The study of tax law covers the tax system in its full width. It includes domestic, international and European tax law.

The master’s programme 'Fiscaal Recht' provides you with in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge on all the ins and outs of tax law.

Loopholes in international tax legislation contribute to the misuse of tax rules by multinationals. Leiden University legal experts investigate how the complex national and international tax rules can be made more consistent in order to create a better tax system.

Do you like solving complex legal puzzles? Do you like analysing problems? If so, the bachelor’s programme Fiscaal Recht is right for you.

Courses EU Tax Governance (EUTAXGOV).

The Institute of Tax Law and Economics at Leiden Law School has three departments: the Department of Tax Law, the Department of Economics and the Department of Business Studies. The Institute brings together research and teaching at the point at which, on the one hand, law and, on the other, fiscal…

On Thursday 1 December 2016 at 13.45 hrs, Francisco Sepulveda Ramirez will defend his doctoral thesis ‘Residence in Tax Treaties' at the Academy Building of Leiden University. Supervisor is Professor F.A. Engelen.

In this PhD-thesis several new and existing data science application are described that are particularly focused on applications for tax administrations.

How do tax treaties have to be explained and implemented, and what role does the supranational regulatory process play in this? Which objectives are meant to be used in establishing tax regulations and to what extent are such legislative practices undertaken in a goal-oriented manner?.

Tax scandals, like the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, and the Pandora Papers, have made taxation a major topic of public debate. Learn more about this in the new minor Tax and Society: Building a Sustainable and Fair Tax System.

In the past few years, an increasing number of multinationals have made the news for large-scale use of tax planning opportunities. The Organisation for Economic Collaboration and Development (OECD) and the European Commission are studying these cases closely and investigating whether the current concepts…

On Thursday 16 November, Dirk Broekhuijsen defended his doctoral thesis entitled ‘A multilateral tax treaty: designing an instrument to modernise international tax law’. The supervisors are Professor F.A. Engelen and Professor S.C.W. Douma.

Multinationals use loopholes in the tax treaties between different states. A possible solution would be to eliminate all these loopholes in one go by creating a central global treaty. Leiden researchers are investigating whether this kind of mega-treaty is feasible.

The EUTAXGOV Chair will address the EU Standard of Tax Good Governance. This Standard has been introduced in 2008 by the ECOFIN Council with a view to tackle tax fraud and evasion by companies and individuals and as a pre-condition for third (non-EU) countries that receive EU development aid, and concluded…

Assessing the feasibility and legitimacy of the current model of global tax governance and the role of the OECD and EU in international tax law-making.

Dutch newspaper Trouw investigated the tax position of multinational Cargill. Their conclusion? Cargill appears not to pay taxes over their profits. Trouw asked Jan van de Streek, Professor of Tax Law, and PhD candidate Josephine van der Have for an explanation. Prior to this, Van der Have had also…

On 10 October 2018, Richard Resch defended his doctoral thesis 'The Interpretation of Plurilingual Tax Treaties'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. mr. C. van Raad.

No, the Netherlands is not a tax haven, the new State Secretary for Tax Affairs Marnix van Rij said shortly after his introductory meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte. Yet there are numerous reports that describe the Netherlands' role as a tax haven.

The Dutch Tax Authorities leaked information about an international tax audit to Uber. In addition, they ‘obstructed and delayed’ an investigation by other EU Member States, says the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) based on internal documents from the tech company.

If we want tax evasion to become a thing of the past then there has to be more balance in how tax advisers are educated, according to tax professors Jan Vleggeert and Jan van de Streek.

Researchers from the Department of Tax Law were lead authors of a report on corporate taxation and digitalization for the World Economic Forum.

Jan Vleggeert is a tax specialist with an independent and critical voice in the debate on tax avoidance by multinationals. His appointment commenced on 1 October 2019.

On 13 January 2022, Pie Habimana defended the thesis 'Harmful Tax Competition in the East African Community'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. H. Vording and Prof. S.C.W. Douma (UvA).

The benefits department of the Dutch Tax Administration has attempted to reach backroom agreements with the judiciary about the decision period in benefits cases. Lecturer in tax law Martijn Nouwen says this harms the legal protection of victims.

Complex systems can be characterized as systems in which multiple components interact with each other, often in non-linear ways. The main goal of this research will be to investigate if and how the international tax system can be defined and modelled as a complex system. Approaching the international…

The majority of professors of tax law in the Netherlands have links to accounting and law firms, writes Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.

Tirza Cramwinckel, Assistant Professor in tax law, has won one of the 2023 Research Prizes awarded by the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation.

De bevolkingsgroei daalt, de fiscale voordelen voor expats zijn niet aantrekkelijk genoeg en te weinig geschikte arbeidskrachten. Peter Wennink van techreus ASML, is niet blij met het ondernemersklimaat in Nederland. ASML dreigt met een vertrek naar het buitenland.

More than 130 countries, including the Netherlands, have decided to introduce a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent. The plan would lead to 125 billion euro in extra tax revenue globally.

The Faculty of Law

The Netherlands remains one of the most important locations when it comes to tax evasion. According to Tax Justice Network only the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda play a greater role.

The Faculty of Law has five institutes:

The Dutch Ministry of Finance says that new rules have significantly reduced tax avoidance via 'transit country' the Netherlands. Jan Vleggeert, Professor of Tax Law, has voiced his reservations about this claim in the media.