Preparatory courses serve to teach students in disciplines previously not or only marginally known to them to provide the basic knowledge necessary for interdisciplinary working. Contents are:
- structure of tax systems
- relation of Union law and domestic tax law
- impact of the freedoms and state aid rules on tax systems
- impact of directives on tax systems

The analysis of Comparative Tax Law also focuses on the implementation of European tax law in EU Member States and in relations with third countries, as well as on issues of Comparative International Tax Law, including a comparative reading of tax treaties.

The teaching goals of this course are to provide students with the basic knowledge that is required for interdisciplinary doctoral research on European and Comparative Tax Law.

> 80% attendance requirement

The structure of the course includes interactive lectures using the Socratic method and 2multi-topical workshops.

For the lectures, the following teaching materials are used:

1) The textbook on European tax law (as of the academic year 2018/19 the 5th edition is being used).

2) Selected additional teaching materials, including the texts of all direct tax directives in force and selected CJEU judgments on fundamental freedoms and state aids in the field of direct taxes.

For the workshops, DIBT Students who already have a technical background on European and comparative tax law are free to choose between one topical presentation with oral discussion or a written essay. The latter is the compulsory form of assessment for all other DIBT students.

The assessment of the preparation by DIBT students is graded as follows:

30 % Active participation in class (based on pre-lecture reading of chapters from the textbook)

10 % Ability to answer questions raised by the teacher

60 % Presentation or written essay

All students admitted to the DIBT, the PhD in International Business Taxation, are able to participate in this lecture.

By E-Mail to Caroline Ristic (caroline.ristic@wu.ac.at, dibt@wu.ac.at)

DIBT focuses on high-quality academic education and internationally competitive research. It is aimed at future elite scholars and provides interdisciplinary training in taxation of enterprises' cross-border activities, drawing on and combining the core disciplines public finance, international tax law, and cross-border tax management. By then expanding tax training to non-traditional yet highly relevant disciplines such as economic psychology, history, political science, ethics, and legal philosophy as well as organizational behavior and decision making, a broadening of horizons and a more comprehensive approach to research questions is achieved. All courses are taught in English.