ITC Leiden > Master of Advanced Studies in International Tax Law

Fundamentals of International Tax Law
All four sections of this course aim at bringing the students, who arrive with quite varying backgrounds in international tax law, up to the same advanced level for the substantive courses that follow. As the position of tax law in graduate school curricula varies enormously around the globe, it is important that students with different graduate training backgrounds in international tax law are given the opportunity to equalize their knowledge. The first part of the Fundamentals course is the ‘Introduction to international tax law’. It provides an overview of the basics of international tax jurisdiction and of (the relief of) juridical and economic double taxation. The second part of the Fundamentals course focuses on basic concepts of income taxation - another topic in respect of which students may have quite different backgrounds, as the taxation course(s) they have taken in their home country may be too focused on their particular domestic tax system to provide an adequate basis for the great many different aspects of (international) taxation that they will be dealing with in the Program. The third part of the course deals with tax accounting. Experience of the past years has shown that many students arrive with different tax accounting backgrounds due to divergences in the accounting principles adopted worldwide. This course will harmonize such divergences at a higher level. The fourth part of the course (Selected international issues of corporate taxation) aims at familiarizing students with the international dimensions of selected advanced corporate tax issues. As in the later courses various corporate tax aspects of international tax law are touched upon, it is important that students are familiar with the underlying concepts.

Tax Treaties
This course begins with a discussion of the general aspects of the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention (policy, background and development), of the scope of the Model and the general definitions it employs, and of tax treaty interpretation. Next, the treaty attribution rules are analysed with regard to business and professional income (Art. 7), transportation income (Art. 8), real property income (Art. 6), dividends (Art. 10), interest (Art. 11), royalties (Art. 12) and capital gains (Art. 13). Subsequently, after the intermediate exam, attention is focused on the treaty attribution rules with respect to services, including employment and pension income (Art. 15 through 20), other income (Art. 21) capital (Art. 22) and double taxation relief (Art. 23A-B). The course is concluded by discussions of the technically complex subjects such as e-commerce, beneficial ownership & international tax avoidance, partnerships, triangular cases, financial instruments and international trade dispute resolution in tax matters and by a detailed discussion of tax treaty policy issues. Teaching is offered in different forms. The core of the instruction is formed by lectures, which focus on the basic rules of the various treaty provisions, and on their operation and application. In addition there are workshops where the subject matter of the lectures will be further discussed by the Teaching Assistants (TAs) through cases

Transfer Pricing Rules in International Taxation
This course provides an overview of the history and current practice of transfer pricing. The course combines theoretical and practical approaches, using examples and case studies to illustrate the key concepts learnt. The theoretical framework follows primarily the recommendations of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the US regulations, with some additional concepts drawn from the legislation of other countries. The examples and case studies are taken from the practitioners’ experience and case law. The program tries to emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of transfer pricing and draws from the fields of taxation, economics, accounting, business management and law to provide the students with the basic knowledge required to understand advanced transfer pricing problems.

EU Tax Law
Brief introduction to European Union institutions, instruments and law; in-depth discussion of the EU Parent-Subsidiary, Merger, Interest & Royalties, and Savings Directives; attempts to harmonize (company) income tax rules on cross border income; case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on application on the free movement and nondiscrimination provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to cross-border (company) income tax issues. The TFEU’s rules on state aid are analyzed along with the EU Code of Conduct on harmful tax practices. The latter subject is also reviewed from the OECD perspective. Furthermore insight is provided in the considerations on the side of Governments in shaping their international tax policy through domestic tax law and tax treaties. As the impact of the harmonisation of income taxation within the European Union is felt worldwide, this course is equally important for students from non-EU countries. Teaching will be offered in a variety of forms. The core of the instruction is formed by lectures, which focus on the EU tax law matters described above. In addition there are workshops where the subject matter of the lectures will be further discussed by the Teaching Assistants (TAs), particularly on the ECJ case law and the EU Council Directives.

International Estate & Trust Taxation
It involves the taxation of individuals with respect to their cross-border wealth and possible planning techniques to reduce the overall tax burden imposed as a result of multi-jurisdictional tax imposition. Special attention is paid to the employment of trusts and their taxation. Whereas few of them will work in the future with a specialty in this area, most will encounter the subject occasionally and - in view of its own notions, rules and issues - it is considered very useful to include it as one of the smaller courses in the Program.

Customs Duties and Excise Taxes
Due to market globalisation, there has been significant increase in world trade. The increase in international trade and commerce has caused companies and tax advisers to pay greater attention to the international customs legislation for their tax planning activities. The course provides an overview of the development of current international customs rules. Emphasis is placed on the most relevant rules which are aimed at reducing the burden of customs duty globally and achieving efficiency of imports and exports through simplified customs procedures. Special focus is also placed on the harmonised EC legislation. Also this course has a rather narrow and technical scope. It was included only recently in the Program as most students in their later career will encounter issues from this area and basic knowledge of this otherwise inaccessible area is quite useful.

US International Tax Law
The body of domestic and international tax law of the United States constitutes one of the most bewildering and complex tax systems in today's world. As international tax lawyers almost without exception frequently deal with transactions and investments involving the United States, a comprehensive study of US international tax law is a must for providing the students with insight in the international aspects of the tax law system of this important country.

International Tax Planning
During the last two decades tax practice has become increasingly international. This course provides a survey of basic techniques employed in international tax planning. It covers basic tax planning techniques for multinational groups, with insights in the domestic legislation of major economies and case law on the subject. Supply chain management structures are discussed, taking into account the basic principles of domestic legislations and their interaction with tax treaties. It provides detailed analyses of acquisition techniques, with a special focus on private equity and venture capital. The course also deals with the tax treatment of derivatives and other financial instruments often used in practice and it covers in general terms the accounting issues arising in relation to the above-mentioned subjects. By the end of the course students have gained a thorough knowledge of the principles underlying international tax planning, how to apply them in practice and what issues must be taken into account when developing or examining tax planning structures.

US Domestic Tax Law
This course covers the basics of federal income taxation of individuals, corporations and partnerships. Different from some of the other LLM International Tax Programs in the world, this Program is focused on true international rather than comparative tax law. One exception is made, as the study of a foreign tax system makes the student aware of the policy choices made in the design of his or her own country’s tax system. The choice was made for US domestic tax law as it has the greatest overall impact on multinational commerce and investment.

Value-Added Tax Law
The course provides an overview of the concepts and principles of value added tax. Students will learn about the most important value added tax issues, which anyone dealing with value added tax in the European Union is confronted with and needs to master. While VAT originally was only an EU type of tax (conceived in the 1960s) in later decades many countries have adopted this ingenuous type of consumption tax. At the same time, its theoretical framework and its function as a tax policy instrument is rarely taught, reason for us to add it to the Program’s curriculum a few years ago. It aims are: acquiring insight in the instrumental use of this tax and obtain the knowledge of its application.

Adv LLM papers
In addition to the courses described above, students must write an Adv LLM paper on a topic agreed upon with the Program Board. The Adv LLM paper must address and analyse a substantive issue of tax law of an international nature, and may not be merely descriptive or comparative. The Adv LLM paper ought to be of publishable quality. In December, special sessions are devoted to introduce students to research on the internet, and lists with suggested thesis topics are distributed around Christmas, with writing instruction classes offered even earlier in the academic year. Students are strongly suggested to decide on their Adv LLM paper topic by the end of April or early May. At that time Adv LLM paper discussion sessions are organised. The research and writing process is supervised by selected teachers of the Program. This approach, which has been developed over the past five years, turns out to create a highly stimulating setting for all students to start truly focusing on their Adv LLM paper.