Thomas Bieber

Thomas Bieber is a full-time Professor of Tax Law at the Institute for Financial Law, Tax Law and Tax Policy of Johannes Kepler University Linz, where he serves as institute head since 2022. His career spans over two decades in Austrian academia with progressive roles from assistant to associate professor, including deputy head of the Research Institute for Customs and Foreign Trade Law (ZAW Linz). He holds habilitation in Financial and Tax Law and has received multiple international awards including the Wolfgang Gassner Science Prize and Maurice Lauré Prize for his groundbreaking work on import turnover taxation.

His research focuses on customs law, excise duties, and EU tax harmonization, with recent emphasis on digital taxation, carbon border adjustments, and AI applications in tax administration. He leads major EU-commissioned studies on excise duty logistics and has co-authored two 2025 books on digital VAT systems and Multinational Tax Reform. As a curriculum co-editor of the authoritative "Spektrum der Steuerwissenschaften" journal, he shapes Austrian tax discourse.

His 15 most recent publications reveal trends in customs-VAT integration (2013-2025), energy taxation (2016-2023), and digital compliance (2022-2024), with increasing focus on blockchain applications and carbon leakage in taxation. He has secured multiple FFG research grants, including 2013's customs law digitalization project with MIC. As deputy head of ZAW Linz and senate member at JKU, he influences academic governance.

Scientific awards include:

• Wolfgang Gassner Science Prize 2019
• Maurice Lauré Prize 2019
• Gustav Figdor Prize 2019
• Ludwig Scharinger Prize 2007

As head of the Institute since 2022, he oversees 12 faculty members across tax law, customs, and environmental taxation. His 2025 lecture series covers topics from climate protection taxation to medical practice taxation, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach.