Antas da Cunha ECIJA & Associados - Lisboa

We came to AdCE for advice, and ended up in a really bad situation.My wife and I moved from Qatar to Portugal to retire in 2018. We consulted an AdCE tax lawyer to understand whether we should realize the capital gains from of our savings before moving. While AdCE now claims that the term ‘capital gain’ can only mean ‘realized capital gain’, the tax lawyer knew that:a) We had unrealized capital gainsb) We could realize the unrealized gains without paying tax by selling the assets while still in Qatarc) If informed that we would have to pay tax of the (at the time unrealized) gains in case they were only realized after our move to Portugal, we intended to realize the gains by selling the assets while still in Qatard) We are liable to Portuguese taxation of the (at the time unrealized) gains once we sell the assets after moving to Portugal. I didn't know that, which is why we came to the tax lawyer for advice.The reply from the AdCE tax lawyer gave us the understanding that there was no reason for us to sell the assets while still in Qatar. As we now know, that understanding is simply not correct. It will cost us a considerable part of our savings.The advice given by AdCE was not reasonable, had the lawyer taken into account above facts. Unbeknownst to us, and inexplicably, the lawyer had in her reply ignored her knowledge of those facts.Although it is documented in the mail trail that the AdCE lawyer had the facts at her fingertips, AdCE has not wanted to either confirm or disconfirm. Instead AdCE has threatened us with a court case, if we write that the advice given by the tax lawyer was wrong. Thus, in the aftermath of this disaster, AdCE has pursued a dual strategy of evasion and intimidation. Is that what you want to be faced with from your tax advisor?IN CONCLUSION: We are immensely disappointed with the advice we got from AdCE, and equally so with their later behaviour.