The course introduces students to the principles of tax law in Australia with a focus on income tax. The important provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Acts 1936 and 1997 about the concepts of income, capital gains, and deductions are considered in detail. Other topics include international aspects of income tax, tax treatment of different entities, tax planning and goods and services tax.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Recognise situations that have income tax and GST implications under Australian law;
2. Apply the principles and rules relating to the determination of income tax and GST (including tax avoidance provisions) as it operates in relation to individuals and other entities;
3. Apply the tax law principles learnt to specific factual situations;
4. Calculate income tax liability and GST liability;
5. Discuss, analyse and draw conclusions in relation to the various tax issues considered, in a clear and concise manner, using statutory provisions and case authorities in support.

Research-Led Teaching

Your lectures and tutorials will incorporate insights gained from relevant research in various areas of tax law, such as: the economic and social implications of particular taxes and tax policies; the High Court’s interpretation of key tax concepts; corporate tax avoidance and tax-motivated profit-shifting by Australian multinational enterprises.

Required Resources

Prescribed Text: Sadiq, K. et al. Principles of Taxation Law 2023, Thomson Reuters.

Students are expected to have access to the prescribed text for the duration of the semester. The text can be purchased directly from the publisher (either as a hard copy or e-book). The text may be available for short term loan in the reserve loan section of the Law Library. An ebook version of the text will also be made available. Details will be placed on Wattle in due course.

Legislation: Students must have access to the relevant legislation. Students may access the legislation online, either through the AustLII website (www.austlii.edu.au) or the Federal Register of Legislation (www.legislation.gov.au).

Cases: Students are not required to access judgements of cases, however if students wish to do so they may be accessed trough the library via Lexis Nexis (www.advance.lexis.com.au) or West Law AU (www.westlaw.com.au)

Recommended Resources

These are useful references and are available through the law library:

Kenny, Blissenden, Villios, Bruce, Harrison, Australian Tax 2022, LexisNexis.

Barkoczy, S. Foundations of Taxation Law 2022, 14th edition. Oxford University Press.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Verbal feedback to their contributions during tutorials
• Practice questions will be made available before the final exam;
• Verbal feedback if students attend consultation – students will be first asked their own view on questions they have difficulty with before the lecturer/tutor responds;
• Comments on individual Take Home Exams;
• Brief written feedback within a reasonable time if students present their understanding of a particular area via email.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS

As a further academic integrity control, students may be selected for a 15 minute individual oral examination of their written assessment submissions.

Any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Integrity Rule.

COMMUNICATION 

Email and the Wattle Course Website

Email and the Wattle course website are the preferred methods of communication.

If necessary, the lecturer and tutors for this course will contact students on their official ANU student email address. Students should use this email address when contacting staff as spam filters used by ANU may not allow other email addresses to be received. Information about your enrolment and fees from the Registrar and Student Services' office will also be sent to this email address.

 

Announcements

Students are expected to check the Wattle site for announcements about this course, e.g. changes to timetables or notifications of cancellations.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction to the Australian tax system (including Commonwealth taxes, tax rates and PAYG)
2	Residence and Source
3	Assessable income, Allowances, FBT	Tutorial Preparation
4	Assessable income and CGT	Tutorial Preparation
5	General Deductions	Tutorial Preparation; Take Home Exam Released
6	Specific Deductions
7	Capital Allowances, Trading Stock and Tax Accounting	Tutorial Preparation
8	Partnerships and Trusts	Tutorial Preparation
9	Trusts and Companies
10	Companies and Goods and Services Tax
11	Goods and Services Tax and Tax Avoidance
12	Multinational Tax Avoidance

Tutorial Registration

Tutorials will be held weekly (starting from Week 2). Tutorials will be available both on campus and via zoom. ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities/tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

Please see Wattle for tutors’ information.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial Preparation	10 %	06/03/2023	31/03/2023	1,2,3,4,5
Take Home Exam	30 %	03/04/2023	02/05/2023	1,2,3,4,5
Final Exam	60 %	01/06/2023	29/06/2023	1,2,3,4,5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Guideline and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Course delivery: on-campus lecture (recording on Echo360) and weekly tutorials (delivered on-campus and via live Zoom). 

Attendance at all teaching events, while not compulsory, is expected in line with “Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning”, clause 2 paragraph (h). 

Examination(s)

The date and time of the final exam will be notified via the ANU timetabling website in due course: http://timetable.anu.edu.au/.

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial Preparation

Students are required to submit tutorial preparation on Turnitin on 5 occasions during the semester: as shown in the class schedule section of this document, submissions are required in Weeks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8. In weeks where submissions are required, they will be due by Monday 11am. Where Monday is a public holiday, submissions will be due by Tuesday 9am. A maximum of 2 marks per submission can be obtained for satisfactory preparation. 2 marks will be awarded where the submission shows a genuine attempt to answer all questions set for the tutorial and the answer refers to relevant tax principles. 1 mark will be awarded if the submission is not quite satisfactory but shows some attempt to answer the questions. A mark of 0 will be awarded if the student has failed to prepare, or if the submission is too vague or obviously irrelevant.

 

Even where the submission appears to be complete with relevant material, a mark of 1 or 0 will be awarded where the student has copied excessively from teaching or other materials and overall it appears the student has not made a genuine attempt to answer the set questions.

 

Due Date: The due date listed in the assessment summary is for the first submission.

Return date: progressive marks for tutorial preparation will be made available by the end of week 6 as shown in the assessment summary. Tutorial preparation marks for the semester will be conveyed early in the study week.

Assessment Task 2

Take Home Exam

You will be asked to give tax advice in relation to a hypothetical fact scenario. The expected time required to write a very good answer to the Take Home Exam is half a day to 1 day. You will be given a little more than 1 week, and this is so that you can fit this Take Home Exam around your other commitments.

You need to treat the Take Home Exam like an exam – this means that you cannot discuss the question with your classmates, and you need to prepare the answer entirely by yourself. You cannot seek help from your lecturer or tutor – this would obviously be unfair to other students. If you think some aspect of the question is unclear, you may seek clarification from your lecturer.

Word limit: 1,500 words

Presentation requirements: Typed using size 12 font and either 1.5 or double spacing.

Release and Submission: The Take Home Exam will be released to the course wattle page on Friday of Week 5. Submission will be online via Turnitin. Late submission is not permitted.

Due date: 10pm 3 April 2023.

Estimated return date: 2 May 2023.

Referencing requirements: You will need to acknowledge sources to the extent that you rely on the analysis or arguments of others. You may use any accepted referencing system (e.g. Harvard). Further details will be provided during the semester. 

Assessment Task 3

Final Exam

You will need to provide tax advice in relation to a number of fact scenarios – you will need to give explanations for your answers (citing relevant tax law authorities), and also perform some calculations. There will be an emphasis on problem questions similar in complexity to those done in tutorials. All aspects of the course are potentially examinable including those areas previously assessed in the Take Home Exam.

The final exam will be timetabled by Examinations, Graduations & Prizes. The due date listed in the assessment summary is the earliest possible date. Please check ANU Timetabling for further information. The final examination will be made available online on the Wattle course page and students will be required to provide their responses via a Turnitin submission. It will be an open book exam. Students may contact their course convener to obtain feedback on their exam performance. The duration of the exam is expected to be 6 hours.

Due date and time: Refer to Examinations Timetable.

Estimated return date: 29 June 2023.

Value: 60%

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission is NOT permitted. A mark of 0 will be awarded if assessment tasks are submitted after the due date unless an extension has been approved.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Returning Assignments

Assessments will be returned to students by the stated return dates.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Resubmission of the Take Home Exam is not permitted.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students