The prestigious Hofstra Medal 2026 has been awarded to Sijbren Cnossen, Emeritus Professor of Tax Law at Erasmus School of Economics. The distinguished award will be presented on 29 May.
The Hofstra Medal was established in 1984 by Wolters Kluwer in honour of Henk Hofstra (1904–1999), former Professor of Tax Law and Minister of Finance. The distinction is awarded to an author who demonstrates the ability to analyse fiscal issues with intellectual rigour and clarity of argument, and to connect them effectively to practice. According to the jury, Cnossen looks beyond tax law: ‘He knows exactly what is at stake and continues to play an active role in public and fiscal debate.’
Sijbren Cnossen (1936), who completed his PhD under Hofstra’s supervision, is Emeritus Professor of Tax Law at Erasmus School of Economics and Emeritus Professor of Economics at Universiteit Maastricht. He previously held appointments at the Law Schools of Harvard University, New York University and the University of Florida, at the College of Europe at Bruges, and at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS). He is the (co-)author of several books and numerous articles on the design and economics of taxation. Cnossen is a former editor of International Tax and Public Finance and De Economist. As an adviser to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the South African National Treasury, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Commission, United States Agency for International Development and Harvard Institute for International Development, he has advised more than 30 countries on the design and reform of their tax systems. In 2022, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria, South-Africa, in recognition of his international standing in the field of public finance and taxation.
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On 29 May 2026, the Hofstra medal will be presented for the fifteenth time during a ceremony in The Hague.
For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Media & Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Economics: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl, mobile: +31 6 53 641 846.
