As part of our conference, which will be attended by academics, government officials, tax advisors and other experts involved in turnover taxes, we are looking for PhD candidates researching on VAT/GST, digital service taxes, and other turnover‑based taxes to present their current research at a dedicated workshop preceding the conference. This provides an excellent opportunity to receive feedback on your research as our research and teaching associates will comment on and give feedback on the presentations. This will be followed by a discussion with the professors, researchers and other experts who are attending the subsequent event.

If you are selected to present your research, we will grant you a waiver to the subsequent conference. The conference will examine the relevance of international tax law –especially double tax treaties based on the OECD and UN Model Conventions – for turnover-based taxes. It explores the scope of such treaties, the treatment of VAT/GST and digital taxes in bilateral and multilateral agreements, unilateral relief mechanisms, soft‑law coordination tools, and the interpretation of tax‑relevant provisions in non‑tax treaties. It further touches upon double‑taxation issues, exchange of information, dispute resolution mechanisms, non‑discrimination rules, and the future role of turnover taxes in cross‑border taxation.

The Doctorate Workshop will be held in Rust (Austria), on Thursday, July 2, 2026 from 15:30 to 18:00 and will be organized by the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law, WU in cooperation with the Doctoral Program for International Business Taxation. Based on individual need, financial support for travel and/or accommodation may be available. 

If you are interested, simply apply online with your CV and research outline (structured according to the application questionnaire) by April 6, 2026. An academic committee will select the best applicants. Those who are selected will be entitled to attend both the Doctoral Workshop and the Rust Conference free of charge. 

Workshop Questionnaire

Conference

Application