You're building something big.
Your tax structure should match it.
Selective practice — Startups, scale-ups & growing SMEs
Founders scaling fast all share one blind spot. Often, it’s their tax structure — still stuck at seed stage while their business has changed scale.
An outdated structure means cash leaking away, blocked decisions, risks piling up. And when the deal comes — a raise, an acquisition, a sale — it’s often too late to fix it.
I work with founders and executives of startups, scale-ups and growing SMEs, as well as high-net-worth individuals (HNWI/UHNWI) facing structuring and wealth-transmission challenges, who understand that a tax structure is built upstream, not under pressure.
My role : anticipate the tax decisions your growth makes inevitable — and structure them before they become problems.
You’re in the right place if…
Every engagement is designed as a strategic decision, not a compliance exercise.
When your starting structure must already anticipate the growth to come. Choosing the right legal structure from day one, so you don’t have to redo everything at your first raise or first major contract.
When your group is taking shape — through organic or external growth. Holding company creation, intragroup flow structuring, acquisitions and tax consolidation.
When your business crosses borders. Setting up foreign subsidiaries, choosing entities, transfer pricing, securing cross-border flows.
When your life or your business operates across several countries. Tax residency, bilateral treaties, structuring compensation and income.
When you’re anticipating an exit — yours, or your group’s. Contribution-sale structures, capital gains optimization, upstream deal structuring. I get involved 12 to 24 months before closing so the structure becomes an asset at the negotiating table.
Analysis of your current structure, financial flows, and growth challenges. Identifying blind spots and unused levers.
Several structuring scenarios, with their tax, legal and financial implications. Full transparency on risks and expected gains.
Operational rollout of the chosen structure : deeds, documentation, coordination with your other advisors (CFO, M&A, notary).
Your structure evolves with your business. I stay by your side for adjustments, new transactions and exchanges with the tax authorities.
I don’t bill by the hour. Every engagement is designed as a complete trajectory — with a clear scope, a defined objective and a measurable impact for your business.
Five anonymized sample files. Real situations, decisions made upstream, concrete results.
A French scale-up had grown quickly internationally, with subsidiaries in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. But every time revenue flowed back to France, part of it disappeared in taxes. The company couldn’t reinvest what it earned. And as a funding round approached, investors wanted a clear structure before committing.
Setting up a holding structure that consolidates the subsidiaries and brings results back up without double taxation.
The company recovered almost all the money that was going to taxes — the tax burden on these flows dropped from 28% to under 2%. It could reinvest freely in its growth. And the funding round, which had been stuck, closed : investors finally saw a clear structure.
✓ Consolidated structure & controlled tax burdenA French SME had just signed the biggest contract in its history — a US client requiring a local entity. At the same time, a distribution opportunity opened up in Japan. The CEO had neither the time nor the knowledge to set up shop without unintentionally exposing the French company to foreign taxation.
Setting up a US structure, securing the Japanese agreement, organizing flows between countries so none cost more than expected.
The US structure was operational within six weeks — in time to fulfil the contract. The Japanese agreement was concluded without creating any tax risk in France. The company kept full control over its taxation, and has since used the same model to set up in Singapore without starting from scratch.
✓ Secure international expansionThe founder of a scale-up saw his professional life shift to the US — his market, his investors, his daily life. But he kept his responsibilities in France : board, teams, clients. Two risks stacked up : the French tax authorities continuing to claim tax on income he was no longer really earning here, and his French and European companies becoming taxable in the US simply because he was running them from there. He also knew that a poorly prepared exit could cost him dearly down the line.
Securing the change of personal tax residency. Organizing his role and activities on US soil so that his French and European companies would never be considered as carrying out taxable activity there themselves. Reorganizing his income, and anticipating the exit well before it happened.
His new tax residency was validated on solid grounds, ending all uncertainty with the French tax authorities. His companies continued to be taxed only where they actually operate, with no US tax exposure. And when the exit came, 18 months later, everything was already in place : he completed it under far better tax conditions than he had originally feared.
✓ Secure residency & no US tax exposureAn entrepreneur had bought three companies in 18 months, as opportunities arose. Each operated in its own silo. Two were running at a loss, a third was profitable — but nothing connected them, and the group was paying more tax than necessary. He wanted to make a fourth acquisition and, eventually, sell the whole group. But as it stood, nothing was ready.
Creating a holding structure that brings the three companies together, allows losses from some to offset gains from others, and lays the groundwork for what comes next.
The group became coherent within four months. Subsidiary losses immediately reduced the group’s tax bill — a 35% drop in the first year alone. The fourth acquisition followed shortly after, on solid footing. The group is now ready to be sold, in part or in full, on the best possible terms.
✓ −35% group tax & exit-ready structureA founder, sole shareholder of his company valued at €15M, had received a firm buyout offer from an investment fund. Without upstream tax planning, his capital gain risked being taxed at over 30%. He wanted to know if there were still levers to keep more of what he had built, without disrupting the sale timeline.
Identifying a reinvestment mechanism still available despite the lack of initial preparation, and setting up a structure to benefit from it without delaying signing.
The sale closed on the timeline both parties had planned. The founder obtained a deferral of tax on his capital gain and a 24-month reinvestment plan. In the end : €2.1M that he would have lost stayed in his pocket.
✓ €2.1M in tax savingsClick the tabs to explore other case studies
A tax lawyer for over 17 years, I built my expertise at leading French and international firms — EY Avocats, Arsène Taxand, Dechert LLP — before founding Meddeber Avocats in 2020.
I put this expertise gained at major firms at the service of ambitious entrepreneurs — combining the rigor of international structures with the closeness of a boutique firm.
I support founders and executives of startups, scale-ups and SMEs building ambitious businesses — in France and internationally, as well as high-net-worth individuals (HNWI/UHNWI) in their structuring and wealth-transmission challenges.
I’m not a service provider you call when things catch fire. I’m the partner you bring in early — so tax becomes a strength, not a hurdle, when your business changes scale.
We get to know each other. You tell me about your business, your challenges, your plans. This is not a technical meeting : it’s about checking we’re aligned and that I’m the right person to support you.
An in-depth analysis of your current structure : identifying blind spots, unused levers and risks to correct. A 90-minute meeting with a concrete action plan. Prerequisite for any engagement.
I don’t bill by the hour. Every engagement has a clear scope, a defined objective and a measurable impact. From holding structuring to exit preparation — I stay by your side for the whole journey.
To see if we’re aligned.
Beyond Chahinez’s legal skills, she was able to get fully hands-on to help us build our case. This kind of skill is much rarer among legal professionals, which makes Maître Chahinez Meddeber a valuable asset for a CFO.
CFO · International group
Her tax expertise, responsiveness and ability to make complex topics simple were invaluable at every step. Chahinez always found clear, concrete and tailored solutions. A trustworthy, rigorous and committed professional.
CEO · Scale-up
Chahinez is an outstanding lawyer, combining professionalism, availability and a remarkable ability to explain things clearly. She makes an often complex subject accessible with clarity and expertise. Whether for simple or sophisticated transactions, she is an essential point of reference.
CEO · Paris investment bank
Maître Meddeber doesn’t just master tax law ; she anticipates how it will evolve and proposes bespoke structuring, solid and suited to what’s ahead. A partner I look forward to continuing to work with.
CEO · SME & holding company
I regularly publish analysis on tax structuring challenges for growing businesses. Concrete, practical, actionable.
A breakdown of rulings and decisions reshaping the game for holdings, sales and international flows. What courts decide today shapes your choices tomorrow.
Read on LinkedIn →Holding companies, subsidiaries, tax consolidation, executive mobility — the decisions to make (and anticipate) at every stage of your business’s growth.
Read on LinkedIn →BEPS, Pillar Two, reforms in the US, Hong Kong, Europe — how international regulatory shifts affect your structuring choices.
Read on LinkedIn →A 20-minute call. No jargon. To see if we’re aligned.
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