Upcoming Meetings

This is a listing of past and upcoming meetings. We meet Wednesdays during term time.  Please feel free to join us as 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 Kui Li at kl552@cam.ac.uk

2023

Oct 25, 11:00-12:00 (GMT). Law Faculty, G25. First meeting of term – Introductions.

Nov 1, 11:00-12:00 (GMT). Law Faculty, G25

Nov 8, 11:00-12:00 (GMT). Law Faculty, G25

Nov 17, 12:00-13:00 (GMT). Darwin College, 1 Newnham Terrace

Nov 22, 11:00-12:00 (GMT). Law Faculty, G25

Nov 29, 11:00-12:00 (GMT). Law Faculty, G25

2022

Dr Yassar Nasser, from the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge will start by introducing the basics of Islamic Finance and how financial transactions ought to be conducted. After a brief comparison between traditional and Islamic financial systems, Dr Nasser’s presentation will move on to introduce the concept of wealth and related taxes within an Islamic economy (Zakat and others). Dr Nasser will then conclude by considering the major challenges facing tax collection and the open questions on how to address the multitude of tax layers in this system. Dr Yassar Nasser is an international executive and academic with a track record in established and emerging markets. His international career involved senior and board positions at major universal banks, commercial enterprises, and universities around the world. Yassar holds a Doctorate in Monetary Economics from Cranfield University and an MBA from the University of Cambridge (with a final dissertation on Islamic Finance). He works with the Centre for Alternative Finance and teaches on the Master of Finance Programme at Judge Business School. Yassar joined the Competitiveness Institute at Harvard in 2017 with a focus on strategic competitiveness for firms and nations. Yassar’s research interests and publications are in the areas of Strategy of Competitiveness, Clusters, Monetary & Financial Economics, and Strategic Finance.

2021

In this talk Professor Alice Abreu will link a series of observations: 1) The relative lack of diversity in the US tax bar; 2) The traditional view of the tax law as involving one value – raising revenue – rather than multiple and heterogeneous values, exacerbated by the concept of tax expenditures, which places non-revenue values outside the purview of the tax law; 3) The implicit bias that is baked into the tax law through its privileging of capital and its owners, among other things, producing an Internal Revenue Code that is racially blind but not racially neutral; and 4) How many of the Biden Administration’s legislative proposals, for both individual and corporate taxpayers, might begin to disrupt that, perhaps even leading to the long-term provision of a universal basic income.

  • May 27th, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT). Presentation by Steven Dean, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School. Topic:
    Predatory Cooperation
    We are delighted to have distinguished legal academic and tax commentator Professor Steven Dean as our speaker, who will be explaining themes of his forthcoming book.

    “Predatory Cooperation: Racial Capitalism and the Taxation of Cross-Border Transactions”

    The rules governing the taxation of cross-border transactions have been re-made, to tame the perceived threat to global markets posed by decolonization and again to tame the perceived threat to the welfare state posed by the lawlessness of those former colonies. In both instances, a subtext of racial anxiety distorted the machinery of cross-border taxation. This book retells the story of cross-border taxation from a new perspective, providing an opportunity to create rules and institutions that serve all rather than reflecting the biases of the few. Dr Steven Dean is Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. He writes, tweets and podcasts about tax law and social enterprise. As well as a substantial body of scholarship on international and corporate taxes, Dr Dean also lectures on personal and income taxes and on tax policy. after an undergraduate degree in Political Economy, Dr Dean gained his J.D. (Doctor of Law) from Yale Law School.
  • May 13th Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT). Presentation by Dr Alice Pirlot  (ONLINE). Topic: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

Taxes can have a substantial effect on the behaviour of individuals and organisations. So, how might taxation play an important part in the Climate Change discourse? Dr Alice Pirlot, from the University of Oxford, who is an expert in environmental taxation, will be discussing her current research project, which examines the concept of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The CBAM is a tariff that the European Union has proposed as a fiscal measure to support Climate Change action. Dr Pirlot will explore how the concept of the CBAM is used as an umbrella term for a wide range of measures that have different designs and purposes. Dr Pirlot will demonstrate how the design features of CBAMs will influence the type of objectives that these measures can achieve.Dr Pirlot is a Law Fellow in the Centre for Business Taxation at Oxford. As well as environmental taxation, Dr Pirlot’s research has also addressed the interaction between tax and World Trade Organisation law. Before moving to Oxford, Dr Pirlot had been a research fellow of the National Belgian Fund for Scientific Research at the University of Louvrain, which is where she completed her PhD.

  • Apr 29th, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT). Presentation by Adam Glen  (ONLINE). “Cambodian Tax – Sovereignty Gained, Sovereignty Lost?”
  • Apr 15, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT). Presentation by Dr Julian Ghosh QC  (ONLINE).

Adam Glen sits in the unique position of being a non-Khmer who has been advising the Cambodian government about the development of the country’s tax system. For the past 600 years, Cambodia has been attempting to both survive and regain its Sovereignty. For a brief period in the second decade of the 21st century, Cambodia managed to partially reclaim its Sovereignty through the improvement in tax revenue collection due to the successful application of Tax Law. Being a dual currency economy it has not yet achieved Fiscal Sovereignty as it is pegged to the US Dollar but in other aspects Sovereignty was re-established. However, the lack of development in Administrative Law means that events since 2013 have resulted in Sovereignty migrating from the Constitution to the Executive.

Dr Julian Ghosh QC will be discussing Judicial Perspectives, drawing on his experience as a tax tribunal judge. Julian Ghosh is an eminent tax barrister, having been called to the English Bar in 1993 and the Scottish Bar in 1999. He is a Judge of the First-Tier Tax Tribunal and a Deputy Judge of the Upper-Tier Tax Tribunal. Dr Ghosh, who was a law undergraduate at Edinburgh University and a postgraduate at the University of Oxford, also has academic responsibilities at the University of Cambridge, as a Bye-Fellow of Peterhouse College and he is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London. E-mail for link.
  • Mar 18, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT). Presentation by Charles Raikes (ONLINE). Former Government Legal Service lawyer Charles Raikes will be taking us through the front doors of Whitehall and showing us something of the administrative and legislative processes of UK government. Charles’ talk will include observations in the areas of finance, regulation and tax, informed by his time in the Treasury Solicitor’s Office. E-mail for link.
  • Mar 4, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT). “An Intra-disciplinary Approach to Taxation Research” By Dr. Amir Pichhadze (ONLINE)
  • Feb 18, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT) “Tax, The Constitution and Public Law” By Dr Dominic de Cogan (ONLINE: e-mail May Hen-Smith  hmh46@cam.ac.uk or Guy Mulley gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link)

Dr Dominic de Cogan, from the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge, will give a presentation on “Tax, The Constitution and Public Law”.

Author of Tax Law, State Building and the Constitution, Dominic will be expanding on his 2020 monograph, to address some topical aspects of the discourse on the relationship between tax and the State. From domestic issues, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, to international concerns, such as the taxation of multi-national corporations, Dominic will be challenging our established perspectives. Dominic will also be explaining his current work about the relationship between tax and public law.
  • Feb 4, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT) “A Career In Tax Disputes?” By Robert Hartley (ONLINE: e-mail May Hen-Smith  hmh46@cam.ac.uk or Guy Mulley gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link)

Robert Hartley takes a practical look at tax disputes in the UK over the last twenty years and how tax disputes progress from initial enquiries to resolution. The talk will touch on matters such as developments in the way HMRC approach tax avoidance, evidential issues such as privilege, and the human cost of unresolved tax disputes. This talk is ideal for anyone looking to gain some insight into what a career in tax looks like, or who is considering a career specialising in contentious matters more generally.About Our Presenter Robert Hartley is a partner and solicitor-advocate in the tax disputes team at the (hopefully) well-known firm of Mishcon de Reya LLP. Having graduated from Magdalene College in 1993, he joined the post-graduate Cambridge LLM course the same year. He then worked for a time as a junior barrister before beginning a tax career in 1999 at what is now Hogan Lovells LLP. Alongside his work on a number of high-profile contentious and non-contentious tax matters over the years, he spent a number of years teaching VAT at King’s College London, and specializes in “big ticket” direct and indirect tax disputes. He is not an accountant, but he will work with spreadsheets if he really has to.

  • Jan 21, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (GMT) ONLINE

Toward a Fiscal Sociology of Colonialism” Presentation by Kyle Willmott, Simon Fraser UniversityAbstract:The presentation examines the strategic role of tax in relation to Canada’s colonial administration of Indigenous nations and the broader role of tax in relation to settler colonialism. I will discuss some of the ongoing analytical problems in tax scholarship in relation to colonialism and look to build an approach that focusses on the informal and ideational life of tax. The case study examines the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, which paired ideas about transparency with taxation, accountability, and citizenship. I aim to show how the state bureaucracy aimed to re-make Indigenous political identity around ‘taxpaying’.About Our PresenterKyle Willmott is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Working between political sociology, fiscal sociology, and economic sociology, his research attends to the cultural politics of taxation, Indigenous-settler relations, settler colonialism, and liberalism. His work has been published in Economy and Society and Critical Social Policy. He is Mohawk from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation. More information, including a link to the meeting, can be found here: http://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/156064

2020

October 2020

  • Oct 29th, Thursday from 16:00-17:00 (BST) ONLINE“Copenhagen Business School x TAX” Four special guests from Copenhagen Business School will be introducing and discussing their work in tax from three different fields of research. Karen Boll is Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School. Karen conducts ethnographic and qualitative studies of tax authorities’ work, business’ tax compliance practices and collaborative tax regulation. Karen’s work has been innovative in seeing tax compliance as an assemblage of relations and actors, and groundbreaking in her access to studying tax administration in both Denmark and Sweden. Karen’s work on taxation has been published extensively in journals such as Journal of Organizational Ethnography, Nordic Tax Journal, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Journal of Cultural Economy, Journal of Tax Administration and Accounting, Organizations and Society. Yvette Lind is currently an Assistant professor in tax law at Copenhagen Business School (CBS Law). Swedish jur.dr. (JD) specializing in international taxation with an emphasis on challenges arising from globalization, increased taxpayer movement and the fragmentation of law. Awarded Swedish TOR/Skattenytt post-doc between 2017-2019 in connection to defending her doctoral thesis, facilitating specialising in EU state aid law in various fiscal contexts, e.g. tax avoidance and environmental taxation. Currently working on her taxation and democracy project in which she explores the effects of increased taxpayer mobility with reference to the allocation of not only taxation and access to (social) welfare benefits but also political rights and benefits such as voting privileges. Regular guest researcher and teacher at the Faculty of Law, Lund University.
  • Saila Stausholm is a doctoral student at Copenhagen Business School, currently finishing her dissertation on the International Political Economy of international taxation, through the Horizon 2020 project COFFERS “Combating Fiscal Fraud and Empowering Regulators”. Stausholms research spans different dimensions of the political economy of corporate taxation and exploits new datasources on hard-to-study phenomena. Her projects have identified the role of transnational professionals in offshore finance through mapping the geography of tax advisors and Big Four accounting firm employees, investigated the effectiveness of tax incentives in developing countries, and estimated the revenue impacts of a global reform of corporate taxation towards destination based cash flow taxation.
  • Leonard Seabrooke is interested in the micro-level elements that permit the macro composition of the international political economy and transnational governance. This includes: how professionals compete and coordinate to establish new regulations and new markets; the professional careers of those involved in international economic governance and transnational activism; generational conflicts between groups seeking to secure housing and financial assets within different national systems of residential capitalism; and conflict between groups over taxation and accounting issues. His work frequently draws upon analytical and methodological tools from political economy and economic sociology, including sequence analysis and social network analysis, among others.
  • Oct 1st, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (BST) ONLINE

At this Thursday’s meeting we will be able to hear about tax research across the academic spectrum and from around the world. We have five mini-presentations:

  • Professor of Law Neil Buchanan, from the University of Florida, will be explaining how he chooses topics for scholarly writing, how theoretical research advances the conversation and how to deal with economics in tax analysis.
  • Philip Baker QC, tax barrister and a visiting Professor, will be discussing the practising lawyer’s approach to academic tax law and the role of practicing lawyers who also engage in academic work, as well outlining his own journey into tax academia and some of his current research plans.
  • Dr Amir Pichhadze, from the University of Oxford, will be bringing his international academic experience to bear on the subject of tax law teaching and research.
  • Christina Allen, lecturer in law at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, will be using her forthcoming tax project about definitions of wealth and income to illustrate the challenges of framing and narrowing a research question.
  • Gabriel Nwodo, a Nigerian law graduate, will be articulating why he is returning to academic study, as a newly arrived LLM postgraduate student at the University of Cambridge.

As usual, there will be the opportunity for discussion and asking questions. The one-hour meeting will be start at 5:00pm British Summer Time. If you would like a calendar invitation sent to you via Teams/Outlook, please email gevm2@cam.ac.uk . Otherwise, the link for the meeting is here: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MDRmNzY0NjctMTc5NS00OTA4LWE4ZWYtYTU5ZTI4MThmYTcw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2249a50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22cce22f0f-bf2a-4e51-beb7-cf129dbab444%22%7d

September 2020

  • Sept 17, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (BST) ONLINE (e-mail hmh46@cam.ac.uk or gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link)

Presentation by Peter Sloman: “Where’s the Money Coming From? How Tax and Spending Debates frame Electoral Politics” Tax and spending are central to democratic politics in the UK and elsewhere, but political scientists have paid surprisingly little attention to the practice of manifesto costings or the ways in which fiscal promises shape voting behaviour. This paper explores how British parties have used manifesto costings to frame prospective choices for voters since the 1950s, and develops a theoretical framework for understanding why warnings about ‘tax bombshells’ and ‘black holes’ in parties’ spending plans seem to be so powerful in Westminster democracies such as the UK. Whereas retrospective evaluations of economic performance can be difficult for governments to control, forward-looking fiscal debates are structurally weighed towards incumbent parties. Other constitutional structures may have very different implications for the role of public opinion in the tax policy-making process. Peter Sloman is University Senior Lecturer in British Politics at POLIS and a Fellow of Churchill College. Before joining POLIS in 2015 he spent ten years in Oxford, where he was a student at Queen’s and a junior research fellow at New College.Peter’s research focusses on political ideas, public policy, and electoral politics in modern Britain. His first book, The Liberal Party and the Economy, 1929-1964 (Oxford, 2015) explored how British Liberals engaged with economic thought in the era of John Maynard Keynes and William Beveridge. His second book, Transfer State (Oxford, 2019), examines how changing attitudes to work and social welfare have shaped the development of Universal Credit and the campaign for a universal basic income.

July 2020

  • July 2, Thursday from 17:00-18:00 (BST) ONLINE (e-mail hmh46@cam.ac.uk or gevm2@cam.ac.uk for link)

Presentation by Professor Henry Ordower on “Taxing Capital Appreciation for Fairer Taxation, Constitutions and a Comprehensive Tax Base”

The presentation will start with a brief exploration of the realization question in the pending constitutional challenge to the peculiar US transition tax (IRC 965) and then contextualize the historical issue of realization and income and the comprehensive tax base. I will consider some of the justifications for a realization requirement and preferential treatment of capital gain and contrast them with some economic drawbacks to a realization-based system. The presentation will move to mark to market (with its trade-offs to overcome objections), the gradual abandonment of realization in the US and conclude by considering distributional fairness under a realization-based
Henry Ordower is Professor of Law at the Center for International and Comparative Law at Saint Louis University. His recent research has focussed on issues of tax distribution and the growing disparity of wealth between individuals. In addition to his academic research and teaching, he runs a tax consulting practice and he provides expert testimony in complex tax litigation matters. An avid traveller and linguist, Professor Ordower has visited more than 100 countries.

June 2020

Presentation by Rasmus Christensen: “The new politics of global tax governance: What the past tells us about the future of international taxationThe past decade has revealed that systemic change is underway in the foundations of global tax politics, entangled with changes in global politics at large. States are more aggressive in cracking down on tax havens, and cooperating more effectively through multilateralism. Global power is shifting towards large emerging markets. Media attention and focus on inequality has fueled unprecedented discontent with international tax rules. And the digital economy is ripping historical alliances apart, creating new battles lines in global tax negotiations.Description: Based on a recently published paper (with Martin Hearson), in this talk I set out how these global trends indicate a radical departure from the stable past of international tax, and how they are shaping ongoing discussions to change the system, at the OECD and beyond. As the international tax system stands at a historical crossroads, finding new balances – on inclusiveness, coherence, and legitimacy – will be key to developing a sustainable international tax system for the future. Rasmus Corlin Christensen is a political economist at Copenhagen Business School and a research associate at the International Centre for Tax and Development. His research focuses on processes of change in the politics and professional practice of international taxation. He has been recognized as an influential individual in the global tax world, being named to the International Tax Review´s “Global Tax 50” in 2017. You can find him at phdskat.org or @phdskat.

“The Village Of Billionaires: An Examination Of The Paradox Of Relative Poverty”

Dr Alexis Brassey, from the University of Cambridge, and Professor Henry Ordower, from Saint Louis University, will be discussing tax fairness in an international context, under the title “The Village Of Billionaires: An Examination Of The Paradox Of Relative Poverty”. Further details are set out at the end of this email.ABSTRACT: Tax justice and principles underpinning the international tax regime are in vogue. The idea that companies and individuals need to pay their “fair share”, not just in the domestic sense but also the international sense, is now a mainstream position. This paper explores the problems relating to what might constitute a “fair share” by setting out what is meant when this expression is used. A reasonable assumption is to consider taxation as the means by which the state funds public services and in some jurisdictions, contributes to greater equality within society. Those goals, however, give rise to competing claims. This is especially the case when considering international tax challenges, for example those faced by the OECD ’s 2019 work plan. This paper, in examining competing claims for tax revenues, considers the specic categories of relative as opposed to absolute poverty. If one accepts that taxation is to fund public services, the question arises, at least in international tax, which jurisdiction’s public services? If the motivation for raising tax is to tackle inequality, what has the greater claim, international inequality or national inequality? It is in answering these questions that we need to address the issue of which is more pressing, relative as opposed to absolute poverty? The contention in this paper is that there is a far stronger moral claim for tax to be redistributed on an international basis rather than on a nation basis. Further, this paper contends that purported moral claims which seek to address inequality within national borders are merely political demands made to further the economic interests of particular groups who themselves are amongst the most economically privileged, when viewed on an international spectrum. The article is designed for those progressive or communitarians who strongly advocate for redistribution within national boundaries. It is not designed to appeal to those of a libertarian perspective. Dr Alexis Brassey is a Solicitor and a Visiting Fellow of the Centre for Tax Law at the University of Cambridge. He holds an MA in Philosophy, an LLM in Corporate Law and a PhD in Psychology, as well as a PhD in Law. His research in Tax Law encompasses tax avoidance, constitutional law, tax fairness and jurisprudence. He has also worked in investment banking.Henry Ordower is Professor of Law at the Center for International and Comparative Law at Saint Louis University. His recent research has focussed on issues of tax distribution and the growing disparity of wealth between individuals. In addition to his academic research and teaching, he runs a tax consulting practice and he provides expert testimony in complex tax litigation matters. An avid traveller and linguist, Professor Ordower has visited more than 100 countries.

  • June 4, Thursday14:00-15:00 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.

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 ChristensenElite 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