Tax and Society: Building a Sustainable and Fair Tax System

Tax scandals, including the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers and the Pandora Papers, have made taxation one of the major topics of public debate. The media frequently reports about national and international tax matters. Citizens, civil society organizations, politicians and policymakers often criticise the tax affairs of multinational companies, including the Big Tech. They should pay their ‘fair share’ of taxes.

The fundamental question of how a sustainable and fair tax system should be designed has become the subject of a societal and political debate that is unlikely to end any time soon. The corona crisis has only increased the budgetary needs of countries and reinforced the importance of fair, effective and sustainable taxation.

Are you interested in the obstacles and challenges to the international tax system, and its impact on the society and its development in light of a globalizing world? And are you motivated to get involved in rethinking the global tax system from the perspectives of fairness and sustainability? In that case, you should consider applying for the minor in Tax and Society.

The main question of the minor is what the desirable design of tax systems in a globalizing and digitalizing world is. The minor seeks to respond to societal concerns about taxation by establishing a link between the views of tax experts and those of the wider public.

The minor is unique and differentiates itself didactically by focusing on academic skills, interdisciplinarity, and the provision of knowledge that is important for participating in the societal international tax debate. The interdisciplinary approach is reflected in the diverse group of students and the wide range of courses offered. In addition to tax law, you will be introduced to the economic, legal (incl. comparative law), administrative, technological, and behavioral science aspects of taxation.

The minor offers you the perfect opportunity to enhance your academic skills, including empirical (legal) research competences and English writing and presentation skills. You will apply this knowledge and skills to real-life societal tax issues in tutorials. For example, through panel discussions with tax experts from business and government, small group assignments, and classroom debates.

The minor is offered by the Tax Law department of Leiden Law School. Our department employs enthusiastic lecturers with interdisciplinary expertise and broad international research experience on a variety of societal tax matters: from tax avoidance and tax certainty to digital taxation and tax technology.

The minor targets students with an interest in major social issues in general and in the international tax debate in particular. The minor is especially appealing if you are considering a future career in the field of strategy, policy, and/or regulation and are motivated to contribute to a better and fairer tax system. The minor is given in English. So, you can also participate as a foreign (exchange) student.

The minor is aimed at non-tax law students but is certainly also appealing to tax law students interested in exploring the impact of the tax system on society and its evolution in light of a globalizing and digitalizing world.

https://studiegids.universiteitleiden.nl/studies/9485