Stevens Award Nominated 2021 Bram Middleburg: By combining practice with science, you become a better tax professional

Yesterday was the first turn of Ilona van den Ijend. Today we ask Bram Middleburg three questions.

What publications/views should your readers know about you?
“I have written a number of issues for Wakeblad on various topics in the field of indirect taxes Taxing the digital economy is an interesting topic for me. Practically speaking, I’d recommend a lot to other platforms and companies that are active in the digital world.

In addition, I have a file general article Written about VAT rules for e-commerce and More specialized article About the site of the sales facilitation platforms within these rules. I wrote the last article with my colleague Gino Spardis. Both publications show that the new VAT rules are prone to fraud, contain flaws, and lead to practical ambiguity.

I co-wrote last year too reaction In another weekly article about the consequences of the EU Withdrawal Agreement for a VAT tax on financial and insurance services for UK customers. This discussion focused on the question on what date there is a right to deduct VAT for such transactions: February 1, 2020 or January 1, 2021. Lower courts have now considered this question as well.

I’ve also published a few Wakeblad articles, such as on the consequences of VAT for imposing costs between group companies.”

Why write?
“By combining practice and science, I become a better tax specialist. Almost all the publications I have worked on are based on practical issues. By writing an article I can dig deeper into the topic, put the topic in context and gain new insights. In order to increase the relevance of my publications, I try to define the biggest As much as possible the practical consequences of tax laws and regulations or a particular ruling.

I find it interesting to write about new developments. It’s hard to post on topics like this because there is usually little other literature available. This makes it possible to be one of the first writers to express an opinion on a particular topic. It is good to see that some of the perspectives and solutions are subsequently adopted in other authors’ publications, textbooks, and other reference works.

Aside from that, I “just” love to post. During my student days I wrote a number of conference reports. After graduation, I started writing objective articles. It definitely helps to draw attention to your ideas and share ideas with colleagues across various platforms.”

What if I win?
“Describing complex issues in a simple way is probably the hardest part of a tax advisor’s job. Of course it would be great to have a Stevens Award for that. Winning a Stevens Award would do a lot for me personally to further develop the field. This leads to more awareness of the brand business, new opportunities and new challenges. Of course I also heartily congratulate Loes and Ilona: they both have a proven track record when it comes to publishing.”

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Stevens Award
This award is given each year by Wolters Kluwer to a young author who knows how to explain complex tax matters in a simple way. In addition to honoring, the winner will receive €2,000 and a work of art. The winners from previous years are Arthur van der Linden (2020), Martin Schippers (2019), Simon Corneli (2018), Queen Maas (2017), Isabella the Great (2016) in a Madeline Merckx (2015).

Attending the award ceremony
The Awards Ceremony will take place on February 4th, make sure you have a place for this inspiring evening. Participation is free for anyone working in the tax field. Do not miss the opportunity and register now! Online registration and the full program can be found at Location by Walters Kluwer.