Our philosophy

We are lawyers, or more precisely tax lawyers - and we are dedicated

The triad of tax structuring, tax disputes and criminal tax law forms the basis of our consulting philosophy.

With regard to structuring, our consulting is focused on company start-ups, restructures and successions as well as other contractual matters with tax implications. Contentious disputes with the tax authorities concerning tax law and criminal tax law are our passion. Our consulting also comprises adviser liability and partner disputes.

We welcome the opportunities to wear our robes; whether in the fiscal court or the criminal court or in the civil court when representing fellow advisers in liability cases, or when representing partners in a partner dispute or in a civil dispute with tax implications.

We are dedicated to both the written and the spoken word. Language is the tool of our trade; it helps us to formulate convincing arguments, which is why we give it our especial attention. Clearly structured, pointedly stated, our presentations in court and our lectures are our visiting card.

We enjoy the variety of our clients and their requests. They are often referred to us by fellow advisers, whom we support in seeking solutions. Our clients are made up of private individuals and businesspeople, small companies and large corporations, associations and foundations, company directors as well as sportsmen and sportswomen, actors and musicians. In this world, all the interesting aspects of life are tax-relevant, which in turn makes our activities both varied and interesting.

We fight hard for our clients – in court or vis-à-vis the opposing party; authoritatively, knowledgably, country-wide and therefore independently.

We perceive the obligation of confidentiality as a privilege. Clients are not referred to by name in the relevant media. Where mandates do become public knowledge, they have been identified by the media through independent sources.

We are involved in voluntary activities for the benefit of the legal profession; at the bar association, the German law society and local law associations as well as lawyer’s courts and examination boards.

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As a highly specialised tax law firm, we have symbolically incorporated the ‘tithe’ into our logo. The tithe, or tenth part, is the original form of taxation.

In the middle ages, it was paid in kind to the church, and eventually became a monetary tax. Despite many differences, tithe and tax have one thing in common: There always have been and always will be disputes about the legitimacy, form and amount of the demands. Resolving these aspects for our clients is the task to which we have been bundling our strengths and our specialised know-how for many years.

A logo only has a purpose if it can tell a story. Our logo can tell a story, so let’s listen to it together.

The number 10 in a dark bronze tone, the lower part truncated in a line slanting from bottom left to top right.

The Old Testament describes in Genesis (14.20) that Abraham presented the tenth part to God. Through Leviticus (27.30), the tenth part evolved to a requirement dictated by the Old Testament. Thus the tithe was created as a levy or tax and persisted over the centuries. In Christian times it was demanded by the Church, and thereafter by the state. As a levy, the tithe was not replaced by modern forms of taxation until the 19th century. Nevertheless, the tithe is today still a symbol of taxation and thus of the legal context of the Streck Mack Schwedhelm tax law firm.

Our 10 is truncated and halved. Mockingly, this halving says to us: That is history; today, the tithe is no more than a historical dream, just a joke in terms of present-day taxation. And what has it been replaced with? The halving! Yes, the basic principle of halving (German federal constitutional court: BVerfG, 22.6.1995 2 BvL 37/91, NJW 1995, 2615). The state may not take more than half. Again, almost a joke; shocked by its courageous assertion, the federal constitutional court has in the meantime allowed the halving principle to be breached (BVerfG vom 18.1.2006 2 BvR 2194/99, NJW 2006, 1191), and the federal tax authorities are in any case not keen on it (BFH vom 11.8.1999 XI R 77/97, BStBl. II 1999, 771). This accounts for the upward slanting line in the logo: The tax burden is eating its way ever further into people’s incomes and assets. But it is our logo, and Streck Mack Schwedhelm reduces the tax burden! Engaging them brings with it the promise of success. Thus the truncated 10, upwardly cutting the tax, is also symbolic of reducing the tax burden. Commence your Streck Mack Schwedhelm mandate at bottom left and, by progressing it towards top right, you will increasingly shrink the tax burden.

But the logo tells you even more. The tithe over a quarter year prescribes an income tax prepayment; over a month it prescribes advance notification of VAT and income tax. The month of December is derived from the Latin word ‘decem’, also meaning 10; in Germany, this month represents the end of the assessment period and as a rule the tax-related tax calculation. And at the very latest in this month it should be clear to all companies that the line of success points upwards.

The 10 consists of a one and a zero. These are the two figures that make up the binary system. Every computer depends on dividing the world into ones and zeros. Some say there is nothing existing that cannot be split by way of the binary system. And that is another reason we have drawn a line through both figures, for the strength, fantasy and competence of Streck Mack Schwedhelm are not binary or digital, but analogue in the sense of our clients’ problems. And furthermore, the binary system leads back to the 10, in which it appears as 1010.

In 2011 you may have received a letter or a visit from the 2011 census. Again, the tithe. Christmas in December used to be census time, whereby one didn’t get a visit at home, but had to make one’s way to one’s place of birth. Furthermore, 10 is the position number of the playmaker in every higher-level football match – and we are the playmaker in tax and legal consulting. It only remains to say that each of our partners’ dictation references begins with the 10 and then rise in 10s.

If you would like to say or write something about our logo, we would like to include it in the unfolding story of the Streck Mack Schwedhelm logo.