Welcome!
I’m Stefanie Geringer
As a scholar and practitioner of tax law, I explore how VAT connects economies, laws and people around the world. My goal is to help shape systems that work better — for cooperation, sustainability and justice.
What I do right now
I currently work as
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Affiliated Postdoctoral Researcher at Masaryk University in Brno
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Project Scientist (post doc) at the University of Vienna
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Manager Tax at BDO Austria, specialising in EU VAT law and its practical application
My main research project — funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) — is titled “Procedural Autonomy in EU VAT Law from Austrian and Czech Perspectives.”
It examines how far national tax authorities can and should retain independent procedural powers within a harmonised VAT framework.
Alongside that, I am conducting a shorter research project funded by AKTION Austria–Czech Republic, focusing on the enforcement of EU VAT law in the Czech Republic.
My expertise and approach
My work combines comparative legal analysis, EU law principles, and practical experience from advising on complex VAT matters.
I am especially drawn to questions that connect law, governance, and policy — for example:
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When should VAT be used as a policy instrument?
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How can administrative cooperation be strengthened without undermining procedural fairness?
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What role does the rule of law play in day-to-day tax administration?
Ultimately, my goal is to help make tax systems principled, transparent, and effective — in theory and in practice.
Research and teaching
I teach EU VAT law and international tax law at Masaryk University (in English and Czech) and regularly give guest lectures across Europe and beyond — most recently at UCLouvain, Bournemouth University, and Charles University Prague.
My publications appear in leading journals such as the European Law Review, Common Market Law Review, Intertax, and EC Tax Review.
A full publication list is available upon request.
What comes next
In 2025 and the following years, my work will take me abroad:
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as Visiting Researcher at the University of New South Wales (Sydney) and Curtin University (Perth),
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as Guest Speaker at Singapore Management University,
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and later to the University of Cambridge, the Max Planck Institute (Munich), and the BI Norwegian Business School (Oslo).
During these visits, I will continue developing my research on cross-border VAT administration, the balance between centralisation and procedural autonomy, and the historical roots of EU VAT law.
About me
I hold a Dr. iur. (with honours) from the University of Vienna, where I wrote my doctoral thesis on the principle of the prohibition of abuse in EU tax law.
I am also a Certified Tax Advisor (Austrian Chamber of Tax Advisors and Auditors) and hold the Advanced Professional Certificate in VAT/GST (IBFD).
I speak German (native), English (C2), Czech (C1), and French (B2) — with some Italian and Slovak for good measure.
Outside of work, I enjoy running, hiking, theatre, and classical music.