COMPARATIVE TAXATION

 

 

 MATERIALS FOR THE SEMINAR

Additional materials will be distributed periodically. Weekly assignments will also appear on the "Assignment" page of the Webcourse.



WRITING REQUIREMENTS

The seminar has been designed with a view to facilitating your successful completion of a traditional type of seminar paper instead of an exam in order to satisfy an advanced writing requirement. I shall be happy to discuss possible projects with you. The written requirements of the seminar will be the basis of 75% of your grade in the seminar.  

 

Each student's work on the course paper will consist of four submissions, not later than the dates below:

                    February 13: One page description of paper topic
                    February 27: Outline of paper and list of sources
                    March 20: First draft of complete paper

                    April 29: Final Paper Due (with sources)

 

 

 

 CLASS PROCEDURES

The success of any seminar depends primarily upon the contributions of its members. Since we shall meet as a seminar, each of you is expected to carry a substantial responsibility for advancing our discussion and understanding. You will periodically be asked to undertake particular tasks with respect to various problems or exercises. Even if you do not have an assigned role, however, you will be expected to participate in seminar discussion and debate.

Many of the responsibilities for class presentations will be assigned to individual students. In addition, we will periodically have guest lecturers join us from the private sector.

There is always a chance that illness or other circumstances will cause you to miss a session or to come without full preparation. Each of you may have one "bad day" during the course of the semester. If you advise me in advance of the session, your absence or failure to participate will not bear any adverse consequences.

Class participation will account for 25% of your grade in the seminar.

 

 

 PREREQUISITES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Tax I is a prerequisite for this course. We shall often be dealing with rules that constitute specific applications of or exceptions to the principles that you have studied in Tax I.

 

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS

 

Class #1:
Introduction to Course Lecture
READ:

Introductory Material (Ault Handout) pages 1-3.
"General Description: United States" (Ault Handout) pages 131-154.

 

Class #2:
Reread Ault Handout pages 137-154.
READ:

Ault pages 40-41; 192-201 (Capital Gains)

Taxation of Capital Gains in Selected Countries 89 TNI 44-6 (1989)

Class #3:
READ: General description of your chosen country in the Ault book and be prepared to present it to the class. The Hugh Ault book is available on reserve in the library.

Class #4:
READ: Ault Handout: 285-305;

 

Bush Shareholder Relief Plan:

READ:

Treasury Report on Dividend Proposals ("Bluebook");

Sheppard article in Tax Notes

Presentations:
Read Tax policy in the European Union

Class #5:
READ:

Sheppard article in handout area

Tax Law Design p 811-829 and p 840-864

Skim Ault description of Australia

ONE PAGE DESCRIPTION OF PAPER TOPIC DUE

 

Class #6:
READ:

Tax Notes International article on Top Tax Rates in OECD Countries: A New Look
SKIM:

Ault description of Canada & Germany [in handout area]

Presentations:
 

Class #7:
 READ:

Ault Handout: 368-385 (Be Prepared to Discuss how your Country Classifies People as Residents)

Tax Law Design pages 718-721, 729-732, 734-749

Electronic Commerce:


READ: Tracy A. Kaye, The U.S. Perspective on Electronic Commerce;

Jones and Basu, Taxation of Electronic Commerce: A Developing Problem International Review of Law Computers & Technology

Sandra P. McGill & Lowell D. Yoder, From Storefronts to Servers to Service Providers: Stretching the Permanent Establishment Definition to Accommodate New Business Models, Taxes (March 2003).

Skim U.S. Taxation of Profits from Internet Software Sales -- An Electronic Commerce Case Study. & Selected Tax Policy Implications on Global Electronic Commerce [located in Course Documents]

 

OUTLINE OF PAPER AND LIST OF SOURCES DUE

 

NO CLASS: March 6
SEMESTER BREAK - NO CLASSES.

 

 

Class #8:
Tax Evasion

READ:

David Cay Johnston, Bush Budget Increases Push to Find Tax Cheats , N.Y. TIMES Feb. 5, 2003

Hunting Tax Cheats, I.R.S. Vows to Focus More Effort on the Rich , N.Y. Times

Steve Holub, Tax Fraud and Tax Protestors , The Tax Adviser (Dec. 2002).

Class #9:
READ:

Tax Law Design pages 537-542

FIRST DRAFT OF COMPLETE PAPER DUE

 

 

Class #10:
READ:

Tax Law Design 547-550

 

Class #11:

READ:

Tax Expenditures in the 2004 Budget [link available in course documents]

Presentation:

Class #12:
READ:

Tax Competition in Europe: General Report by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schon

Presentations-
 

Class #13:
            Class replaced by Lexis and Westlaw Training earlier in the semester

 

Class #14:
NO CLASS

Class #15:
FINAL PAPER DUE

 

READ :

Sven C. Oehme, An Overview of the European Union, its Legal Structure and its New Currency , New Jersey Lawyer (Feb. 1999);

Terra & Wattel, EUROPEAN TAX LAW pages 36-66.