Axel Sabban

French Tax Lawyer – Crypto Assets, Private Wealth, Entrepreneurs and Executives

Partner at d&a partners and Head of the Tax practice, Axel Sabban advises private clients, investors, entrepreneurs and executives on complex French tax matters. He remains directly involved in matters where private wealth, business interests, international mobility or crypto-assets need to be considered together.

He has advised on the French taxation of crypto-assets since 2018, for both individuals and businesses. This longstanding practice covers both routine French tax compliance and complex transactions, income streams and historical transaction records.

His practice notably covers:

Crypto-asset taxation: disposals, mining, staking, airdrops, DeFi, French tax reporting obligations, structuring of crypto holdings and income, and private wealth transactions involving digital assets.

French tax audits, regularisations and disputes: historical tax regularisations, information requests, tax audits, reassessments, administrative claims and litigation, with significant experience in matters involving crypto-assets.

Source of funds and crypto-asset tracing: reconstruction, analysis and documentation of transaction histories, in particular where the origin of funds must be explained to a bank, notary, family office or other professional.

International taxation and relocation to or from France: French tax residence, tax treaties, exit tax, foreign income and assets, foreign structures and pre-departure or pre-arrival planning.

Private wealth and wealth transfer: holding companies, French real estate and SCI structures, gifts, inheritance and transfers of business interests or crypto-assets.

Taxation of entrepreneurs and executives: compensation and distributions, holding structures, reorganisations, share contribution and reinvestment arrangements (apport-cession), business disposals and succession planning.

This cross-disciplinary approach allows tax decisions to be considered as a whole, rather than separating private wealth, business interests, holding structures and international mobility into unrelated issues.

Where appropriate, Axel Sabban works alongside the client’s notaries, family offices, accountants and foreign tax advisers to ensure that the legal, tax and wealth-planning aspects of a transaction remain consistent.

Where an entrepreneur’s personal relocation is accompanied by a transfer or reorganisation of business activities, he also advises on corporate tax residence, effective place of management, permanent establishment risks and pre-departure restructuring.

His crypto tax practice is supported by longstanding involvement in discussions concerning the development of the French tax framework applicable to digital assets. In 2018, he was heard by the French National Assembly as part of its work on virtual currencies. He also regularly contributes to tax-related work conducted by ADAN and to discussions with French public authorities, and participated in the HCJP working group that led to its second report on DAOs, including on tax-related matters.

Axel Sabban also regularly contributes to conferences, professional training programmes and industry discussions concerning the taxation of crypto-assets.

Recognitions

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Languages

French · English

Professional experience

Member of the Paris Bar, Axel Sabban has practised tax law since 2018 and developed a dedicated crypto-tax practice from the outset of his career.

In 2021, he founded Revo Avocats, a French law firm dedicated to the taxation of crypto-assets, which he led until its integration into d&a partners in 2025.

He subsequently joined d&a partners as a Partner and now heads the firm’s Tax practice.

Education

Master 2 in Business and Tax Law – DJCE, University of Montpellier

DJCE Tax Law Certificate