Nyeleti Baloyi is an Associate in the Tax practice area. She holds an LLB degree with distinction from the University of Pretoria, where she was consistently recognized for her academic excellence by being placed on the Dean’s List in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Following her graduation, Nyeleti joined Werksmans as a candidate attorney. She is committed to providing valuable insights and practical solutions to clients, ensuring their needs are met with professionalism and a strong foundation of knowledge.

Robyn Schonegevel is an Associate in the Tax practice area. She holds a BA (law) cum laude and LLB cum laude from Stellenbosch University. Robyn has experience advising on tax-related matters, including international tax planning; tax disputes; mergers, acquisitions and corporate reorganisations; employee incentive schemes; and value-added tax.

Years of Experience: 3 years

Luke Magerman is a Senior Associate in the Tax practice area. He holds a BComm (law), an LLB, and an MComm (taxation) from the University of Stellenbosch, where he received distinctions in multiple subjects and graduated with his LLB with distinction. During his time at the University of Stellenbosch, he held various leadership roles, including serving as Treasurer of the Juridical Society and as a student representative on the Programme Committee, which was responsible for revising the undergraduate curriculum for the University of Stellenbosch’s law programmes.

Benedict Ngobeni is an Associate in the Tax practice area.

Varshani Ramson is a Director in the Tax practice area. She specialises in domestic and international corporate taxation, cross-border tax advisory, corporate restructures and offshore tax planning, withholding taxes and South African exchange controls.

Ryan Killoran is a Director in the Tax practice area. He specialises in taxation of domestic and cross-border financial instruments and investment products; private equity fund formation and tax structuring for international investment funds; private equity deal structuring; and mergers, acquisitions and reorganisations of corporate entities. He also is deeply experienced in international tax planning for corporates (including controlled foreign companies; double tax agreements; financial services taxation; offshore acquisition financing structuring; foreign trusts; transfer pricing and thin capitalisation; taxation of local and offshore trusts); tax litigation; alternative dispute resolution; and settlements.

Robyn Armstrong is a Director in the Tax Practice. She specialises in international tax and succession planning for wealthy individuals and families, local and offshore trusts and the taxation of international share schemes. Robyn holds a BCom (Law), a BCom Honours (Financial Management) and an LLB (cum laude), all from the University of Pretoria. She also holds an MCom (Taxation) (cum laude and top student) from the University of the Witwatersrand and was the top student in the PG Dip (International Tax) in her year at the University of Johannesburg.

Experience: 8 years

Michael Honiball, Director in the Werksmans Tax Practice Area, is an experienced legal professional in the field of tax and trust law, specializing particularly in the areas of international tax and high net wealth families. With an extensive international training background and exposure to most of South Africa’s tax, exchange control and trust laws, Michael brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his role as Head of Tax Practice. As a SAIT Master Tax Practitioner since 2005, Michael consistently demonstrates exceptional proficiency in his chosen fields. His outstanding contributions to the tax advisory community and to clients have been acknowledged, earning him successive peer-reviewed recognitions for his excellence.

Further, Michael’s qualification as a practicing Solicitor of the senior courts of England and Wales, has given him exposure to and experience in the tax and trust laws of numerous offshore jurisdictions. Specifically, Michael has experience in advising on the setting up of offshore trust structures, international estate planning, private equity funds, cross-border partnerships, joint venture arrangements, and multinational mergers and acquisitions.

Michael is an Attorney and Conveyancer of the High Court of South Africa. Additionally, with a strong academic background, he serves as a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, specialising in taxation where he shares his expertise in international tax law and transfer pricing with post-graduate students. Furthermore, he has authored and co-authored several influential tax books and publications, establishing himself as an authority in the realm of double taxation agreements and transfer pricing.

Michael is a Charted Tax Adviser, a member of the South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT), a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (TIAETL), a member of the Law Society of England and Wales, a member of the Legal Practice Council of South Africa, and a SARS Registered Tax Practitioner. Previously, Michael held the position of Head of International Tax Department at Webber Wentzel. Prior to this, he was a Director at KPMG South Africa, where he successfully led the International Tax Department and subsequently, the Transfer Pricing Department.

Clients can therefore rely on Michael and his team to provide up-to-date legal advice about their tax compliance, structuring and estate planning matters.

Kyle Fyfe is a Director in the Tax & Exchange Control practice area. He specialises in tax dispute resolution, international and domestic corporate taxation, trusts and estate planning, value-added tax, employees’ tax and South African exchange controls.

Years of Experience: 8 years