Taxation Law Research Programme (TLRP)

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Research Programmes & Areas

Taxation Law Research Programme (TLRP)

Convenor

Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law

Media Convenor's Introduction Taxation Law Research Programme

Professor Richard Cullen was previously a Professor in the Department of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He completed his LLB at Melbourne University Law School in 1982 and his doctorate at Osgoode Hall Law School in Canada in 1986. He is admitted to practise law in Victoria, Hong Kong, England and Wales and worked with a major law firm in Melbourne for two years. Before coming to tertiary teaching, Richard worked as a manager with the Australian government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Programme Overview

The Taxation Law Research Programme (“TLRP”) is one of the research programmes within the AIIFL. It was established in 2007. The Foundation Members of the TLRP were Professor Andrew Halkyard, Associate Professor Wilson Chow and Professor Richard Cullen . Professor Cullen serves as the TLRP Convenor.

The Taxation Law Research Programme (TLRP) was established within the HKU Faculty of Law’s Asian Institute of International Financial Law (AIIFL) in 2007. The Foundation Members of the TLRP were:

It is particularly appropriate that the TLRP has been established within the Faculty of Law and based within AIIFL. It was the late Professor Peter Willoughby who established serious academic tax research in Hong Kong, after he commenced work with the Facutly in 1973. Peter is also remembered as a pioneer of legal education in Hong Kong, and is thought of fondly by both colleagues and students. As the University website notes:

The Peter Willoughby Memorial Fund was established in 2000 to sponsor a memorial lecture in memory of the late Professor Peter Willoughby and his invaluable contribution to the Faculty of Law and legal education in Hong Kong.

The tradition of academic research with respect to Tax Law has remained especially strong within the Faculty for around three decades. Professor Andrew Halkyard has worked in this field in Hong Kong, initially with Peter Willoughby, since 1985 and is the author of the Hong Kong Encyclopaedia of Taxation (a looseleaf 4 volume practioners’ work, with Wilson Chow and Susan Leung). Andrew and Wilson have been active with AIIFL since its foundation in 1999. Other key contributors over the years have been Michael Olesnicky and Jeff VanderWolk, both of whom have written extensively on Hong Kong Tax Law. Michael was with the Faculty from 1982 to 1988. Jeff was with the Faculty from 1991 to 1994. Both Michael and Jeff remain leading commentators on Taxation Law in Hong Kong and in Mainland China. They both still regularly write on Hong Kong, regional, and international tax issues. Since its foundation in 1999, AIIFL has hosted a number of academics dealing with taxation related issues, and taxation law and policy is one of our five core research areas. As one of the leading commercial, corporate and financial law and policy academic research centres in the region, AIIFL is committed to supporting research in taxation law and policy and providing active support for the development of the TLRP. In 2006 , Professor Richard Cullen joined the Faculty. Richard, who is also a Public Law expert, has written on and taught Tax Law in both Hong Kong and Australia. His recent work has looked at the relationship between the development of the Hong Kong Revenue Regime and the development of its political structure and the attitudes of Hong Kong residents towards the HKSAR Tax System. Richard has also been an active AIIFL Fellow since joining HKU.

The TLRP appointed its first Post Doctoral Fellow (PDF) in 2009. Dr XU, Yan was appointed for 3 years as a PDF in Chinese Tax Law and Tax Policy at that time. Her research interests include: Taxation and Constitutionalism in China; Green Taxation in China; and VAT Reform in China. In 2012, Dr Xu (who retains close links with the TLRP) became an Assistant Professor specializing in Tax Law at the Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Dr Doreen Dongmei Qiu was appointed as the second TLRP Post Doctoral Fellow in mid-July 2012. During her time at HKU, she was involved in: (1) research and writing related to PRC & International Tax Law & Policy; (2) working as part of the TLRP Research Team; (3) TLRP Seminars & Conferences; and (4) acting as TLRP key liaison person for engaging with Tax Law and Policy Scholars in Mainland China. Doreen has returned to Xiamen University (XMU) where she is now an Associate Professor. We are sorry to lose her but wish her all the very best in Xiamen. We look forward to our continuing research cooperation with XMU related to Tax Law & Policy.

In 2016, the TLRP welcomed its third PDF, when Dr. Jingyi Wang took over from Dr. Doreen Qiu. Jingyi earned her PhD from King’s College London. She also holds an LLM from King’s College London and an LLB from the East China University of Political Science and Law. As with the first two TLRP PDFs, Jingyi Wang has researched and published widely. Her article, “The Chinese approach to transfer pricing: problems faced and paths to improvement” was published in the British Tax Review in 2016, one of the leading international tax journals. She also has published articles in Australian Tax Forum, the International Transfer Pricing Journal, the Hong Kong Law Jornal and the Company Lawyer. In mid-2017, Jingyi moved on to take up a position as a Research and Teaching PDF at the School of Transnational Law, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. Once again, we were sorry to lose her. We know she will do very well in her new position and we look forward to similar, ongoing research cooperation to that which we have maintained with Professor Xu and Professor Qiu.

To foster research, including comparative research, on Hong Kong, Mainland, Asian and International Taxation Law and related policy areas.
To explore the Public Law as well as the Private Law dimensions of Tax Policy and operating taxation systems.
To establish research collaboration links with other taxation research institutes internationally (International Tax Research Network [sponsored by the OECD] and the School of Taxation and Business Law at UNSW, being examples) and with universities with which HKU has strong collaborative links in the taxation field including, the University of Western Australia and the National University of Singapore.
To engage in collaborative research projects with staff in other institutions in Hong Kong (and abroad) and with research-minded persons in the private sector.
To seek funding, as appropriate, through research grants and other sources, to undertake relevant Tax Law research projects.
To provide public sector, capacity building consultancy services on Tax Policy development and tax system operation.
To conduct lectures / workshops / seminars / conferences focusing on Tax Law research.
To run major Tax Law Conferences in Hong Kong on a regular basis (a number of these have been held over almost two decades – some of which gave rise to major publications).

TLRP Tax Comments (TTC) – Working Paper Series (WPS)

The objective of the TTC-WPS is to allow for the publication of papers which, although completed in draft form, are undergoing further revision and development.

DTA Pensions Clause Fails Preservation, Portability and Long Duration Capital Formation Tests
Ross Smith

TLRP Tax Comments (TTC) provides an online publication platform for stimulating Tax Law & Policy articles and notes.

Tax Comments No. 7

CONSUMPTION TAX REFORM IN AMERICA: UNDER THE RADAR – BUT UNDERWAY
Professor Richard Cullen

Tax Comments No. 6

HONG KONG’S INVOLVEMENT WITH INTERNATIONAL TAX REFORM: WHAT’S THE ‘BEPS’?
Professor Adrian Sawyer

Tax Comments No. 5

QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION ON:
HONG KONG’S COMPREHENSIVE DOUBLE TAX AGREEMENT (CDTA) NETWORK
Wilson Chow

Tax Comments No 4:

AN UPDATE ON HONG KONG’S EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION DEVELOPMENTS AND ENGAGING WITH BEPS
Adrian Sawyer

Comments No 3:

REAL ESTATE PRICE INFLATION: LESSONS FROM HONG KONG
Richard Cullen

Tax Comments No 2:

LAND REVENUE AND THE CHINESE DREAM
Richard Cullen

Tax Comments No 1:

THE MAKING OF TAX LAW IN CHINA – DOES IT COMPLY WITH RULE OF LAW PRINCIPLES
Agnes LEE, Sui Ping

TTC Submissions

We welcome further submissions for consideration for publication at TTC. Submissions need to be in English and, broadly, need to address a significant aspect, in a research-based manner, of Tax Law and/or Tax Policy.

We expect that most publications appearing will focus on the HKSAR and Mainland systems. International Tax comments, especially where there is a Greater China connection, are also welcome. Submissions outside of these parameters can be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Rule of Law in Chinese Tax Legislation – Some Remarkable Changes under the Revised Legislation Law

Dongmei Qiu (Doreen) & Richard Cullen

Green Taxation in East Asia

Book of the 2nd TLRP International Conference
Richard Cullen, Jefferson VanderWolk and Yan Xu (Contributing Editors)

Research Programmes

Recent events hosted by this programme

Meet the AIIFL Team