Traditional models of taxation were designed for an economy in which the location of labor, the ownership of capital, and the monetary value of income were identifiable. However, these assumptions no longer stand in the modern economic environment, in which one of the most significant sources of value creation is the analysis, manipulation, and utilization of large quantities of dispersed data. In this “data economy”, monetary income is not necessarily the best instrument to measure taxpayers’ ability to pay.  In this context, Prof. Marian offers a new theory of tax on data collection and transmission as a primary source of government revenue. He argues that such data tax, which would not depend on the monetary value of data, could: (i) supplement, and in some instances replace, income taxes; (ii) mitigate some of the failures of income taxes in a globalized databased economy, and (iii) serve to alleviate some of  the externalities of a data-based economy.

During this webinar to be moderated by Raffaele Russo (Chair of the CPT Project’s Advisory Board), Prof. Marian will present his proposals and will discuss them with the audience (Prof. Marian’s paper is available here: )

About the ACTL-CPT Talks

The “ACTL-CPT Talks: in discussion with” consist of a series of webinars organized by the Amsterdam Centre for Tax Law (ACTL) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) under the umbrella of the research project “Designing the tax system for a Cashless, Platform-based and Technology-driven society” (CPT project). 

During the ACTL-CPT talks one speaker presents and discusses a subject relevant to achieve a fair, efficient and fraud-proof taxation in today's society. The webinars are moderated by Prof. dr. Dennis Weber (Director of the ACTL and the CPT project) and/or one member of the CPT research team. The sessions are held via Zoom’s webinar tool. They are free of charge and opened to the general public.

About the Speaker

Omri Marian. Professor of Law, and the Academic Director of the Graduate Tax Program, University of California, Irvine School of Law.

Omri Marian is an internationally recognized expert in international taxation, comparative taxation and taxation and the blockchain. Before joining UC Irvine School of Law, he was an assistant Professor of Law at the University of Florida where he taught in the graduate tax program. He also practiced as a tax associate in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Professor Marian is frequently featured in financial media outlets.