Tax law student organises guest lecture by State Secretary Van Rij on tax law and sustainability
Outgoing State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration Marnix van Rij gave a guest lecture on tax law and sustainability on 17 June 2024 in collaboration with Associate Professor Esther Huiskers-Stoop. The lecture was an initiative of student Darya van der Wilt.
What do you do when you want to learn more about the intersections between tax law and climate policy? You ask an expert. And if you're really daring, you also ask that expert to give a guest lecture for your fellow students. That’s exactly what student Darya van der Wilt did. She invited outgoing State Secretary Marnix van Rij to give a guest lecture on 17 June.
Ask the State Secretary
There was great interest in the lecture. It attracted not only students and lecturers from Tax Law, but also interested parties from other law programmes at the faculty. Of course, it's not every day you get the chance to put questions to someone who’s actually worked on policy. So the students took their chance to ask questions which led to interesting discussions. For Marnix Van Rij, it was also a memorable moment which he describes (in Dutch) on LinkedIn.
Tax, the climate and Box 3
Various topics were addressed during the outgoing State Secretary's lecture. For example, he talked about the policy instruments that can contribute to effective climate policy (such as subsidising, standardising and pricing) and how taxation can play a role in this. Students who care about climate can therefore specialise in fiscal greening.
He also spoke about the challenges he faced as State Secretary, such as the new system for taxation in Box 3. He submitted the proposal for this new system, under which taxpayers with assets (such as savings, shares, or a second home) pay tax only on what they earn from their assets (i.e. interest, dividends, or rental income).
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Former State Secretary Van Rij -
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Former State Secretary Van Rij (right), Esther Huiskers-Stoop (middle) and Darya de Wilt (left)
Tax Talent Traineeship
After Marnix van Rij's lecture, lecturers Kim van der Pas and Tom Langens gave a short presentation on their experiences as tax trainees at the Tax and Customs Administration and the Ministry of Finance. During the Tax Talent Traineeship young professionals have the opportunity to work at various departments for two years.
Looking back and to the future
We look back on an inspiring lecture full of valuable insights and advice. For student Darya, it was a unique experience: 'I’m so grateful for having had the opportunity to organise this lecture and I look back on an unforgettable afternoon!'
From today (2 July) Marnix van Rij is no longer State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration, now the new cabinet has been officially presented. He held this position from 2022 to 2024. Before this new cabinet was formed, he had been approached to become prime minister but chose to turn down the opportunity (see Dutch NOS news report). He will now continue as deputy administrator of the Dutch-Belgian constituency at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).