SEMESTER 1 COURSE CO-ORDINATOR: Domenic Carbone

Lecturer Name: Domenic Carbone

Location: Room 4.16  Building: Law School

Telephone: 8313 4759

Email: domenic.carbone@adelaide.edu.au

Course website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au


SEMESTER 2 COURSE CO-ORDINATOR: Sylvia Villios

Lecturer Name:                    Sylvia Villios

Location:                Room 4.18,     Building: Law School

Telephone:             8313 7223

Email:                    sylvia.villios@adelaide.edu.au

Course Website:     www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Employ a broad understanding of tax law
2. Conduct tax law research by using research skills to interrogate primary and secondary legal materials, and analyse and synthesise complex legal information.
3. Apply principles of tax law to complex legal problems, and critique the tax law from theoretical and practical perspectives individually and in collaboration with others.
4. Structure and sustain concise and cohesive arguments with respect to selected issues in tax law in written and spoken formats.
5. Work in teams and interact with peers in an ethical, professional and safe manner.
6. Incorporate social, policy, comparative, international and/or interdisciplinary approaches into analysis of tax law.

Semester 1
Text Books
Income Tax Law Study Guide 2017 (author Domenic Carbone; purchase through the Univeristy's Online Shop).
Core Tax Legislation 2017 (author Stephen Barkoczy; published by Oxford University Press)

Readings for semester 1
The Income Tax Law Study Guide 2017 refers to further required reading from the Australian Master Tax Guide 2017. This is available free online through the Law Library’s Quick Links to CCH Online (via IntelliConnect).  A Case Materials Booklet will also be made available that contains the essential tax cases that must be read.

Semester 2
Text Books
Lexis Nexis Australian Tax 2017
Lexis Nexis Concise Tax Legislation 2017
Lexis Nexis Quick Reference Cards I and II 2017

References
Australian Master Tax Guide 2017 (Oxford University Press)
Australian Tax Handbook 2017 (Thomson Reuters)
Australian Taxation Law 2017, Woellner, Barkoczy, Murphy, Evans & Pinto (Oxford University Press)

Case Books
Australian Taxation Law Cases 2017, Krever (Thomson Reuters)
Australian Tax Casebook 2017, Barkoczy (Oxford University Press)

Useful Internet Websites
www.austlii.edu.au – Legislation and case law.
www.comlaw.gov.au – Commonwealth legislation.
www.ato.gov.au – Australian Taxation Office (eg ATO publications and brochures, Public Taxation Rulings and Determinations, ATO case decisions and administrative guidelines, Taxpayer Alerts, etc).
www.taxboard.gov.au – The Board of Taxation (Independent, non-statutory body established to advise the Government on the development and implementation of taxation legislation and the ongoing operation of the tax system). http://www.treasury.gov.au/Policy-Topics/Taxation – Commonwealth Department of Treasury information on taxation. taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=html/home.htm – Australia’s future tax system.
www.igt.gov.au – Inspector General of Taxation.
www.taxinstitute.com.au – The Tax Institute (professional body of tax practitioners).

The lecture recordings, PowerPoint slides used in lectures and other material for the course, such as seminar questions, will be made available on MyUni throughout the semester.

The lectures will provide students with an understanding of the Australian income tax system, provide knowledge of fundamental concepts of Australian income tax law.

Seminars are a very important component of the way the course is taught. The seminar questions will be made available throughout the semester and will be fairly simple at first, and will then progressively increase in complexity throughout the course. The seminars will usually comprise practical problem type questions which require students to critique the tax law from theoretical and practical perspectives individually and in collaboration with their peers. Further, the tutorials incorporate social, policy, comparative, international and interdisciplinary approaches to the analysis of tax law.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours for a three-unit course of private study outside of your regular classes.

Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures throughout the semester plus one tutorial class each week.

Lectures will cover:

1    Introduction to Taxation, including income tax, capital gains tax, fringe benefits tax, and goods and services tax

2    Jurisdiction to Tax

3    Assessable Income, including taxation of capital gains and losses

4    Non-assessable Income

5    Deductions

6    Tax Accounting

7    Tax Treatment of Tax Entities

8    Anti-avoidance

9    Tax Administration

None.

None.

The assessment components are:
Tutorial Participation – Students are assessed on their tutorial preparation and participation Qualititive assessment 10%.
Learning objectives and outcomes being assessed: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Online Test 1 – 20 Multiple Choice or Muliple Selection Questions 5% Friday Week 5
Learning objectives and outcomes being assessed: 1,3.

Online Test 2 - 20 Multiple Choice or Multiple Selection Questions 5% Friday Week 8
Learning objective and outcomes being assessed: 1,3.

Assignment - 1,000 word group research paper and tutorial presentation  10% Week 6
Learning objective and outcomes being assessed: 1,2,3,4,5,6.

Final Exam 70%
The exam will be 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time and open book.
Learning objectives and outcomes being assessed: 1,3,4,6.

Tutorial Participation
Students will be assessed by their tutor on their tutorial preparation and input into the tutorial discussion.

Online Tests
Each of the two Online Tests comprises 20 multiple choice questions and students must answer all questions in 45 minutes, in a single sitting. Further details will be provided to students at the beginning of the semester as to the topics which the online tests will cover as well as detailed instructions as to how to login online to complete the test.

Assignment
Students will work in groups of up to 4 to prepare a 1,000 word research paper on a selected issue in tax law. Students will present their research during the tutorial in week 6.

Exam
The exam is “open book” but you must not bring into the exam room any book belonging to the University of Adelaide Libraries. “Permitted Materials” in the exam room are the prescribed textbook or any other tax textbook, the legislation, course materials and handouts, your own lecture and other notes written and prepared by you, and not prepared by or taken from someone else. You may also bring into the exam room an English or English/foreign language dictionary (paper only), and calculator incapable of sending text.

It is each student's responsibility to read the examination timetable. Misreading the timetable is not accepted as grounds for granting a replacement/additional (sup) exam.

University staff are not permitted to provide examination times to students over the telephone or in response to personal enquiries.

Examinations will be held only at the time and locations stated in the University’s Examination Timetable, so they may not be taken in another country. Students should not make any arrangements to be absent until after the replacement/additional (sup) exam period.

Legible hand-writing and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted in the final examination because of poor hand-writing.

Exams
The exam is “open book” but you must not bring into the exam room any book belonging to the University of Adelaide Libraries. “Permitted Materials” in the exam room are the prescribed textbook or any other tax textbook, the legislation, course materials and handouts, your own lecture and other notes written and prepared by you, and not prepared by or taken from someone else. You may also bring into the exam room an English or English/foreign language dictionary (paper only), and calculator incapable of sending text.
It is each student's responsibility to read the examination timetable. Misreading the timetable is not accepted as grounds for granting a replacement/additional (sup) exam.

University staff are not permitted to provide examination times to students over the telephone or in response to personal enquiries.
Examinations will be held only at the time and locations stated in the University’s Examination Timetable, so they may not be taken in another country. Students should not make any arrangements to be absent until after the replacement/additional (sup) exam period.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible  moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment  results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is  required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Acess Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

For more information please check out the Writing Centre website at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/  

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus was founded in 2013 by Adelaide Law School Wellbeing officers Ms Corinne Walding, Ms Kellie Toole and Dr Mark Giancaspro. Lex Salus is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at raising law student awareness of the importance of mental, physical and nutritional health across all year levels of the degree, and of the various counselling, disability and equity services both within and outside the University that can provide help. Research shows that law students, both in Australia and in many jurisdictions around the world, experience the highest levels of stress, anxiety and depression out of any other discipline. Many do not get enough sleep, maintain a healthy diet or achieve a realistic work/life balance. Making matters worse, they are unwilling or afraid to speak up for fear of feeling 'weak' or because of the negative stigma that attaches to seeking help. Lex Salus is dedicated to tackling these problems head-on.

Counselling Service

The University Counselling Service provides a free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Counselling service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life. More information is available at https://www.adelaide.edu.au/counselling_centre/. 

Further information regarding the Law School Policies and Procedures in relation to Supplementary Assessment, Extensions, and Remarks etc can be found at:

https://unified.adelaide.edu.au/group/law-school/policies-and-procedures

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating

Plagiarism is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the Adelaide Law School Enrolment Guide, and should note in particular the sections relating to plagiarism, grievance procedures and academic conduct within the Law School and the University.

Plagiarism is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Please be aware that “academic dishonesty” (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to refuse to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.