Hi, it's great to see you. We are about to start our course, rethinking International Tax Law, and I'm really excited about it. I am standing in the botanical garden of the university here in Leiden, and behind me you see the university's academy building. This building is for me personally really important and special. It is here where I defended my PhD thesis and where I delivered my inaugural lecture. The university is the Praesidium Libertatis, the bastion of freedom. In the academy building, economic debate has been going on for centuries. Free economic debate, sometimes even with physical confrontation between the professors. But always with the aim of coming to a better understanding of the world through an honest exchange of views. And that is exactly what we are going to do in our course. [SOUND] Welcome to our studio at the online learning lab of Leiden University. This is where our exchange of views will mainly take place. Here, you will learn about what is really going on and become a true participant in the text planning debates. During the course you will also met some of my colleagues at Leiden University. All experts in the field of international taxation. Each module, Kees van Raad, the chairman of the International Tax Center of Leiden University, and a prominent expert on the subject of international tax law will share with you his views and experiences on the subject discussed during that module. In module four Stefano Simontacchi was the academic coordinator of the Advanced Transfer Pricing course in the Master Advanced Studies in international tax law at Leiden University, will give you an introduction to the tax planning aspects of transfer pricing. Finally, you will also hear from Frank Engelen, a professor of international and Euro tax law at Leiden University, who will discuss expert subjects in additional videos. Before we start, I would like to take this opportunity to lay out the journey which we will be going on during the next six modules. In the first module of our course, I will introduce you to the debate on international tax planning. What is the debate about and who are it's key players? Once we've got that established, I want to go to the core of international tax planning. What actions do companies take to reduce the tax costs of doing business internationally? To do that, I will break down real tax structures of real multinationals, and create a tax planning base case out of the elements. In modules two to five, we will examine the building blocks of the base case, and assess them in the light of international and corporate income tax law. In module six, we will take a step back and now having a thorough understanding of the techniques of international tax law, consider the ethical aspects of international tax planning. I am proud that prominent experts like Pascal Sentimal and Marlise [INAUDIBLE] of the OACD, Paul Martin of Relics Group, and many others are going to join us in that module. Each module consists of a series of short video lectures, in which my colleagues and I will examine with you aspects of the base case in detail. Rethinking international tax law is a course for beginners and experts. During each module, you will be asked to read an article, or articles, and to participate in a weekly quiz. We will also ask you to submit three assignments in modules one, three, and five based on what you've learned in the video lectures and read in the literature. I greatly recommend you also look beyond the course materials prescribed to make these assignments. Discuss what you have learned with your friends and family. Look up more material online in a library or browse through our list of interesting videos and literature, and make up your own mind on the subject manners discussed. Each of your assignments will be peer reviewed by other participants in the course. Also, yourself will provide feedback on the assignments submitted by others. This is a great way to share your views with others and vice versa, learn from other participant's experience. In module six, you'll have the opportunity to let your views be heard and take sides in a forum debate on the ethical aspect of text planning. For all participants, we also have a ongoing discussion forum in which you can share and exchange ideas. Each module I will put a challenging statement on the forum relating to the topics discussed during that module, but I also encourage you to contribute challenging statements yourselves. I hope you will join in and help thinking about the current debate on tax planning and the future of international tax law. If you are experiencing any troubles participating in the course, please do not hesitate to let me and our team know. Difficult terms are explained in the glossary on our course page. And also, you can reach out to our teaching assistance who will offer help where they can. Feel free to reach out at anytime. For technical assistance please contact Coursera to the learner help center. I look forward to working with you in this exciting course.
