SG - What’s Wrong with Taxes?
In short
Lecture- 2 December 2025
- 20.00h
- Impulse Wageningen Campus
What do taxes have to do with economic inequality, and what opportunities does taxation offer to counter economic disparities? And how progressive are our tax systems actually?
About What’s Wrong with Taxes?
What do taxes have to do with economic inequality, and what opportunities does taxation offer to counter economic disparities? Tonight, Professor Arjan Lejour sheds light on the different and sometimes complex ways in which tax measures can mitigate or exacerbate the gap between rich and poor. What do existing taxation schemes mean for inequality in practice, and what makes redistribution such a thorny topic?
Subsequently, tax specialist Reinier Kooiman argues why he believes that the current tax system in the Netherlands (and many other countries) is far from progressive, contrary to the prevailing discourse. Provocatively, he asserts that it is redistributing wealth from the poor to the rich rather than the other way around. What does his unconventional proposal for rethinking taxation entail, and how desirable and realistic is this alternative system?
About lecture series Economic Inequality
The Ethics and Politics of Wealth Governance
We live in a world in which some individuals possess more wealth than entire nation states. Inequality has been on the rise in most countries. What’s more, the same goes for the disparity between public and private wealth: while governments have become poorer, private actors have become richer.
But who says high economic inequality is problematic? Is there such a thing as (un)acceptable inequality and what ethical underpinnings could there be for it? And what could be at stake for democracies? In this series, we delve into these matters and discuss the role of political choices.
About Arjan Lejour
Prof.dr. Arjan Lejour is professor of Taxation and Public Finance at the Department of Tax Economics of the Tilburg School of Economics and Management of Tilburg University. In addition to his work in academia, Arjan Lejour is affiliated to CPB (Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis), as project leader at the sector Public Finance.
His research focuses on the behavioural effects of taxation and, in particular, on potential tax avoidance by companies, both nationally and internationally. Other research interests are the causes of wealth inequality and tax evasion of rich households. At Tilburg University, Arjan teaches public finance and taxation courses, in which he focuses on the economic impact of taxation on the behaviour of people and firms. What are the consequences for economic efficiency and redistribution?
About Reinier Kooiman
Mr.dr. Reinier Kooiman is a tax specialist. He works as lawyer in the Tax practice group of law firm Stibbe and is assistant professor at the Faculty of Law of Leiden University. In 2016, he obtained his PhD on the Dutch inheritance tax. In April this year, his book De sterkste schouders (The broadest shoulders) was published.
Date
20:00 - 22:00