When tax rules change, taxpayers may face an increased tax burden that they were not able to anticipate upon. This raises the normative question of transition regimes: should taxpayers be compensated for unexpected losses? Academic thought typically focuses on single-rule changes. But in...

When tax rules change, taxpayers may face an increased tax burden that they were not able to anticipate upon. This raises the normative question of transition regimes: should taxpayers be compensated for unexpected losses? Academic thought typically focuses on single-rule changes. But in...

The European institutions strive for more open and informal governance. The use of soft law is part of the new legislative policy, often also with a view to establishing closer cooperation or even harmonisation of direct taxation between the Member States in a non-binding way. The Code of...

Principles-based legislation (PBL) is sometimes presented as an alternative regulatory instrument to counter aggressive tax planning, as a remedy for the failure of rules-based legislation. Rules are almost sacred in (tax) law-for rules are thought to secure legal certainty (and equality) for...

Hobbes and Hume represent two very different modes of governance; that is, the legitimate exercise of the government power, and the ensuing relationship between government and citizens (taxpayers). These different modes reflect their diverging approaches to man, consent, contract, sovereignty and...

This General Report presents the results of a comparative law research project on the topic of 'retroactive tax legislation' by the European Association of Tax Law Professors (EATLP). The General Report provides a comparative law analysis based on the information in the various 'national reports'

Using the 2007 corporate tax reform in the Netherlands as an example, we describe the process of corporation tax law-making as a typical insiders' debate. But even among insiders, there are differences in how ‘inside' they really are. On the one hand, there is no independent information to...

Multinational corporations' tax practices are hotly debated nowadays. Multinationals are accused of not paying their fair share of taxes. Apparently, acting within the limits set by law is not sufficient to qualify as morally responsible behavior anymore.This article offers ethical reflection on...

Taxpayers have to plan their tax affairs to plan their life or develop their business strategy. Often tax planning is encouraged and intended by tax legislation but sometimes it is not. By way of tax incentives, the tax legislator often tries to steer citizens' behaviour to achieve all kind of...