Semester 1
Semester 1
The internationally operating European tax lawyer – a global player – comes into a demanding and challenging environment. She or he must assess and apply a large number of different rules and regulations related to the field of tax law.
In order to understand the field of European tax law within its EU context, considerable knowledge on the field on (general) European law is needed. In the first course of this Programme, Introduction to European Law, such a foundation is laid. This course therefore comes at the beginning of the programme, so that students will be able to build on the knowledge obtained in the context of this course.
In addition to the introductory course mentioned above, semester 1 covers two core courses and two additional courses. The core courses are: Fiscal Sovereignty and the Fundamental Freedoms and Direct Tax Coordination and Harmonisation. The former deals with the impact of primary European law in the field of direct taxation, whilst the latter consider the steps undertaken to harmonise European fiscal systems. The second course directly builds upon the first course.
As for the two additional courses, these will (partly) be taught parallel to the two aforementioned cores. The additional courses for semester 1 are: General Principles of EU Law and EU procedural law and taxation. General Principles of EU Law will cover the role of general principles to law in the European context, and constitutes a logical follow-up to the course Introduction to European Law. The EU procedural law and taxation course considers various procedural aspects and will end with a field trip to one of the European institutions. This field trip will be a pleasant conclusion to the first part of the Programme, prior to the Christmas break.
Semester 2
Semester 2
The second semester contains two core courses, one additional course and the thesis. The core courses are Indirect tax and harmonisation and Fiscal State Aid. Although the field in indirect taxation is, to some extent, separate from that of direct tax there are also various similarities. Students will be asked to
consider the similarities between the harmonisation in the field of indirect tax and direct tax (covered in the second core course in semester 1). Regarding the course in fiscal State aid, this subject has overlap with both direct tax and indirect tax.
The additional course included in semester 2 is the EU Fiscal Practicum. This course consists of a role playing scenario with direct tax, indirect tax and a State aid option. Students will be invited to start preparing for this course at the beginning of the second semester. The course itself will, however, be held directly after the conclusion of the course on fiscal State aid.
Lastly, the Programme concludes with a thesis. Students will be required to complete their own research in an independent manner. Already towards to end of the first semester, an extra tutorial meeting will be offered to clarify and questions and address questions which the students may have.
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Description
The Master of Advanced Studies in EU Tax Law is one of the new English-taught Advanced Master Programmes of Leiden University. Participants who have successfully completed the programme will be awarded the diploma of Master of Laws: Advanced Studies Programme in EU Tax Law, with an optional particular focus on either direct taxation, indirect taxation or State Aid Law.
EU Tax Law is an area that is still only minimally covered in graduate and postgraduate law and economics programmes, despite its increasing importance for tax practitioners and scholars. The Master of Advanced Studies in EU Tax Law offers a small scale group of students, a full-year programme in this field which is unique in the world.
The programme has been designed to offer a combination of fixed courses (providing structure and clarity) with some flexible space which can be filled by specialist lecture and additional seminars on the most recent legal developments. The programme includes a number of elements which are specifically designed to give the students the skills to thrive in their future workplaces. These include the EU Fiscal Practicum and the weekly Technical Meeting, which both closely mimic the type of activities which students could expect to be carrying on in a future working environment.
The target audience consists of both persons currently working in a commercial tax environment and (prospective) civil servants. The latter category includes in particular persons working at the Ministries of Finance, national tax authorities, the EU Institutions and the judiciary. Obviously, the programme may also add value for tax practitioners from outside the European Union who want to understand how Europe works in respect of taxation. Finally, the programme is suitable for academics and newly graduated talented students seeking to improve their understanding of the aforementioned fields, for example in the context of doctoral research.
Distinguishing features
The Master of Advanced Studies in EU Tax Law’s overall objective is to widen and deepen the knowledge of EU Tax Law over the full breadth. More specifically, the Programme is intended to develop a broad and in-depth knowledge of EU Tax Law, including a firm grasp of key European case law, fundamental legal concepts and familiarity with key scholars in the field of European Tax Law. At the same time developing insight into the relationships and interactions between different aspects and concepts of EU Tax Law (e.g., within direct taxation, indirect taxation and State Aid Law).Students will acquire or improve skills needed to translate EU Tax Law in to practice in a commercial, policy or judicial setting (e.g., use of EU fiscal terminology, presentation skills, handling questions related to the field of EU Tax Law).
The programme is taught within the International Tax Center Leiden, which is an established center of excellence in the field of International Taxation. Students will benefit from the experience already existing within the International Tax Center and from being able to network with the international tax law students from other courses.
Content
The program consists of nine separate courses, to be divided into one ‘foundations course’, four ‘core courses’ and four ‘additional courses’. These nine courses are an expression of the coherent structure of EU tax law. The following courses are part of the curriculum: Foundations of European Union Law; Fiscal Sovereignty and the Fundamental Freedoms; Direct Tax Coordination and Harmonisation; Indirect Tax Coordination and Harmonisation; Fiscal State Aid; General Principles of EU Law; EU procedural law and taxation; EU Fiscal Practicum and the Thesis. In addition students can partake in the weekly ‘Technical Meeting’ which will cover EU tax developments as they unfold.
