Kevin
Smith
Partner
Kevin Smith is a partner in the Tax practice of Matheson and is also a Kevin is a partner in the Tax practice of Matheson and is also a member of the Structured Finance and Derivatives Group.
Kevin advises financial institutions, investment banks, investment managers and institutional investors on all tax aspects of financial services in Ireland, including securities transactions, debt capital markets, cross-border financing and derivative transactions. Kevin also advises many of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies on tax aspects of carrying on aircraft leasing business in or from Ireland.
Kevin is one of the market leaders advising on the establishment and taxation of alternative investment funds, including private credit and debt funds, infrastructure funds and PE fund structures. He also supports non-Irish funds on their investments in Irish assets.
Experience and Education
Recent highlights include:
- Advising JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. on the restructuring of its existing EU credit institutions, by way of a simultaneous cross-border merger of JPMorgan banks in Ireland, Luxembourg and Germany and the conversion into J.P. Morgan SE, a new European company (Societas Europaea) headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany
- Advising a number of financial institutions in respect of a group re-organisations is required by the Capital Requirements Directive (EU Directive 2013/36/EU) and the tax treatment of financing instruments used for regulatory capital purposes.
- Advising a number of financial intermediaries on all Irish tax considerations related to the migration of Irish publicly traded companies from the Irish Stock Exchange to the New York Stock Exchange and re-settlement of securities in the Depositary Trust Company of New York (DTC).
- Supporting broker-deals and market makers in respect of dividend tax litigation in Ireland.
- Supporting international pension fund managers to recover dividend withholding taxes under European law.
- Acting as Irish legal tax advisors on a landmark ‘debt for nature’ transaction involving a debt conversion for the Republic of Ecuador, supporting terrestrial conservation in the Amazon basin.
- Acting as Irish tax counsel to Irish CLO transactions, including CLOs managed by Blackstone Ireland Limited, Arini Capital Management Limited, Sculptor Europe Loan Management, Anchorage Advisors and Hayfin Capital Management.
- Acting as Irish tax counsel to a number of Irish private credit funds, including Irish credit funds managed by Bracebridge Capital, Crayhill Capital Management, Sound Point Capital Management and Hayfin Capital Management.
- Advising Azorra Aviation (a commercial aircraft leasing platform) on its acquisition and recapitalisation of certain aircraft owning silos of Nordic Aviation Capital pursuant to a prearranged US Chapter 11 process.
- Irish Tax Institute
- Law Society of Ireland
- National University of Ireland, Galway (LLB)
- National University of Ireland, Galway (BCL)
