Clemens Petersen is a Managing Director and Leader of the German Tax Practice with Alvarez & Marsal Tax in Munich. He is a highly experienced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) tax professional with over 15 years in the field.
Mr. Petersen has extensive experience with M&A deals such as leveraged buyouts, carve-outs and distressed transactions.
Mr. Petersen has worked with clients in various industries, including healthcare, infrastructure, financial services, consumer and digital products. He has led tax teams working on mid-market to large-cap transactions for private equity and corporate clients domestically and across regions.
Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Petersen was a Tax Partner with Deloitte in its M&A Tax practice, where he advised private equity firms and multinationals on a wide range of national and international tax matters. He was part of the Global Blockchain and Digital Assets Group and had a strong focus on tech-driven transactions.
Previously, Mr. Petersen worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the M&A Tax department, with a strong focus on private equity.
Mr. Petersen studied in Germany, Spain and the U.K. He earned a master’s degree in business administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) from the University of Hamburg and an MBA from London Business School. Mr. Petersen is a Chartered Tax Advisor and Chartered International Tax Advisor in Germany.
Disguised employment (“Scheinselbstständigkeit”) remains a persistent issue in the German labor market. This is reflected not only in the growing number of solo self-employed individuals, but also in the increasing scrutiny by German tax and social security authorities. Disguised employment refers to situations where individuals are formally engaged as independent contractors or freelancers but, in practice, perform their work under conditions similar to those of regular employees.
Thus, understanding the complexities of German tax and social security rules on disguised employments is crucial in M&A deals, as this can often lead to compliance risks and significant financial exposure for the buyer.
This week’s Alvarez & Marsal Tax Update highlights a new ruling by the German Federal Fiscal Court (BFH): Late payment surcharges under § 152 AO are not deductible for tax purposes.
A change in the German tax law obliges (Private Equity) Funds that are resident outside of Germany to file German partnership tax returns in case they have more than one German investor.
This week's newsletter addresses a recurring question in European manufacturing supply chains: How should tooling arrangements be treated for VAT purposes when the tool is supplied cross-border within a corporate group?
Latest insightsThe latest insights from Clemens Petersen's team
