After the 2008 financial crisis and prompted by media reports about aggressive tax planning strategies used by MNEs (multinational enterprises), the issue of base erosion and profit shifting reached the top of the political agenda. In this course, we will distinguish the concepts of “tax evasion” and “tax avoidance” and discuss the basic principles of taxation of MNEs, including how MNEs shift profits to low tax jurisdiction. Then, we will turn to discussing policy responses that have been adopted by states, international and regional organizations including the EU.

In this first part, we look at the evolution of global tax governance and draw a map of the international and regional actors that have a stake in the international sphere. We also address the mapping of the most important regional initiatives in trade and investment and the link to taxation. By mapping out these initiatives, this course aims to identify the different levels of  cooperation among countries in a regional context, as well as the stakeholders that play a role in these regional initiatives.

In the second part, we will investigate the different views from stakeholders (MNEs, international organizations, regional organizations, EU and civil society) on tax fairness, and tax legitimacy.  We will investigate the impact of these views in the current proposals to tackle aggressive tax planning and ensure fair play and fair competition. We will also debate how international tax policy including EU tax policy should evolve in the future.

In the third part, we will focus on how these international and EU policies to tackle international tax avoidance relate to global governance process. The focus will be on strategies to deal with this topic, keeping in mind also the current EU and international (political) developments as well as the institutional settings for global tax governance (EU, UN, OECD, G20, G7) among others. For this part, we will focus on the challenges of regions (mainly Asia and Africa) to participate in these global governance processes. 

By the end of this course the students will have integrated knowledge about basic tax policy questions as well as about the challenges that the states, international and regional organizations including the EU, Asia and Africa face in the fight against tax avoidance and in promulgating fair, legitimate and equitable rules.

> 70% attendance requirement

Interactive lectures. Students are expected to familiarise themselves with course materials and participate in the lectures and discussions. Additionally, to facilitate active participation, the students will write and submit a literature review, as well as providing a presentation. For the literature review and presentations, students can participate in group of 2-3 students to facilitate exchange of ideas.

The assessment will be assessed as follows: 10% literature review assignment and 90% exam.

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• 1. When writing a seminar paper, the introduction must contain a declaration of the use of AI. If no form of AI was used, a note to this effect is sufficient. If AI was used, the introduction must explain accordingly where and in what form.
  2. For seminar papers, increased attention will be paid to:
• Whether the processed legal status is up-to-date
• Correct/existent citations
• Correct use of abbreviations
• Comprehension
• Errors in the outline