UNSW Handbook Course - Tax Policy

Tax Policy - ATAX0401


	Faculty: Faculty of Law
	School: Australian School of Taxation
	Course Outline: See below
	Campus: ATAX Campus
	Career: Postgraduate
	Units of Credit: 6
	EFTSL: 0.125 (more info)
	Contact Hours per Week: 0
	Enrolment Requirements:
	Restricted to students enrolled in Programs 9250 or 9260 or 9255
	Excluded: ATAX0301, ATAX0501
	Fee Band: 1 (more info)
	Further Information: See Class Timetable

Description

No tax decision, from the highest tax policy design issue to the most mundane and technical problem of tax accounting, is made in a tax policy vacuum. This course is designed to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to enable the evaluation of government tax policies. An intensive 'hands on' approach is adopted to the development of techniques for practical, policy driven, tax problem solving. Economic issues are given prominence complemented with attention to political, institutional and administrative constraints on the development of tax policy. The skills learnt will enable you to move comfortably from consideration of broad strategic tax policy problems to evaluating tax policy decisions at the practical level.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

Completion of minimum 24 Units of Credit

Course Objectives

The objective of this course is to give a grounding in the tools of tax policy analysis. It is essentially an applied tax policy course which concentrates on developing tools capable of day-to-day application in critically evaluating and solving typical tax problems. It gives students the opportunity to evaluate critically the utility of various policy tools in the resolution of tax problems.

More specifically:

this course concentrates on the development of robust policy formulation and implementation skills with an emphasis on applying those skills to typical tax problems
it provides a knowledge base to facilitate a systematic approach to evaluating the outcomes of tax decisions, including introduction to relevant economic and distributional concepts for tax analysis
it develops critical understanding of key concepts and institutions relevant to policy application, including an overview of the Australian tax system and an understanding of its political and institutional context.

Modes of Delivery

CBD Evening Class
WebCT
Flexible Learning

Assessment

Master of Taxation, Master of International Tax, Master of Applied Taxation

CBD Evening Class and Flexible Learning Modes:
Research Paper	5000 to 6000 words	60%
Final Examination	Open book	40%

WebCT Mode:
Research Papter	3000 to 3500 words	30%
Web-based Group Research Project	1500 to 1750 words	15%
Web-based Group Research Participation		05%
Final Examination	Open book	50%

Pass Requirements

50 per cent or more of the total marks available in the course and
at least 40 per cent of the marks available for the final examination in the course.

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.