Center for Taxation and Public Governance
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| Enforcement and Dispute Resolution Coordinator: Mrs. Diana van Hout 2008-2009: May 25, 2009 – June 19, 2009 |
Course content
This course intends to provide the participants with the more formal aspects of taxation. It focuses on
issues like collection of tax liability, enforcement procedures under private law, administrative versus
criminal penalties, administrative and judicial procedures, and alternative dispute resolution.
The main focus is on the different systems of the three most common taxes: the personal income tax,
the corporate income tax, and the VAT / GST. The course starts with the enforcement procedures and
the reciprocity between tax law and private law in this respect. The distinction between administrative
and criminal penalties is best understood after discussing fiscal ethics, fiscal morality, anti-avoidance,
and fraud. As a result the advantages and disadvantages of administrative and criminal penalties are
exposed.
The course then discusses tax litigation and appeal procedures. Questions like whether you need to be
represented in an appeal stage, or whether a hearing with the taxpayer is required, are dealt with. The
course continues to review certain judicial procedures. In tax cases there are informal and more formal
procedures that can be followed. The informal procedures mostly offer taxpayers a quick and
inexpensive procedure for resolving their tax dispute. The more formal approaches are regulated by
formal procedural rules, such as fixed appeal forms, rules on evidence, preliminary investigations, and
production of documents. If possible, we will visit the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) or
the Court of Justice of the European Communities (Luxembourg).
Finally, the course refers to the alternative methods to resolve a tax dispute (“alternative dispute
resolution” or ADR). At this moment, mediation is a very popular ADR method. Nevertheless ADR
comprises of other systems such as arbitrage, fact finding, mini-trial, med-arb, and arb-med, etc. The
course will consider these systems not only in greater detail, but will also show the participants in which
situations these systems may be used as appropriate instruments.
This course intends to provide the participants with the more formal aspects of taxation. It focuses on
issues like collection of tax liability, enforcement procedures under private law, administrative versus
criminal penalties, administrative and judicial procedures, and alternative dispute resolution.
The main focus is on the different systems of the three most common taxes: the personal income tax,
the corporate income tax, and the VAT / GST. The course starts with the enforcement procedures and
the reciprocity between tax law and private law in this respect. The distinction between administrative
and criminal penalties is best understood after discussing fiscal ethics, fiscal morality, anti-avoidance,
and fraud. As a result the advantages and disadvantages of administrative and criminal penalties are
exposed.
The course then discusses tax litigation and appeal procedures. Questions like whether you need to be
represented in an appeal stage, or whether a hearing with the taxpayer is required, are dealt with. The
course continues to review certain judicial procedures. In tax cases there are informal and more formal
procedures that can be followed. The informal procedures mostly offer taxpayers a quick and
inexpensive procedure for resolving their tax dispute. The more formal approaches are regulated by
formal procedural rules, such as fixed appeal forms, rules on evidence, preliminary investigations, and
production of documents. If possible, we will visit the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) or
the Court of Justice of the European Communities (Luxembourg).
Finally, the course refers to the alternative methods to resolve a tax dispute (“alternative dispute
resolution” or ADR). At this moment, mediation is a very popular ADR method. Nevertheless ADR
comprises of other systems such as arbitrage, fact finding, mini-trial, med-arb, and arb-med, etc. The
course will consider these systems not only in greater detail, but will also show the participants in which
situations these systems may be used as appropriate instruments.
