Stephan Spamer
Stephan Spamer in a Director in our Tax & Exchange Control practice.
About Stephan
About Stephan
Before joining Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Stephan headed the Tax Department at Baker McKenzie (South Africa) and prior to that was a Tax Partner at ENSafrica.
Credentials
Credentials
Education
- B.Comm/LLB, University of Stellenbosch
- Registered with the Legal Practice Council
Memberships
- Registered Tax Practitioner
- Commissioner of the Small Claims Court of South Africa
- Tax Committee of the International Bar Association
Languages
Languages
- English
About Stephan
Before joining Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Stephan headed the Tax Department at Baker McKenzie (South Africa) and prior to that was a Tax Partner at ENSafrica.
Credentials
Education
- B.Comm/LLB, University of Stellenbosch
- Registered with the Legal Practice Council
Memberships
- Registered Tax Practitioner
- Commissioner of the Small Claims Court of South Africa
- Tax Committee of the International Bar Association
Languages
- English
Experience
Stephan is a corporate and international tax lawyer with vast experience in advising on domestic and international tax matters, transaction structuring and mergers and acquisitions.
Stephan’s experience includes advising companies (across various industries) on the tax implications applicable to a broad range of transactions, including merger and acquisition transactions (tax due diligence investigations and tax-efficient transaction structuring advice), management share incentive schemes, Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOP), Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) transactions, private equity transactions, financing/funding arrangements and corporate restructures.
From a tax dispute resolution perspective, Stephan assists companies in responding to various audits/investigations from revenue authorities, preparing and lodging objections and appeals, alternative tax dispute resolution and tax court matters.
Stephan advises private clients, family offices, domestic and international financial institutions and trust companies, and frequently speaks on trusts, financial services and compliance issues at wealth management and trust and estate planning conferences. In this regard Stephan's practice focuses on the use of sophisticated wills, trusts, closely held entities, as well as tax exempt (charitable) entities. Stephan represents clients with worldwide assets in estate, trust, tax and tax exempt/not-for-profit organization matters.
News
CDH Tax & Exchange Control experts ranked among the best by 2025 ITR World Tax
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), a leading corporate and commercial law firm, is proud to be recognised for our expertise in tax in the recently released 2025 ITR World Tax Rankings.
Revisions to the definition of “value-shifting arrangement” in the context of group reorganisation transactions
The notion of shifting value between shareholders of a company is generally a concern of revenue authorities in that, once a value shift takes place, one shareholder receives the benefit...
Amendments in relation to purported loopholes in foreign capital participation exemption
Like many countries South Africa has a “ participation exemption ” which exempts returns in the form of both foreign dividends or foreign capital realised by South African residents,...
Closing a targeted scheme abusing the tax implications inherent to contributed tax capital
The “ contributed tax capital ” (CTC) of a company is a notional tax concept that denotes an amount derived from the value of any contribution (typically a subscription price) made...
Proposals in relation to the retirement fund industry
The Minister of Finance has announced various proposed amendments to the taxation regime of retirement funds which we discuss below.
Market recognition
- Chambers Global 2019–2024 ranked Stephan Spamer in Band 3 for tax.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2021–2023 recommended him for tax.
- 2025 ITR World Tax Rankings ranked Stephan as 'Highly Regarded' in general corporate tax and transaction tax in South Africa.
Market recognition
- Chambers Global 2019–2024 ranked Stephan Spamer in Band 3 for tax.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2021–2023 recommended him for tax.
- 2025 ITR World Tax Rankings ranked Stephan as 'Highly Regarded' in general corporate tax and transaction tax in South Africa.
Expertise
Tax & Exchange Control
Our experienced tax lawyers have in-depth understanding of the tax landscapes in South Africa and Kenya.
Pensions & Employee Benefits
Our Pensions & Employee Benefits team works with skilled lawyers from across the firm to provide expert advice and solutions.