History of the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law of WU

1968: Former tax inspector Anton Lager becomes the first professor of Financial Law at WU Vienna. The Institute for Financial Law, later the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law, is founded under his leadership. Anton Lager becomes Professor Emeritus at WU Vienna in 1978.

1981: Wolfgang Gassner succeeds Anton Lager as professor of Financial Law and as Head of Institute. He actively engages in the Institute´s projects until his death in 2004. His main emphasis in research and teaching is on Corporate and International Tax Law.

1990: Eduard Lechner joins the Institute as Professor of Financial Law with a focus on International Tax Law. He remains in this position until 1993 when he leaves for another offer from the University of Vienna.

1991: For the first time, the Institute initiates the "Wirtschaftstreuhänder-Kongress" (Business Trustee Congress) which is followed by the annual "Wiener Bilanzrechtstage" (Accounting Law Conference) as an academic special event hosted by the Tax Law Institute together with WU´s other related economic institutes. In 2011, the Vienna Symposium on Corporate Tax Law takes place as a further special event in the field of Corporate Tax Law, which is held annually for a longer period of time and further strengthens the focus on this research area.

1994: Michael Lang succeeds Eduard Lechner in his office as Professor of Financial Law, focusing on International Tax Law. In 1998 he accepts the position as Head of Institute, offered to him by Wolfgang Gassner.

1994: For the first time, the Institute hosts the "Wiener Symposium zum internationalen Steuerrecht" (Vienna Symposium on International Tax Law) which is held annually since then. In the following years, other scientific events are held in English and international congresses follow on an annual basis e.g. the conferences on tax cases pending before the ECJ in the area of direct taxation from 2005 onwards or the Tax Treaty Case Law around the Globe Conference first held in 2011.

1994: After being elected President of the Austrian International Fiscal Association (IFA), Wolfgang Gassner launches an intensive collaboration between the Association and the Institute. Under his management, the IFA organizes the IFA World Congress at the "Wiener Hofburg" in 2004. Vice President Michael Lang later succeeds Wolfgang Gassner as President of the IFA. Josef Schuch, Claus Staringer and later also Georg Kofler, Karoline Spies and Alexander Rust, become members of the Board of Directors. For the next ten years, Michael Lang is also a member of the Permanent Scientific Committee of the IFA. He is later succeeded in this position by Claus Staringer, Georg Kofler and Alexander Rust.

1997: The first symposium concerning constitutional court proceedings in tax matters is held, in collaboration with the Institute for Austrian and European Public Law (Michael Holoubek) at WU Vienna. Since then, the event is held on an annual basis, dealing with topics on the frontier between tax and constitutional law or other fields of public law, resulting in increased cooperation of the Institute’s academics with representatives of constitutional and administrative law.

1998: The first study trip organized by the Institute leads to Luxembourg. Thanks to its sponsors, the Institute is able to organize study trips for its research associates and best students to different European cities at the end of each summer for many years after that. Up to 50 of the best candidates take part in an intensive program on tax law each year.

1998: The Institute becomes a member of the EUCOTAX (European Universities Cooperating on Taxes). EUCOTAX is a group of Tax Law Institutes from 12 European countries and the USA. Next to research cooperation, it offers an intensive study program for students interested in research on tax law as well as international workshops held every year.

1999: The first full time and part time students enroll in the LL.M- program at WU. The program is initiated by the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law in cooperation with the Akademie der Steuerberater*innen und Wirtschaftsprüfer*innen. In order to internationalize the program, the courses are soon held in English only. The program´s almost 1000 alumni from the last 25 years go on to have careers throughout the globe. The faculty consists of scholars from all continents who come to WU regularly and who encourage cooperation in cross border research.

2001: The first academic Conference on the subject of “Tax Treaty Interpretation” is held in Rust. Since then, the conference is held on an annual basis, on different topics each year.

2002: The Institute becomes a training center of the Marie-Curie Fellowship. Financed by the European Commission, it provides young international researchers with the chance to spend up to 12 months at WU Vienna. Hereafter, invitations for research fellowship tenders are issued in cooperation with companies (e.g. OMV, Raiffeisen International, Mondi, Siemens, TPA) to promote scientific research at WU Vienna itself. This initiative is especially targeted at citizens of CEE countries. A Visiting Scholars Program is introduced soon after, to provide research stays for incoming visiting scholars from every continent for the duration of several months.

2003: Claus Staringer and Josef Schuch are appointed Professors at the Institute. They expand the curriculum and the research activities in the field of International Tax Law and Corporate Tax Law.

2003: Upon recommendation of international consultants, the Special Research Field (SFB) on International Tax Coordination is established at WU Vienna. For the first time a program jointly organized by legal and economic experts is selected by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Within the framework of the SFB, Institute researchers cooperate with researches from other fields, thus promoting cross-disciplinary research. During the evaluation processes in 2007 and 2010, the high quality of interdisciplinary tax law research at WU Vienna is widely recognized by international consultants.

2005: Pasquale Pistone joins the team of Professors. As the result of a joint application made together with the Institute he starts his work as holder of the European Young Investigator (EURYI) Award and later on in the frame of the ad personam Jean Monnet Chair.

2005: WU Vienna adopts the three-cycle system promoted by the Bologna process. Undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Business Law are offered for the first time. Graduates of the Master´s Program in Business Law are qualified to enter professions in the core areas of law. The field of tax law is very important in these programs. Tax law courses are also offered within the WU Vienna's economic and business administration graduate degree (which is also offered in an entirely English version since 2018), as mandatory or optional subjects. From 2011 onwards, a new Master’s degree in Taxation and Accounting also puts emphasis on tax law. From 2005 onwards, building on the Master’s Program in Business Law and on other master or diploma degrees in Law offered at other universities, the doctoral program in Business Law provides the possibility for research associates and other PhD students to write their doctoral thesis on taxation.

2005: The first row of seminars on International and European Tax Law (Colloquium), now called the Colloquium series, is held - initially in cooperation with PwC. 12-16 lectures are offered by (mostly) international lecturers each academic year. The successful cooperation with consulting companies leads to other projects, like the KPMG-WU workshop on Company Tax Law, the PwC Visiting Chairs for prominent international scientists, the semi-annual semester opening and closing parties to liaise with students, the two yearly panel discussions on career perspectives in tax advisory companies and law firms, the BDO Best Presentation Award, the TPA Best Presentation Award, the PwC Best Bachelor Thesis in Tax Law Award and the Ernst & Young Tax Challenge (special program for bachelor thesis supervision) at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law. Subsequently, such projects are also carried out in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF).

2006: WU Vienna participates for the first time in the European Tax Moot Court in Leuven (Belgium). In the following years, our students win the competition more frequently than other universities worldwide or at least rank high in the competition and are awarded for their performance. In later years, the Institute also participates at the Moot Court of the German Federal Fiscal Court (BFH).

2008: Maria Wimmer is appointed to the newly created position of Administrative Director. Her main task is to coordinate the rising number of administrative staff, the organization of conferences and other activities of the Institute.

2009: Alfred Storck joins the Institute after being a leading manager of the Tax Department and Vice-CFO at one of the global tax players.

2009: In the context of an international conference, the Institute focuses on direct and indirect taxation and puts emphasis on global development within the area of value added tax. This initiative marks the start of further international conferences on VAT in the following years.

2009: Incooperation with a number of Austrian and International companies, the CEE Summer School is held at the Institute for the first time. Since then, highly qualified students from the CEE-region are invited each year to further their specialist knowledge in the field of double tax conventions and EU tax law.

2010: In 2010, the first three research project associates in cooperation and with financial support from various (Big 4) law firms, and later also Freshfields, start at the Institute. This will prove to be a successful model and further research associates in similar positions follow in the next years.

2011: The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) establishes The Doctoral Program in International Business Taxation (DIBT) at WU Vienna, which is built on the cooperation of researchers from various related academic disciplines. In 2014, financial support from the FWF is extended, based on the unanimous recommendation of a panel of international experts. After another international evaluation in the year 2020, the DIBT program continues to be financed as one of only four scientific programs in Austria to win the highly competitive doc.funds initiative by the FWF in that year. The DIBT continues with the cross disciplinary scientific research conducted by the SFB (Special Research Field). Within the framework of DIBT, doctoral students from around the globe undertake their studies at WU Vienna. Those students with a legal background work as research associates at the Institute. As the number of researchers at the Institute who do not speak German increases, English becomes the common working language of the Institute in 2011.

2011: For the first time, the Institute holds Summer Schools in Beijing and Xiamen, China. Excellent students from China are able to apply for the Summer Schools to gain further knowledge in the field of international tax law.

2012: Jeffrey Owens assumes the management of the Institute´s newly established WU Global Tax Policy Center and allows for the expansion of the Institute´s activities in the field of International Fiscal Policy.

2012: The Institute initiates  twice-yearly Corporate Tax Lunches, in cooperation with the economic chambers of Lower Austria and Vienna. CFOs and corporate tax directors of various companies participate at this event. These meetings offers the opportunity for mutual exchange on current developments in tax law, and have since been held twice a year.

2013: The entire WU Vienna - and along with it the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law - moves to the brand new campus in the Vienna Prater area, designed by world famous architects. All staff members, whose offices had previously been in various separate buildings, are now united in one building. Among the first events held on the new campus is the opening ceremony of the "Doppler Laboratory: Savings Taxation in a Globalized World", established by the Christian Doppler Society with friendly support of Deloitte.

2013: In December 2013, the first international conference on current ECJ case law on VAT is held at WU Vienna in cooperation with the European Commission, and establishes itself as an annual event in the following years.

2014: An additional chair is offered at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law. Alexander Rust, previously full professor at the Université du Luxembourg, is appointed to this position. His appointment enhances the Institute’s expertise in the areas of international tax law and tax policy.

2015: Alfred Storck, already in charge of research activities in the field of Transfer Pricing at the Institute since 2009, together with Raffaele Petruzzi sets up the WU Transfer Pricing Center at the Institute and both function as Managing Directors of the Center. In 2019, after the retirement of Alfred Storck, Raffaele Petruzzi also takes over the role of Chair of the Board of Directors of the Center.

2015: The Institute increasingly utilizes the growing number of academic staff to establish discussion formats that serve an internal exchange and thus the further improvement of the quality of manuscripts. These include e.g. the "VAT Coffee", the "Tax Trea-Tea", the "TP Coffee" and the "CJEU Coffee".

2019: Robert Risse, Senior Faculty Member of the Institute as of 2018, and Alexander Rust, develop the LL.M. Program on Digitalization and Tax Law jointly with the Department of Information Systems and Operations at WU Vienna, which is offered for the first time in 2020. The program runs for several years and makes a significant contribution to the Institute's research activities during this time.

2019: The Institute becomes a member of the VAT Expert Group of the European Commission and is represented by Karoline Spies and Nevia Cicin-Sain in the discussions on EU-VAT reforms.

2020: Two additional professorships are advertised at the Institute. Karoline Spies (who habilitated at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law) is appointed to the professorship Tax Law with a focus on “Value Added Tax” in July. Georg Kofler (previously Professor at the University of Linz) joins the Institute with a focus on “International Tax Law” in October. Both professors complement the  previous focuses of the Institute in an excellent way and help to strengthen and further develop competences in these areas.

2020: In the field of tax law, there are three major worldwide awards every year: The International Fiscal Association (IFA) awards the Mitchell B. Carroll-Prize for the world’s best scientific work in the field of direct taxation. The best work in the field of indirect taxation is awarded with the Maurice Lauré Prize. Finally, the European Association of Tax Law professors announce the European Academic Tax Thesis Award for the best tax law monograph written at a European University. Employees of the Institute have often  been awarded one of these major prizes. In 2020, the Institute achieves the Triple for the first time, receiving all three prestigious awards: Dr. Raphael Holzinger wins the Mitchell B. Carroll_Prize for his work on the topic "Ergebnisabgrenzung bei verbundenen Unternehmen und Betriebsstätten Post-BEPS: Rechtsformneutralität im OECD Musterabkommen", Prof. Karoline Spies receives the Maurice Lauré Prize for her habilitation thesis "Permanent Establishments and Value Added Tax" and Dr. Rita Julien wins the European Academic Tax Thesis Award for her work on the topic "Credit Method: Compatibility and Constraints under EU Law".

2021: Theodora Stergidou takes over the pos­i­tion of Ad­min­is­trat­ive Dir­ector. Under her coordination, the administrative team organizes teaching, conferences and other activities of the Institute.

2022: In order to take up digital trends and develop them academically, the WU Tax Law Technology Center is established at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law under the direction of Prof. Robert Risse.

2022: Rita Szudoczky assumes a new role as an Associate Professor after successfully defending her habilitation on "Principles in International Taxation: Their Role in the Consolidation, Control and Disintegration of the International Tax Regime".

2023: For the first time, the Institute organizes an annual Global Tax Seminar, which is held exclusively by professors who work at the Institute or have laid the foundations for their careers here. In addition to the Institute's professors, Svitlana Buriak (University of Amsterdam). Martha Caziero (University of Tilburg). Christina Dimitropoulou (University of Maastricht), Kasper Dziurdz (University of Maastricht) Caroline Heber (University of Vienna), Daniela Hohenwarter-Mayr (University of Vienna), Na Li (East China University of Political Science and Law), Cristóbal Pérez Jarpa (University of Andes - Chile), Ashrita Prasad Kotha (National Law School of India University), Michael Tumpel (Johannes Kepler University of Linz) and Jean-Philippe Van West (Free University of Brussels) participate in this event.

2024: Rich Stern, who gained his experience at the World Bank, among others, takes over from Jeffrey Owens as head of the WU Global Tax Policy Centre at the Institute.