Outline

Overview

Comparative International Taxation is a detailed study of the basic principles of international taxation (residence, source, relief from international double taxation, anti-deferral rules, withholding tax, transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, and tax treaties). The unit is taught from a global perspective with the emphasis being on comparative analysis (focusing particularly on Anglo, US and continental European approaches, and also developed and developing country approaches). The unit examines the core issues in developing international tax rules and identifies different approaches countries have taken in dealing with these issues. As part of this study, recent trends in international tax rule development will be identified (particularly in the context of globalisation) and critiqued. Students should gain an understanding of the different approaches that countries have taken in the development of their international tax rules.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	LAWS6128
Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	It is assumed that students undertaking this unit have successfully completed an undergraduate/postgraduate unit of study in tax law.
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Celeste Black, celeste.black@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Michael Dirkis, michael.dirkis@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Short release final assignment Short release final assignment	80%	- Due date: 01 Dec 2020 at 12:30 Closing date: 01 Dec 2020	3000 words / 2 hours 30 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Short release class assignment Short release class assignment	20%	Week 12 Due date: 30 Oct 2020 at 10:30 Closing date: 30 Oct 2020	1500 words / 1 hour 15 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

Short release class assignment (20%)

The class assignment will be held online on 30 October 2020 commencing at 9:15am AEST.

It will be an open book test in the form of a problem style question. You will have one hour and 15 minutes to prepare and submit your response to the question.

There is a strict word limit of 1500 words for this assignment. Any words in excess of 1500 will not be read or marked.

Only the materials and topics from Day 1 of the intensive are examinable in this assignment.

Short release final assignment (80%)

The final assignment will be held online on 1 December 2020 commencing at 10:00am AEST.

It will be open book test in the form of a number of problem style questions. You will have two hours and 30 minutes to prepare and submit your responses to the questions.

There is a strict word limit of 3000 words for this assignment. Any words in excess of 3000 will not be read or marked.

All materials and topics from the intensive are examinable, but there will be less of an emphasis on the topics from Day 1.

Optional Capstone Essay

LLM students who are undertaking this unit towards the end of their degree, and need a capstone experience to complete their degree, may must apply to the unit coordinator to undertake the assessment option of a Capstone Essay.

The Capstone Essay will replace both assignment tasks and be worth 100% of you marks for the unit.

The Capstone Essay must be between 7,000 and 10,000 words (refer to the word count rules under ‘Penalties’ below) and is due at 5:00pm AEST on Tuesday, 1 December 2020.

Students wishing to take up this option are required to complete the form available at https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/4533/pages/postgraduate-coursework-llm-capstone, and when they apply online, to upload the relevant Unit Coordinator’s approval email.

Your essay topic should respond to the material covered in the present unit. However, at the same time, in order to serve as a capstone for your LLM, it should build upon the learning that has taken place during your LLM studies more generally.

Key dates for Capstone Essay:

Topic Proposal: 100-200 words; due Friday, the 23rd of September, at 5pm AEST (via email to Celeste Black). Dr Black will provide you with feedback on your proposal by email.
Outline/progress check-in: 500 words; due Monday, the 16th of November, at 5pm AEST (via email to Celeste Black). Dr Black may provide you with additional feedback, comments and/or guidance at this stage by email.
Final paper: due on Tuesday, the 1st of December, at 5:00pm AEST (via Canvas)

Due to the scaffolded nature of this written assessment, anonymous marking may not be practical.

Assessment criteria

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Completely answers the question. Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	Completely answers the question. Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. Generally well expressed and free from errors. Has a clear structure and is well articulated.
Credit	65 - 74	Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. Contains no significant errors. Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	Identifies the key issues, but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. Contains some significant errors. Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. Offers a descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. Superficial use of material, and may display a tendency to paraphrase. Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. Adequate expression. Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	Does not answer the question. Contains significant or numerous errors. Few or no identifiable arguments. Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. Lack of research or analysis. Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For the Class Assignment and Final Assignment • The late submission of the class assignment or final assignment will not be accepted. Students must apply for special consideration to be potentially granted an alternative assessment task. • The word limit for the class and final assignments is strict. No words beyond the word limit will be read or marked. The total word count will include all body text including headings and quotations. Footnotes and endnotes should not be used for these assignments. For the Capstone Essay • The late submission of a capstone essay, which has not been granted an extension, will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per calendar day or part thereof. • A capstone essay which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof, over the limit. • The total word count for capstone essays will: o exclude: bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citations; cover page and o include: body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.) Check the word-count policy for this unit of study, which might differ from other units. In submitting your assignment, you are assumed to have understood the policy for this unit of study.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity	Learning outcomes
Progressive	The seminars examine, from a comparative law perspective, various approaches taken to international tax issues including the following: residence; source; taxation of residents and relief from double taxation; taxation of non-residents; anti-deferral regimes; transfer pricing; thin capitalisation; tax treaties; international tax administration including CbC reporting; treaty abuse; and tax competition.	Seminar (26 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: Please refer to information on Canvas.

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer, and a link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476376

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Required reading: B Arnold, International Tax Primer (Wolters Kluwer, 4th edition, 2019)

Recommended reading: H Ault, B Arnold and G Cooper, Comparative Taxation: A Structural Analysis (Wolters Kluwer, 4th edition, 2019), Part Four

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. explain the core issues faced in developing international tax rules across the globe
LO2. identify and analyse different approaches countries have taken in dealing with and solving problems in relation to the core issues in international tax
LO3. explain the rationale of countries for adopting different approaches to taxing international transactions.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LAWS6128: Comparative International Taxation

Intensive November, 2020 [Block mode] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect