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.

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…

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).

In Europe, citizens have a right of access to government information. The European Commission, however, has various methods to prevent this. For example, destroying all e-mails, invoking state security and protection of privacy, and not taking minutes. As a result, it is almost impossible to review…

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 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…

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?.

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

This book is the first to incorporate current academic literature and case law on European, transnational, and international media law into a comprehensive overview intended primarily for students.

In het onderzoek van docent Martijn Nouwen wordt voor het eerst aan het grote publiek blootgelegd hoe de ‘geheime’ Europese Gedragscodegroep er niet in is geslaagd om verschillende vormen van schadelijke belastingconcurrentie uit te bannen.

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

This research concerns a network of labour law specialists in the EU. The growing internationalization of the economic market and the employment market has a major impact on legislation and research of labour law. Particularly within the European Union labour law is subject to constant development…

European Law is a one-year Master’s specialisation at the internationally renowned Leiden Law School at Leiden University. The programme distinguishes itself by its broad intra-disciplinary approach, covering institutional, constitutional as well as internal market and competition law of the EU in addition…

This new LL.M. specialisation within European Law will start in September 2024. This master will provide you with advanced knowledge of the legal aspects of migration, asylum, non-discrimination, immigrant ‘integration’, and diversity. The GMD-Legal programme is embedded in the multidisciplinary programme…

Are you thinking about studying European Law? Learn more and watch the videos.

The Law of the European Union is a complete reference work on all aspects of the law of the European Union, including the institutional framework, the Internal Market, Economic and Monetary Union and external policy and action.

How to explain the apparent high success rates of the EU infringement procedures, which are the major tools for enforcing EU law, against the member states?

In the podcast EU Scream, a non-for-profit organization based in Brussels, Martijn Nouwen tells about his research into communications about European tax rulings.

On 9 September 2020, Ruben de Graaff defended his thesis 'Concurrence in European Private Law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A.G. Castermans and Prof. S.C.G. Van den Bogaert.

Dr. Gruni published an article on the impact on sustainable development in the EU Common Commercial Policy of recent Opinion 2/15 CJEU on the Global Trade and Customs Journal.

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.

Hart Publishing in Oxford has published the first book in a series entitled ‘Restatement of Labour Law in Europe’. This particular book deals with the question of which employees are protected by labour law (‘The concept of employee’).

Just published: European Banking and Financial Law Statutes Published by Routledge

In August 2018, the fourth edition of the teaching and learning materials

Het team van vier studenten fiscaal recht heeft zich geplaatst voor de finale van de meest prestigieuze wereldwijde pleitcompetitie op het terrein van internationaal en Europees belastingrecht.

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.

Professor Christa Tobler and Jacques Beglinger have written two new publications.

Published by Brill Nijhoff and written by leading experts including national judges, academics and practitioners East African Community Law is the first comparative as well as open access textbook on EAC law. The book provides a key resource for the research, teaching, and practice of EAC law. It also…

The European Commission has started an investigation into possible illegal state aid from the Netherlands to Nike. It is high time that agreements between Tax Authorities and multinationals are made public, says Associate Professor in Tax Law Jan Vleggeert.

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 increase in the European Union's executive powers in the areas of economic and financial governance has thrown into sharp relief the challenges of EU law in constituting, framing, and constraining the decision-making processes and political choices that have hitherto supported European integration.…

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 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.

European labour law has an unmistakable influence on national law. This applies even more to the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as it has implications for the application of European law in the Member States and with it the interpretation of national law. Collected Cases…