The University of Luxembourg and the ATOZ Foundation signed a renewable agreement that extends the funding of the ATOZ Chair for European and International Taxation for five years.
The agreement was signed during the 10-year anniversary ceremony by Yves Elsen and Prof. Stéphane Pallage, respectively Chairman of the Board of Governors and Rector of the University of Luxembourg, and by Tonika Hirdman, Director General of the Fondation de Luxembourg representing the ATOZ Foundation.
The ATOZ Chair for European and International Taxation was established by ATOZ Tax Advisers in 2009 as the first privately funded chair at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance. It develops research and education activities of high quality in these areas, with the overarching goal to raise the level of knowledge of tax issues in Luxembourg.
When ATOZ partners decided to set up a private foundation in 2012, the chair became the first of many projects to be supported by the ATOZ Foundation, whose mission consists of promoting education-related initiatives for children and young people in Luxembourg and around the world.
Celebrating 10 years of partnership and achievements
The successful collaboration has produced a large body of work including over 30 conferences on topical tax policy issues such as the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI), Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), State Aid, IP regimes and the taxation of investment funds. Eight books have been published as a result of these conferences, with eight more to be published by 2023. One of these publications, “Time and Tax: Issues of International, EU and Constitutional Law”, was selected as one of the 100 best taxation books of all time by BookAuthority, a reading list curator.
Moreover, the chair supports the Master in European and International Tax Law (LL.M.) as well as doctoral and post-doctoral research. Over 150 students have graduated from the Master programme created in 2011 by former chairholder Prof. Alexander Rust. Prof. Werner Haslehner, current Course Director for the LL.M. programme, has held the chair since 2015.
Additionally, the ATOZ Foundation awards a 10,000€ scholarship each year to a student enrolled in the Master in European and International Tax Law.
The partners and researchers celebrated 10 years of the chair at Mudam on 25 February 2020. Speakers at the event included Claude Meisch, Minister for Higher Education and Research, Yves Elsen, Prof. Stéphane Pallage, Tonika Hirdman, Prof. Katalin Ligeti, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance and Keith O’Donnell, Managing Partner of ATOZ Tax Advisers.
Prof. Ligeti commented: “I am delighted to be celebrating this milestone in our partnership with ATOZ as well as looking forward to five more years of working together. Along with excellent scholarship and research outcomes, the ATOZ Chair has allowed for the creation of an LL.M. to inspire the tax professionals of tomorrow through hands-on methods, therefore narrowing the gap between the academic environment and the working world. These bridges that we build for our graduates are undoubtedly one of the most positive effects of such private and public partnerships.”
Keith O’Donnell, one of the driving forces behind the project, added: “I am very proud of the achievements of our partnership over the past 10 years and am excited to see them further develop going forward. Supporting tax graduates in such a way allows for the profession to continue and evolve in an ever-changing global market and I am pleased that ATOZ is able to play such a key role in this.”