Joost de Leeuw

Education

In 2007, Joost began studying Law at the University of Amsterdam, having previously studied for his Bachelor’s Degree in Russian Language and Culture. Due to his wide variety of interests, Joost has successfully completed Master’s Degrees in both Criminal and Tax Law. In 2015, he completed his studies with a thesis on participation exemption. Joost is an aspiring member of the Nederlandse Orde van Belastingsadviseurs, which means that he closely follows the latest developments in (international) tax law. He also participates in seminars organized by various bodies, such as the Ministry for Finance, the Chamber of Commerce and the University of Lausanne.

Career

After a short period as a journalist and translator, Joost has found his calling in the legal world. With business in his blood, he has always been attracted to entrepreneurship. During his studies, he was struck by the enormous inequality between the tax possibilities for multinationals and those for SMEs. He feels that this is too disruptive to the markets. Therefore, it is Joost’s ambition to make tax benefits accessible to all entrepreneurs. In this area, he is committed at both a policy and client level. After seven years with DTS, Joost is currently working as a senior tax consultant and is, among other things, responsible for the Asia Desk.

As a tax generalist, Joost’s days are always varied. He advises companies and investors from various sectors and countries. This ranges from domestic optimization like applying the Dutch innovation tax incentives, or arranging tax benefits for top employees, to comparing two jurisdictions for a potential IP hub of a client’s group.  Joost’s project always have an international component: he either helps foreign companies expand to the Netherlands, or Dutch companies conquer the world. This typically involves exit tax, transfer pricing and tax treaty application advice. Joost also manages the Amsterdam offices of DTS.

Experience

“The best part of my job is when a client realizes just how valuable good tax advice can be. The difference between what a company pays in tax before and after our advice is often much greater than the profit made through a reorganization or an advertising campaign. Tax planning has added value in a commercial sense and is indispensable in every business plan. In international settings, our value is obviously even higher, since navigating tax treaties, transfer pricing standards and foreign tax codes can be daunting for entrepreneurs.”