuermarkt). Together with the tax practice WTS Global, the VAT Service Line supports clients in over 100 countries with all VAT-related issues.
