UNSW Handbook - Back to Home

Direct Find

Use this search only if you have an exact code for a Program, Stream, or Course, e.g. 3400, ACCTA13502, ACCT1501 or ACCT*.

Course

Tax Policy - ATAX0401

Faculty: Australian School of Business

School: Australian School of Taxation and Business Law

Course Outline: ATAX0401 Course Outline

Campus: ATAX Campus

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 0

Enrolment Requirements:

Restricted to students enrolled in Programs 9250 or 9255 or 9260 or 9245 or 9270 or 9200 or 5740 or 9210 or 9230 or 9257 or 9231 or 5231

Excluded: ATAX0301, ATAX0501

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course develops an intensive, 'hands on' approach to tax policy and gives you an insight into the tax issues which will be of concern in the new millennium. It offers systematic immersion in the techniques of practical, policy driven, tax problem solving. This course exposes participants to a bird's eye view of major policy questions like the balance between government and the market, the mix of the Australian tax structure and key tax design options. But the main emphasis is on enhancing your ability to actually use policy tools for systematic analysis. To this end, we will be re-visiting much of what you have already learnt in your economics related courses. However, now we will require you to take those tools and apply them specifically to a range of tax policy problems.


Recommended Prior Knowledge

Minimum 24 units of credit completed.

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 you 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
  • 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
  • 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

Main Topics

  • Australian tax system
  • Economic efficiency
  • Equity
  • Political and institutional dimensions
  • Taxation design in an open economy
  • Income and capital taxes
  • Domestic consumption and production taxes

Course Texts

Textbook lists for ATAX courses will be available from the UNSW Bookshop from 1 February for Semester 1 courses and from 1 July for Semester 2 courses.
Students studying

Study Levels

Undergraduate Study Postgraudate Study Postgraduate Research Study Non-Award Study

UNSW Quick Links

Apply Online Fees and Financial Assitance Academic Calendar