Alumnus Dave Aulia first BSc to publish in Weekblad Fiscaal Recht

Wealth taxation in the Netherlands

His article, based on his bachelor’s thesis, discusses a fair and just approach to taxing wealth in the Netherlands. Since 2001, the Netherlands employs a fictitious capital gains tax, meaning that taxpayers pay tax annually on the presumed return on their assets, regardless of whether they have realised these returns. The Supreme Court ruled that this system violates the prohibition of discrimination and property rights according to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Therefore, a new tax wealth system needs to be constructed, which respects this treaty.   

The cabinet and policymakers are now searching for a novel method to levy tax on real capital gains, based on the actual yearly capital appreciation. For instance, if a property increases in value during a given year, tax must be paid on this appreciation, even though the property remains in the hands of the current owner. The Dutch government has various reasons for this method of taxation, one of which is the ability to secure immediate returns from economic growth.

However, Dave Aulia debates that this is not the most righteous way to tax wealth, since, as he explains, taxing such unrealised wealth gains opposes elementary principles of tax law. In his published article, he pleads for an equity tax approach that is based on realised returns. 

Publication process

Aulia derived his essay on his bachelor’s thesis on the same topic. After an initial rejection from WFR, he got in touch with Professor Emeritus Leo Stevens, who is well-known for his work in the field of taxation economics, particularly his role in the introduction of income taxation in 2001. He was impressed by Aulia’s persistence and offered to help him improve his piece. One year after completing his bachelor’s degrees, Dave Aulia successfully published his article in WFR.

Ambitions

In 2023, Aulia finished the Bachelor's degrees Economics and Business Economics and Fiscale Economie (Economics of Taxation). Currently, he is finishing his Master’s degree in Finance and Investments at Rotterdam School of Management and he aspires to pursue a second master’s degree at Oxford University. For now, he is set to gain some hands-on experience at the Corporate Investments department of ING, though he may consider an academic career in the future. ‘My parents came from Indonesia to the Netherlands when they were eighteen years old. It was my father’s ambition to make scientific contribution. I’ve done what he was never able to achieve, fulfilling a family dream.’