Upcoming Meetings

This is a listing of past and upcoming meetings. This term, we meet Thursdays during term time.  Please feel free to join us! We are a friendly bunch! If you have any questions please feel free to contact any one of us listed in the scholars section or send a general inquiry to May Hen-Smith at hmh46@cam.ac.uk or Guy Mulley at gevm2@cam.ac.uk

2020

June 2020

  • June 4, Thursday, 14:00-15:00 ONLINE (e-mail hmh46@cam.ac.uk or gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link).

Presentation by Allison Christians, “How Pillar 1 redraws the global tax base map: a look at the march towards consensus” 

The OECD continues its mandate to reallocate the global profits of certain digital economy firms for tax purposes. Combining the OECD’s own impact analysis with independent research, it is now possible to draw a very rough sketch of how Pillar 1 would accomplish this, and therefore to see how firms and nations are likely to fare under the OECD Secretariat’s preferred approach. Even so, it is not clear that there will be enough time for all Inclusive Framework members to move from rough sketch to policy certainty in time to make decisions about whether the Secretariat’s approach constitutes a mutually beneficial consensus. In this presentation I will walk through the technical specs of Pillar 1 with an example to demonstrate its policy implications.

  • June 11, Thursday time TBD ONLINE (e-mail hmh46@cam.ac.uk or gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link). Presentation by Alexis Brassey

 

  • June 4, Thursday from 15:00-16:00 ONLINE (e-mail hmh46@cam.ac.uk or gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link). Presentation by Rasmus Christensen, Title TBD

 

May 2020

  • May 28, Thursday from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm ONLINE (e-mail hmh46@cam.ac.uk or gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link).

Presentation by Neil Buchanan, “What does the incoherence of the efficiency concept mean for law?” 

Despite its ubiquity in economics and legal theory, the notion of economic efficiency is incoherent and thus does not provide an objective guide to policy or analysis.  I am in the early stages of planning a book project in which I will write the lead chapter explaining why the efficiency concept is misunderstood and thus misused, and in the remaining chapters other scholars will explain how their fields of law should change once we stop treating efficiency as a meaningful concept.  In this talk, I will explain in brief why efficiency has no fixed meaning and then explore with all of you what the other chapters of my planned book might cover (and who might write those chapters).  Interested participants who want to read something in advance can focus on Parts II and V of this forthcoming article.

December 2019

  • Dec 5, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at Faculty of Law, room  T9 with presentation by visiting scholar, Cornel Marian: “Taxes of Dutch Jews post-Holocaust in Amsterdam”

This week we will be discussing the extraordinary story of Dutch Jews who, having survived the Holocaust, were made by Amsterdam Council to pay taxes on their properties, even though their properties had been seized by the invading German army.

Telling us this story will be academic and attorney-at-law Cornel Marian. Cornel will use the story to explore his wider area of research, which concerns the extent of a State’s power to tax. As such, the talk is likely to be of interest to anyone with an interest in matters of administrative law, constitutional law or human rights, as well as tax law. So, feel free to pass on the details of the event to others who might be interested.

Cornel Marian is a US qualified attorney based in Sweden with a practice limited to infrastructure, energy and international arbitration, including investor-state disputes.  Mr. Marian has experience as arbitrator, legal expert and counsel in international arbitration and cross-border disputes. He is currently completing his Ph.D. at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany with the expected graduation date in spring 2020.  

November 2019

  • Nov 7, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at Whale Cafe with presentation by Vincent Ooi (PhD Student, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge):  “A Robot Tax?“

Rapid developments in automation technology pose a risk of mass displacement of human labour, resulting in the need to support and retrain displaced workers (a negative externality). We propose an “automation tax” that would slow the adoption of automation technology in appropriate circumstances, giving workers and social support systems time to adapt. This could be easily implemented through changes to the existing schedular system of depreciation/ capital allowances, reducing the uncertainty of its application and implementation costs. Such a system would be flexible enough to keep up with rapid technological developments. Two main dimensions may be adjusted to produce intended distortionary effects: 1) accelerated depreciation, and 2) bonus depreciation. While the benefits of efficiency gains mean that the automation tax is unlikely to have widespread application, it does provide a useful tool for specific situations where the rate of automation needs to be slowed due to its resultant social costs.

 

  • Nov 14, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at Faculty of Law, room  T9 with presentation by PhD student Steve Jeffels: “Tax & Fairness”
After graduating in Engineering, Steve became a Chartered Accountant and then a Chartered Tax Adviser. Steve’s doctoral work is concerned with understanding fairness from a tax perspective, and examining whether the UK tax system in aggregate is fair.  Starting with a consideration of what fairness means both generally and economically, Steve will present some thought-provoking scenarios linked to the current inequality debate which will help frame the discussion on what fairness means from a tax perspective. To provide a lively debate it would be really useful if attendees can have thought a little about their perception of whether the tax system (perhaps in their own country) is fair and why.

From the Romans to Magna Carta, through the Middle Ages to the current day, Peter will show how death taxes have a far longer and more varied history than most people realise. Peter will discuss not only the developing nature of death taxes themselves, but also the societal contexts in which they have been levied, with particular reference to these taxes’ conflicts with inheritances and landed estates.

Peter is Associate Professor of Accounting & Taxation at the University of Nottingham and also a long-standing member of the Cambridge Tax Discussion Group. A Chartered Tax Adviser and qualified accountant, Peter brings a distinctive perspective to tax history, having been an adviser at the UK Government’s Office of Tax Simplification and the Tax Policy Research Manager at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

Professor Craig Elliffe will be discussing the Principal Purpose Test, which is a device intended to minimise tax avoidance internationally. Increasingly, tax treaties contain an anti-avoidance rule known as the Principal Purpose Test. There is a risk that individual countries, through their tax authorities and their courts, may develop differing interpretations of the Principal Purpose Test. Will the Test be an objective or a subjective one? Does the Test place the burden of proof on the taxpayer? Craig will be exploring these and other considerations.

Craig is based in the Law Faculty at the University of Auckland, but Cambridge is not unfamiliar to him. He did both his LLM and his PhD here. A former tax partner at international accountancy firm KPMG, Craig’s research interests cover the areas of international tax, corporate tax and tax avoidance. He has also been a member of the New Zealand government’s Tax Working Group.

October 2019

  • Oct 7, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar  with talk by Oliver Exton – “Analysing the impact of Brexit using HMRC tax data”
  • Oct 17, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar with presentation by LLM students Vitalii Trachuk and Khrystyna Knygynytska “Overview of the Ukranian tax system”
  • Oct 24, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at Whale Cafe with presentation by Paulo Arthur Cavalcante Koury (LLM Candidate in Cambridge and PhD Candidate at the University of São Paulo):  “Brazilian taxation of income derived by subsidiaries of Brazilian companies resident abroad” 
  • Oct 31, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm at Whale Cafe with presentation by Jakob Baumgartner (LLM Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge): “Accounting uncertain tax risks according to IFRIC 23 and German commercial code. Provisions according to IAS 37 and Sec. 249 German Commercial Code. Accounting tax risks according to IFRIC 23, FIN 48 and Sec. 249″

 

March 2019

  • Mar 7, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar
  • Mar 14, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar with presentation by Jeffrey Selbin, Clinical Professor of Law, UC Berkeley “A Justice Tax?”
  • Mar 21, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar with presentation by Qunfang Jiang, University of Leiden “Limitation-on-benefits Rule in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Context”

February 2019

 

2018

  • Nov 1, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar with presentation by Professor Daisy Dai, Senior Academic Visitor at Oxford Law School and Assistant Professor of Law at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
  • Nov 8, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar with presentation by LLM student Long Pham on “The law of unjust enrichment”.
  • Nov 15 Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar by Law PhD student Fa Chen on “The portrait of Alibaba: corporate governance, IP litigation and business tactic”.
  • Nov 22, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar.
  • Nov 29, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar.
  • Oct 4, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar.
  • Oct 11, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Whale Cafe with presentation by Enrica Core, Universita Luiss Guido Carli, Italy
  • Oct 18, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar.
  • Oct 25, Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar with presentation by Ewa Plesnar.
  • Sept 6, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar.
  • Sept 25, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the  Whale Cafe
  • July 13, Friday, from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, Garden Party, Jesus College
  • June 7, Thursday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Grads Cafe in the University Centre, top floor
  • June 14, Thursday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Grads Cafe in the University Centre, top floor
  • June 21, Thursday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26 – Presenter: Peter Allen, Office of Tax Simplification
  • June 28, Thursday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26 – Presenter: TBC
  • May 1, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • May 10, Thursday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at Dominic de Cogan’s office, B2 at Christ’s College
  • May 15, Tuesday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26 – Presenter: Rick Krever, University of Western Australia Law School
  • May 24, Thursday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at Dominic de Cogan’s office, B2 at Christ’s College – Presenters: Bernhard Reinsberg and Elias Nosrati, PhD student at Sociology, will speak on The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • May 29, Tuesday, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Apr 17, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Apr 26, Thurs from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar.
  • Mar 8, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar.
  • Mar 13, No meeting. Visit to the Treasury in London
  • Feb 8, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Feb 13, Tuesday from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26. Speaker, Rohan Clarke, Development Studies, University of Cambridge
  • Jan 25, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Jan 30, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar. Speaker, Rasmus Christensen “Elite Professionals in Global Tax Governance”

 

2017

  • Dec 5, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at Microsoft Research Cambridge
  • Nov 2, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar
  • Nov 7, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Nov 16, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Nov 30, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Oct 10, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Oct 19, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Oct 24, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26. Speaker, Kristine Sævold, University of Bergen (Norway). Topic: Capital Entrepôts at the Margins of States (Working Title); The Role of the British Administration in Tax haven and Offshore Banking Developments in Former Colonies, 1961-1978
  • July 5, Wednesday from 12:00pm-1:00pm at the at Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar followed by a garden party from 1:00pm-3:00pm in Second Court, Jesus College
  • July 11, Tuesday from 10:30am-1:00pm at Jesus College, West Court. Visiting students from Curtain University Australia (approx 25 students) participating in our weekly discussion on tax
  • June 8, Thursday from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, Speaker: Lukas Vician, Topic: EU State Aid and Tax: the Example of Apple; Irish and International Tax Law vs. EU State Aid – To be followed by drinks at the Granta Pub
  • June 15, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the Aula Cafe, Trinity Hall
  • June 22, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the at Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar
  • June 29, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at Newnham College’s gardens
  • May 4, Thursday from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office, B2 at Christ’s College, Speaker: Dominic will provide some thoughts on tax administration in developing countries
  • May 11, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, Speaker: Andrea Binder will present her research findings from Brazil and Mexico related to her PhD on state power and the politics of offshore finance (aka tax havens)
  • May 16, Tuesday from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, Speaker: Maximiliano Boada; Topic: Tax Neutrality in the OECD: The Myth of Neutrality in Taxation
  • May 23, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, in Dominic de Cogan’s office, B2 at Christ’s College, Speaker: Bernhard Reinsberg, Topic:  The revenue implications of IMF programs: Evidence from a disaggregated approach
  • April 20, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the Aula Cafe, Trinity Hall
  • April 27, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the Cafe, Trinity College, Speaker: Kim Willey to present on Tax and Short-Termism
  • Mar 1, Wednesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, Speaker: Ann Mumford, The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London
  • Mar 7, Tuesday from 12:00pm-1:00pm, at the  Faculty of Law,  G26
  • Mar 16, Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, at the Faculty of Law, Moot Court Room G28, Speaker: Anne Fairpo of Atlas Tax Chambers,  who will speak to her work on IP and tax. We will plan to walk to the Granta Pub for a late lunch afterwards.
  • Mar 21, Tuesday from 12:00pm-1:00pm, at the Aula Cafe, Trinity Hall – Topic: Tax and US Extra-Territoriality
  • Feb 9, Thursday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, at Jesus College “Rooster” cafe/bar
  • Feb 14, Tuesday from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm, at at the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room
  • Feb 21, Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, in Dominic de Cogan’s office in Christ’s College, Speaker: Jasna Bogovac, University of Zagreb
  • Jan 12, Thursday from 12:00pm-1:00pm, at the Aula Cafe, Trinity Hall – Topic: Tax and UK Council Contracts
  • Jan 17, Tuesday from 12:00pm-1:00pm, at the Aula Cafe, Trinity Hall – Topic: Tax Avoidance as a negotiating point in Brexit discussions
  • Jan 26, Thursday from 12:00pm-1:00pm, at the  Faculty of Law,  G26 – Topic: Lisa Martin to present on tax evasion and voluntary disclosure in criminal tax law in Germany
  • Jan 31, Tuesday from 1:00pm-2:00pm, at the Aula Cafe, Trinity Hall

 

2016

  • Nov 1, Tuesday from 1:30pm-2:30pm, Centre for Science and Policy, 10 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, Tax Law Discussion Group to meet with Samanta Padalino, Senior Government Economist at Department for Communities and Local Government
  • Nov 10, Thursday, from 1:00pm – 2:00 pm, in the Faculty of Law , Graduate Combination Room, G26, Topic: Tax Implications of US Election
  • Nov 15, Tuesday, from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, in the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room,  G26
  • Nov 24, Thursday, from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, in the Faculty of Law , Graduate Combination Room, G26, Speaker: Felix Martinez will be presenting an overview of his research
  • Nov 29, Tuesday, from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, in the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room,  G26, Speaker: John Magyar will lead a discussion on his paper titled “The Perception and Practice of Statutory Interpretation in the
    Era of English Textualism”
  • 29 November, 2016 (3:00 – 5:00 p.m.): Travers Smith presentation on Taxation and Brexit, Cambridge Law Faculty, S19 (Freshfields room on second floor)
  • Oct 4 from 12pm-1pm in the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Oct 13 from 1pm-2pm in the Faculty of Law, Graduate Combination Room, G26
  • Oct 18 from 12:45pm-1:45pm in the Faculty of Law, Room, G11, with Speaker: Pete Miller “HMRC Penalties for Tax Advisers”
  • Oct 27, Thursday  from 12:45pm-1:45pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office, B2 at Christ’s College, with Speaker: Peter Allen “HMRC Digitization of Tax”
  • Sept 13 from 12pm-1pm in Law Faculty Senior Combination Room

We will be taking the month of August off and reconvene in September.

  • July 7th from 1:30pm-2:30 pm in the Faculty of Law, Sidgwick Site, Graduate Combination Room, Seminar Room G26 with guest Prof. Sol Picciotto
  • July 14th from 12pm-1pm in the Faculty of Law, Sidgwick Site, Graduate Combination Room, Seminar Room G26
  • July 21st from 12pm-1pm in Christ’s College Fellows Garden
  • July 28th from 12pm-1pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27
  • June 9th from 12pm-1pm in at Jesus College, in MCR (Middle Combination Room) with guest Jonathan Zenios. Following this meeting will be a garden party in Jesus College from 1pm-4pm
  • June 30th from 12pm-1pm in the Faculty of Law, Sidgwick Site, Graduate Combination Room, Seminar Room G26
  • May 5 from 1pm-2pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27
  • May 10 from 12pm-1pm Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College
  • May 19 from 1pm-2pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27
  • May 24 from  12pm-1pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College
  • May 31 from 12pm-1pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27 (with guest Martin Hearson)
  • April 7 from 12pm-1pm in at Jesus College, in MCR (Middle Combination Room). Meet at Porter’s Lodge at 12pm and we will walk to MCR at 12:05pm
  • April 19 from 12pm-1pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College (with guest Geoff Meeks from Judge Business School)
  • April 26 from 12pm-1pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College (with presentation from Tarrant Green)
  • March 1 from 12pm-1pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27
  • March 10 from 1pm-2pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27
  • We will break for 4 weeks during term break and begin again in Easter Term in April
  • February 2nd from 12pm-1pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College
  • February 11th from 1pm-2pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27
  • February 16th from 12pm-1pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College (with guest Rodrigo Ormeno-Perez from the University of Birmingham).
  • February 25th from 1pm-2pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27
  • January 28th from 1pm-2pm in Alfred Duncan’s office at Christ’s College, New Court 3.27

2015

  • December 1st from 12p-1pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College
  • November 3rd from 11am-12pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College
  • November 10th from 11am-12pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College
  • November 17th from 12:10pm-1:20pm in Dining Hall at Jesus College
  • November 24th from 11am-12pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College
  • October 27 from 11am-12pm in Dominic de Cogan’s office at Christ’s College

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