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School of Law

NVCL 2018-19: Is Tax Reform Really About Tax Competitiveness? - The Impact of Competitiveness and the US Tax Reform in China

7 December 2018

Time: 4:30 - 8:00pm
Venue: Centre for Commercial Law Studies. 67-69 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JB

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The Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University of London is pleased to announce the details of our annual seminar series ‘New Voices in Commercial Law’ (NVCL).

Now in its sixth year, the series aims to provide a forum for debate and an opportunity for attendees to hear early career academics with outstanding potential discuss their research in an intellectually stimulating environment.

The seminars are part of the academic programme of events of the UNIDROIT-QMUL Institute of Transnational Commercial Lawand they are convened by Dr Andromachi Georgosouli. Draft papers are circulated electronically in advance of each event to registered participants.

CCLS attendance certificates available on request. For more information email the CCLS Events Team on ccls-events@qmul.ac.uk.

Is Tax Reform Really About Tax Competitiveness? - The Impact of Competitiveness and the US Tax Reform in China

Speaker: Yue Dai (“Daisy”) (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)
Commentator: Professor Bernard Schneider
Discussants: Professor J. Vella (Oxford University): TBC and Dr B. Schneider (CCLS, QMUL) TBC

Paper Abstract

With the fear that the economic competition with China has taken the US backwards, the Trump administration continued using the campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” as a major theme to push forward the TRA17 framework. The Chinese government worries the TRA17’s spillover effects on China’s economies, especially the competitive advantage gained by the US from the lower rate, expensing and the patent box, and the participation exemption. However, China is unlikely to be any kind of threat in tax policies to the US, because the country will stay in the early stage of modernizing taxation. The study of TRA17 and competitiveness could actually build helpful linkage for China to examine its own tax system. The US needs not see China as a competitor in tax competitiveness indexes. A reform pivots around competitiveness could add on more problems and loopholes. At the end of the day, fundamental problems of a country’s tax system and tax loopholes might be very longstanding, and cannot be resolved by raising competitiveness alone. Meaningful reform will likely happen gradually, with an emphasis on tax principles that can endure, and a transparent and deliberative process that enjoys broad support.

About the author

Yue Dai (“Daisy”) is an assistant professor of law at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and a registered New York State Attorney, with expertise in PRC and US tax laws. She is an academic visitor at the University of Oxford, Faculty of Law. She has several papers published in prominent Chinese journals and in Tax Notes. Now, she is working on multiple tax research projects, including the G20 countries tax competitiveness. In 2016, she won the first prize in the Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition. She has worked in big law firms as tax legal counsel, the US Federal District court, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the University of Illinois Legal Office. She received the J.D. degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and the B.A. degree (Economics and Foreign Affairs) from the University of Virginia.

About the commentator

Bernard Schneider is Lecturer in International Tax Law and Director of the LLM in Tax Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London School of Law.  His main research interests include international and comparative tax law, tax policy and administration, the taxation of individuals, taxation in emerging and developing economies and the US and Chinese tax systems.  He teaches international and comparative, US and Chinese taxation and Chinese business law.

Timings:

Registration: 16.30 - 17.00

Session: From 17.00

Directions

For directions to the venue, please refer to the map.

How to book

This event is free but prior booking is required. Register online via Eventbrite.

Please select the seminar(s) you wish you attend.

Contact

For more information, please contact the CCLS Events Team on ccls-events@qmul.ac.uk.


Photography, video and audio recording

Please note that CCLS events may be photographed or video and audio recorded. These materials will be used for internal and external promotional purposes only by Queen Mary University of London. If you object to appearing in the photographs, please let our photographer know on the day. Alternatively you can email the CCLS Events Team on ccls-events@qmul.ac.uk in advance of the event that you are attending.

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