Ariel Epstein

Adv. Ariel Epstein is a partner at the firm and heads the real estate taxation practice. He also handles indirect taxation and tax litigation, primarily in the field of VAT, and has been a member of the Israel Bar Association since 2021. He graduated with honors with an LL.B. from Ono Academic College (2016).

He completed his legal internship in 2020–2021 at the Legal Bureau of the Customs and VAT Division at the Israel Tax Authority headquarters. From 2021 to 2024, he practiced as an attorney at a tax law firm.

Representative Cases

In all of the following cases, he represented jointly with Adv. & CPA Shlomi Vaknin.

• He represented Mobileye in a VAT appeal concerning employee welfare expenses (TA 10835-01-22, Jerusalem District Court, May 27, 2025). The appeal was partially granted: input tax deductions were allowed for the construction of a gym, a music room, and a spa facility for employees, as well as for accounting services, but were denied with respect to employee transportation and pension advisory services.

• He represented Aura Investments in an appeal against a VAT assessment imposed on a real estate developer for the relocation of kindergartens and a public parking garage (TA 62970-03-22, Tel Aviv District Court, February 13, 2025). The appeal was partially granted: the court held that the works performed for the municipality constitute a service subject to VAT, but that the occupancy permit and land readjustment areas do not constitute consideration, and the VAT on the parking garage was reduced from NIS 4,203,927 to NIS 1,799,875. Appeals against this judgment are pending before the Supreme Court (CA 45772-12-25).

• In TA 68651-05-22 A.Tz.Y. Real Estate (May 9, 2024), it was held that the allocation of future building rights to shareholders, pursuant to an agreement signed prior to the acquisition of the land, does not constitute a transaction subject to VAT. The assessment, in the amount of NIS 1,480,805 in tax principal, was annulled, and the company was awarded costs of NIS 95,000.

• In TA 27997-12-23 Ram Pal (Tel Aviv District Court, October 10, 2024), it was held that the VAT Director may not issue a new input tax assessment within a decision on an objection to an output tax assessment, and the appeal was granted on a preliminary basis.

Additional judgments are compiled on the Rulings & Precedents page.

Real Estate Taxation at the Firm

In the field of real estate taxation, he reviews the capital gains tax (Mas Shevach) and purchase tax (Mas Rechisha) implications of a transaction before signing, prepares the declarations to the Tax Authority, and represents clients in objections and appeals before the Real Estate Taxation Director. In transactions involving developers, he also handles VAT in real estate transactions and urban renewal.

Alongside his law studies, he was ordained for the rabbinate by the Aish HaTorah organization (2016), and in 2018 he studied real estate entrepreneurship at Ono Academic College and the Ministry of Construction and Housing.