Philippe Kenel

Dr. iur., Ph. D, LLM (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

LanguagesFrench, English, German
Entity and Address

Python | Avocats
Pully/Lausanne, Av. C. F. Ramuz 80
Geneva, Rue Charles-Bonnet 2
Brussels, Rue du Mail 13-15

Bar Admission

Vaud Bar (1992)
Associate member of the Brussels Bar (1997)

Profile

Philippe specializes in wealth, estate and tax planning as well as all matters regarding the relocation of HNWI to Switzerland and Belgium. He is also the founder and head of our Brussels office. (www.philippekenel.ch)

Education

Max-Planck Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Hamburg and Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London (1994-1995)

Scholarship for advanced level research from the Swiss National Science Foundation (1994)

Université Libre de Bruxelles (LLM in European Law, 1993)

Scholarship from the University of Lausanne (1992)

University of Lausanne (Bachelors of Political Science, 1984, Bachelor of Laws, 1985; Ph.D, in Law 1992)

Scholarship from the Fleuret Foundation (1986)

Robert Schumann Silver Medal awarded by the F.V.S. Foundation (Hamburg) (tax, inheritance law and estate planning, employment & migration 1983)

Positions Held

Partner, Python (1999 to date)

Associate, Python (1995-1998)

Associate, Lenz & Staehelin, Geneva (1993-1994)

Trainee, Mes Claude Reymond, Pierre Ramelet, Alexandre Bonnard, Jean-Paul Maire, Olivier Freymond et Jean-Luc Tschumy, Lausanne (1990-1992)

Legal Adviser of the Office cantonal de contrôle des habitants et de police des étrangers du Canton de Vaud (1986-1988)

Memberships

Chairman of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce for Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2007 to date)

Chairman of the International League against Racism and Antisemitism (LICRA) in Switzerland (2012 to date)

Member of the Foundation Board of Ballet Béjart Lausanne (2018 to date)

Member of the Foundation Board of Visions du Réel and President of Club des Mécènes (2021 to date)

Member of the Foundation Board of Jean Monnet pour l’Europe (1986 to date)

Selected Publications

Lump-sum taxation: the control calculation, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2021-2022, p. 38

The new forced heirship rules of Swiss law, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2021-2022, p. 54

Real estate companies - a renewed attractiveness?, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2021-2022, p. 19

Valuation of unlisted shares for wealth tax purposes, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2021-2022, p. 44

Le droit par les cas - Les contrats, en collaboration avec Anne Catherine-Lyon, 254 p., Lausanne, 2020

The benefits of gifts in Swiss tax law, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2020-2021, p. 68

Inheritance tax in relations between Switzerland and the UK, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2020-2021, p. 47

Status and benefits of trusts in Switzerland, in collaboration with Marc Angst (Gestrust SA), in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2020-2021, p. 35

The concept of ‘absence of gainful activity in Switzerland’ in relation to expenditure-based taxation, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2020-2021, p. 30

Obligation to report aggressive cross-border tax arrangements, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2019-2020, p. 40

Flat-rate Taxation and Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2019-2020, p. 32

Which country should you move to?, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2018-2019, p. 110

Belgian-Swiss tax relations concerning wealthy individuals, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2019-2020, p. 118

Imposition d’après la dépense et assistance administrative en matière fiscale, in Notalex, 3/19, pp. 107 à 118

L’imposition d’après la dépense en Suisse, in Revue Générale du Contentieux Fiscal, (RGCF), 2018/6 Novembre-Décembre, pp. 489 à 507

The benefits of appointing an executor, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2018-2019, p. 125

Recent developments concerning lump-sum taxation, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2018-2019, p. 35 

International administrative assistance on tax matters, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2018-2019, p. 16

International Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters – Group Requests, in collaboration with Daniel Gatenby, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2017-2018, pp. 42-44

Inheritance Planning in Times of Internationalization, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2017-2018, pp. 25-27

Les nouvelles règles applicables à l’imposition d’après la dépense, in Notalex, 2/16, pp. 39 à 54

L’imposition d’après la dépense, in Revue européenne et internationale de droit fiscal 2016 1, pp. 60 à 66

French-Swiss Tax Fiscal Relation: State of Play, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2015-2016, pp. 50-54

Délocalisation et investissements des personnes fortunées étrangères en Suisse et en Belgique, Lausanne 2014

La France peut-elle exclure unilatéralement du champ d’application de la convention franco-suisse les personnes imposées d’après la dépense ?, in collaboration with Jérôme Queyroux, in Notalex, 2/13, pp. 80 à 89

The trust : what is its usefulness within the context of Swiss law?, in Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (BSL), 2010-2011, pp. 36-38

Secret bancaire : une stratégie pour la Suisse, in Le Temps, 30.04.2010, p. 18

Les exigences légales relatives à la durée du séjour en Suisse d’un ressortissant étranger imposé d’après la dépense, in Notalex, 1, 2010, pp. 26-32

La donation de valeurs mobilières : outil de planification successorale, in collaboration with Katia Gevaert, Brussels 2006

Le contrat d’agence commerciale en Europe, in collaboration with Thomas Steinmann et Imogen Billotte, Zurich 2005

L’imposition d’après la dépense : un outil essentiel de promotion économique pour la Suisse, in Mélanges publiés par l’Association des Notaires Vaudois à l’occasion de son centenaire, Geneva 2005, pp. 391-408

Les différents types d’autorisation de séjour pour les ressortissants d’Etats tiers, les différents types d’autorisation de séjour pour les ressortissants communautaires, l’imposition à la source et à la dépense, acquisition d’immeubles par des personnes à l’étranger, in Etranger en Suisse, Lausanne 2002

Application nationale du droit européen de la concurrence (rapport suisse), in XVIII congrès de la Fédération internationale de droit européen (Stockholm 3-6 June 1998), pp. 257-264

Le droit par les cas – Les contrats, in collaboration with Anne Catherine-Lyon, Lausanne, 1996

La responsabilité pénale des personnes morales en droit anglais. Un modèle pour la Suisse ?, Collection Comparativa, Geneva 1991 (Ph.d)

Les conséquences de l’intégration européenne sur la politique suisse en matière de main-d’œuvre étrangère, in La Suisse et son avenir européen, Lausanne 1989, pp. 131-138

Le droit suisse de la police des étrangers, in La main-d’œuvre étrangère, Lausanne 1989, (annual updating from 1990 to 2001) pp. 1-180

Rankings

2018
2018
Best Lawyers, Switzerland, 2018, Wealth Management Practice (2017)
Swiss Who’s Who (2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2019-2020)
Bilan, one of the 300 most influential figures in Switzerland (2010, 2012, 2013)
Named by the media “L’Hebdo” for “Forum des 100” (2012)

Speeches

Speaker at « Les relations fiscales belgo-suisses » seminar organized by the Cercle de Lorraine, Brussels (october 2018)

Chairman and speaker at « Les concepteurs de montages fiscaux dans le viseur de l’UE (proposition de directive du 21 juin 2017) Quel impact sur les professionnels suisses ? Proposition de Directive de la Commission Européenne sur la communication de certains montages fiscaux potentiellement agressifs aux administrations fiscales nationales : quels montages et quels professionnels sont visés ? » seminar organized by Academy & Finance, Geneva (november 2017)

Speaker at “Le transfert de résidence fiscale en Suisse depuis la Belgique?” seminar, organized by Academy & Finance, Brussels (April 2017)

Speaker at “La réforme des forfaits fiscaux” seminar, organisez by Academy & Finance, Geneva (October 2016)

“La nouvelle convention de double imposition belgo-suisse”, organized by the Swiss Business Council for Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Brussels (November 2014)

“Quelles stratégies face à la surenchère fiscale?”, organized by the Institut libéral and the AGEFI (March 2014)

“Les nouvelles règles suisses en matière de planification patrimoniale et fiscale”, organized by the Swiss Business Council for Belgium and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Luxembourg (June 2013)

Speaker at “L’expatriation fiscale en Suisse pour les Français : mode d’emploi” seminar, organized by Academy & Finance, Luxembourg (March 2013)

“La politique en matière d’échange de renseignements fiscaux : présent et futur “, organized by the Association de juristes d’affaires internationaux, Geneva (January 2011)

Speaker at “Quelle stratégie fiscale pour les clients fortunés français ?” seminar, organized by Academy & Finance, Geneva (November 2010)

“L’imposition d’après la dépense”, 4ème Journée romande des courtiers, organized by the SVIT Swiss Real Estate School SA, Lausanne (December 2009)

“Lump Sum Taxation : Expatriation; Domiciliation”, organized by the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland, Zurich (November 2008)

“Stratégies fiscales internationales”, organized by the Association des Diplômés HEC, Divonne (September 2008)

“The taxation of trust in Switzerland and the Hague Convention”, organized by the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland, Geneva, (November 2007)

Speaker at “Lump sum taxation in Switzerland” seminar, organized by the AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers), Verbier (April 2007)

“Le secret bancaire suisse: mythe et réalité”, organized by the Collège d’Europe, Bruges (February 2002)

“Quelle Suisse pour quelle Europe?”, organized by the Municipalité de Lausanne, the Conseil pour le développement économique du Canton de Vaud, the Fondation Jean Monnet pour l’Europe, the Centre de recherches européennes and the section vaudoise de l’Union européenne de Suisse (December 1993)

“La construction de l’Europe: un état d’esprit”, organized by the Municipalité de Lausanne, the Office vaudois pour le développement du commerce et de l’industrie, the Fondation Jean Monnet pour l’Europe, the Centre de recherches européennes and the section vaudoise de l’Union européenne de Suisse (May 1986)