An Afternoon with IBFD
Introduction
We're pleased to invite you to 'An Afternoon with IBFD' on Wednesday, 20 May. Taking place in the IBFD Head Office in Amsterdam, the gathering aims to provide attendees with an overview of various initiatives and updates from our IBFD Academic department, detailed in the programme below.
Please note, this event is treated as separate to the IBFD Academic Tax Conference 2026. You will need to register your attendance for the official IBFD Academic Tax Conference 2026 here.
We invite you to join us in the IBFD Auditorium on Wednesday, 20 May for an afternoon of various initiatives and updates from our IBFD Academic department. During the afternoon you can expect:
- Warming up on 'Ability to Pay' (pre-program session)
- The 12th conferring of the IBFD Frans Vanistendael Awards
- Fundamentals of Indirect Taxation book launch
- Presentation of the Main Findings of the 2025 Annual Report of the IBFD Observatory for the Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights
Attendance at this event will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The presenters listed in the programme and the finalists of the IBFD Frans Vanistendael Awards 2026 will have reserved seats arranged by the Academic Department.
Session I: Warming up on Ability to Pay (Pre-program session)
13:35 – 13:45 Welcome words and introduction to the program of the three days (Pasquale Pistone, Academic Chairman of IBFD)
13:45 – 14:45 Warming up on Ability to Pay (Pre-program session): Presentations by the Poster Program participants, followed by feedback by the audience
14:45 – 15:00 Coffee Break
Session II: 12th edition of the Frans Vanistendael Award
15:00 – 15:10 Introduction by the President of the Jury, Pasquale Pistone (Academic Chairman of IBFD)
15:10 – 15:15 IBFD Frans Vanistendael Award book chapter/journal
15:15 – 15:30 Presentation by the winner
15:30 – 15:35 IBFD Frans Vanistendael Award book
15:35 – 15:50 Presentation by the winner
15:50 – 16:00 Short break
Session III: Book launch - Fundamentals of Indirect Taxation
16:00 – 16:20 Pasquale Pistone (Academic Chairman of IBFD), Fabiola Annacondia (Senior Principal VAT Specialist, IBFD), Sergio Messina (Associate, IBFD)
Session IV: OPTR
16:20 – 17:00 Presentation of the Main Findings of the 2025 Annual Report of the IBFD Observatory for the Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights
Pasquale Pistone (Academic Chairman of IBFD), Sam van der Vlugt (Associate, IBFD), Filip Debelva (Head of the KU Leuven Tax Law Institute, KU Leuven), Alessandro Turina (Principal Associate, IBFD), Ivan Lazarov (Senior Associate, IBFD)
17:00 – 17:15 Library tour
17:00 – 18:15 Drinks and bites (IBFD restaurant)