{"id":152569,"date":"2023-03-28T10:42:34","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T08:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=152569"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:42","slug":"zuidas-has-huge-influence-on-tax-law-specialisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/03\/28\/zuidas-has-huge-influence-on-tax-law-specialisation\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Zuidas has huge influence on tax law specialisation\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six offices in Amsterdam Zuidas as well as the Tax and Customs Administration have been allowed to have significant input in the joint tax law specialisation of four universities for many years. Minister Dijkgraaf requires clarification on the matter.<\/p>\n

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Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Last week, journalism platform Follow The Money (FTM) published<\/a> the results of an investigation into the \u2018Accent Indirect Tax\u2019 specialisation; a joint track of the Master\u2019s degrees in tax law of Maastricht University, Tilburg University, VU Amsterdam and Leiden University. The track trains students to become VAT and customs specialists.<\/p>\n

25,000 euros<\/h2>

The track is sponsored by the Tax and Customs Administration and six major Zuidas offices: Baker McKenzie, Deloitte, EY, KPMG Meijburg & Co, Loyens & Loeff and PwC. According to the report, these offices each pay 25,000 euros a year to have a say, for which they get plenty in return.<\/p>\n

In 2015 the universities wrote that, contrary to other programmes, in this track, it was possible to keep the needs of the sponsors in mind and identify talent at an early stage. Notes and emails supplied by Maastricht University at the request of FTM apparently show that the sponsors have a say in which professors and teachers are hired as well as the contents of the programme.<\/p>\n

According to FTM, the sponsors also select representatives to join the supervisory board of the joint specialisation and a database containing alumni information is used for staff recruitment, which is possibly in violation of privacy rules.<\/p>\n

Academic freedom <\/h2>

According to critics in the FTM investigation, the programme is overly focused on professional practice, which may pose a risk to academic freedom. Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf told<\/a> FTM that he is concerned and wants the four universities to explain themselves. While he believes that having a vocational component in university degree programmes is perfectly okay, this should in no way come at the expense of academic freedom.<\/p>\n

VU Amsterdam plans to investigate<\/a> whether the independence of the specialisation is adequately safeguarded. Another tax law specialisation, \u2018Tax & Technology\u2019, will also be reviewed in this context. Leiden University has informed Follow the Money that they intend to re-evaluate their participation in the partnership.<\/p>\n\n\t

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