On 9 May, Xiamen University (XMU), China’s State Taxation Administration (STA) and Ministry of Finance (MOF), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held an online ceremony to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for Co-operation in establishing the China-OECD LLM Programme on Taxation (COTP).

The COTP is a two-year Master’s degree programme, taught in English, which aims to equip the current and future generations of tax officials and professionals with the skills and knowledge to engage in fast-paced development in international taxation. The LLM curriculum will focus on international tax matters, such as tax treaties, transfer pricing, anti-tax avoidance laws and rules and the OECD/G20 work on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), including the two-pillar solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. Participants will also have the opportunity to study China’s tax policy and administration. With an international reputation in Chinese tax law and international tax law studies, XMU will host the programme, with STA, MOF and OECD, pooling their technical resources in tax policy and administration in support.

Application to the programme is open to both Chinese and international students, with a focus on tax officials from developing countries, aiming to help these countries build capabilities for better domestic resource mobilisation, especially in light of the fast-changing international tax landscape, complicated by the COVID-19pandemic. Accordingly, the COTP will make a contribution towards the achievement of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

XMU President Zhang Zongyi stated that the program will be of vital importance to cultivate and develop talents specialized in tax law for developing countries, and enhance these countries’ capabilities of levying and managing international tax.

XMU is among the first to establish international tax courses in mainland China, and will give full support to the program. Also, it will lay an emphasis on the quality of talent cultivation. The university will work with all parties to make its due contribution to nurturing talents for international tax.

The COTP will commence in the academic year starting in September 2022.