Personal consultations with Peter Varga and Tomas Demo
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Personal consultations with Peter Varga and Tomas Demo
Who is Peter Varga?
In the Slovak market, Peter Varga is a unique and singular consultant. In addition to being an attorney and tax/legal advisor effectively linking law, tax, and contributions in a coherent business advisory service, he is also an entrepreneur.
At a very young age, he succeeded in establishing and effectively building strong brands well-known in the Slovak consulting world. These include the Highgate Law & Tax firm, and the tax and accounting group CARPATHIAN, which have merged to form Highgate Group. He is the founder of Crypto Tax & Law – the first and only crypto regulation and taxation portal in Slovakia. It is his subjective practical experience in business that significantly enhances the quality and thoroughness of the advisory services provided.
Peter focuses primarily on tax and financial law. He provides comprehensive services in the field of tax and regulatorily efficient business setups for SMEs, including their representation before tax authorities, the National Bank of Slovakia, and courts.
He has over 10 years of experience in these subjects. He advises not only “single member LLCs”, but especially innovative and fast-growing Slovak companies that require a more dynamic and practical approach. He also advises investors and large corporations on simple and complex legal and tax issues. Peter writes articles, speaks at conferences, and as a member, participates in the Slovak Ministry of Finance’s working group on improving the Slovak capital market. He organized and spoke at two of the largest consulting conferences (the Fund Formation Conference and the Legal and Tax Optimization Conference for Tech Companies) on various tax and legal topics.
Education & Experience:
After graduating from law school, Peter spent several years working at the leading international law firm, Dentons, as a trainee solicitor, and later as an attorney. He spent some of this time in the Warsaw office, working on international tax law and structuring.
It was his time at one of the world’s leading law firms that allowed him the insight into the largest transactions in Slovakia, and acquisition of extensive knowledge and know-how. He cooperated with the best attorneys on major financial and tax transactions. Peter left Dentons in 2016 to continue building CARPATHIAN. In 2018, together with Tomas Demo, they founded Highgate Law & Tax, a law firm specializing in corporate, financial, and tax law.
In 2020 and 2021, Highgate Law & Tax was recognized as a Highly Recommended Law Firm for Tax Law in the Law Firm of the Year awards, the only contest of this kind in Slovakia.
Who is Tomas Demo?
Tomas Demo is an experienced corporate, M&A, and venture capital advisor. He provides comprehensive transactional advisory services to owners and founders of innovative companies, angel investors, and established investment platforms and venture capital funds. Tomas also acts as a counsel in corporate disputes between shareholders and investors or between shareholders themselves.
Tomas has more than 10 years of transactional consulting experience. He has advised founders of young innovative companies as well as leading and fast-growing companies such as Photoneo, Dedoles, Isadore, sli.do, AeroMobil, and Bolt. He also advises angel investors and larger investment platforms and funds on private equity and venture capital investments. Tomas publishes, speaks at conferences, and is a former member of the Ministry of Economy’s working group on the recodification of commercial law.
Education and Experience:
- Faculty of Law, Masaryk University in Brno (LL.M.);
- University of Aarhus, Denmark (study stay);
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (study stay)
After his graduation, Tomas worked in the Prague office of the leading Czech law firm, BBH, then with major international law firm Allen & Overy´s Bratislava office. During his tenure there, Tomáš participated as an advisor in the most significant and historically largest M&A transactions in the Slovak market, where he gained extensive experience in representing clients in the sale of companies and investor entries.
After leaving Allen & Overy in 2016, he and Peter Varga laid the foundations of Highgate Group.
What is included in a personal consultation?
Clients determine the topics of personal consultations. In a face-to-face meeting or online conference call, the client is guaranteed a personal and tailored approach and answers to his business questions. Clients can send their questions to the consultant in advance. Personal consultation means an hour-long discussion on the client-selected topics and questions. The consultation does not include any form of written output.
Following the consultation, the client may opt for broader or more formalized legal, tax, or accounting advice, if required.
Who are consultations suitable for?
Consultations are primarily intended for Slovak SMEs who are looking for a quick and straightforward orientation in some of the abovementioned issues.
Less demanding topics can be covered comprehensively, and, in these cases the consultation can be expected to provide final answers to specific questions. Consultations are also intended for industry professionals (e.g. attorneys, tax advisors, and accountants) seeking inspiration or brainstorming on a technical topic.
Several consulting topics cannot be addressed with an instant and straightforward answer without a more detailed analysis. Typically, one reason for this is the legal and tax complexity of the question or subject, which requires more effort and time on the part of the advisor. Another reason is cost. Consultation fees are relatively low in consideration of the know-how offered, so, at that cost, the client cannot reasonably expect to receive comprehensive advice on complex issues, covered by professional indemnity and insurance for the advice given.
Peter Varga
- The ideal legal business form (trade license vs. LLC)
- Ways of paying the owner through the company - legal, tax, and practical aspects (invoicing to own company, minimum wage)
- Tax and contribution optimization for the SME segment (invoicing to own company, foreign companies, tax havens, Patent Box and Super Deduction, royalties, licenses)
- Real estate transactions (VAT, lease and sale, comparison of implications of purchases by legal and natural persons)
- Representation in tax proceedings
- Taxation of shares, mutual funds, bonds, and other financial instruments
- Crypto projects (crypto income taxation, ICOs, ITOs, STOs, receipt of payments in crypto)
- Establishment of investment funds and representation before the NBS
- Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP)
Tomas Demo
- Ideal legal form of a company (types of trading companies)
- Disputes between shareholders and investors, or between shareholders themselves
- Sale of a company
- Representing investors and company founders in venture capital investments (startups)
- Investor entry (term sheet)
- Legal audits (due diligence)
- Shareholders' agreements
- Intellectual property rights (IP rights) protection and management
- Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP)
- Investment fund establishment, collective investment
- Contractual relations with contractors
- Software contracts
Select your ideal consultation
- Ideal business form (LLC or trade license, taxable or non-taxable (VAT payer or non-VAT payer/VAT registered or non-VAT registered)
- Ways of paying the owner through the company - legal, tax, and practical aspects
- Tax and contribution optimization for the SME segment
- Use of company assets for private purposes
- Advice on tax audits
- Basic advice on foreign companies
- Identification of potential criminal law risks in specific optimization situations
- Basic advice on taxation of securities, cryptocurrencies, derivatives
- Maximizing maternity allowance/benefit
- All topics included in the basic consultation package
- Crypto taxation optimization options
- Real estate taxation
- ESOP from a legal and tax perspective
- Options for using the foreign structure (legal, tax, and practical perspective)
- Fund establishment in Slovakia and abroad
- Crypto regulatory advice
- Company/group reorganizations (mergers, demergers, business transfers, non-cash deposits) from legal, tax, and accounting perspectives
Highgate Group is one-of-a-kind in Slovakia. Our comprehensive tax, legal, and accounting services allow us to deliver cost-effective and tailored advice.
Law & Tax
Tomáš Demo
tomas.demo@highgate.sk
Accounting
Peter Šopinec
peter.sopinec@highgate.sk
Crypto
Peter Varga
peter.varga@highgate.sk
