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	Richard Vann, richard.vann@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Richard Vann, richard.vann@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final Exam (70%) Final exam - 3000wd limit	0%	Please select a valid week from the list below Due date: 06 Dec 2021 at 14:00	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Optional Capstone research essay (70%) The essay is completed in lieu of the final take-home exam (70%)	0%	Please select a valid week from the list below Due date: 06 Dec 2021 at 17:00	7000 words
Outcomes assessed:
In-semester test (Take-home short release)	In-semester test (30%) Problem - based test	0%	Week 13 Due date: 11 Nov 2021 at 14:00	1 hour
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Capstone research essay proposal (non-weighted) Capstone research essay proposal	0%	Week 13 Due date: 12 Nov 2021 at 17:00	200 words
Outcomes assessed:
= Type D final exam ? = Type D in-semester exam ?

Assessment summary

In-semester test (30%)

A 60 minute class test will be released at 2.00pm on 11 November 2021 and due at 3.00pm on 11 November 2021. The test will consist of three questions and will cover Topics 1-5. There is a total 1500 word limit on test answers inclusive of everything.

Final take-home exam – short-release (70%)

A 150 minute final exam (including 30 minutes reading time) will be released at 2.00pm on 6 December 2021 and due 4.30pm on 6 December 2021. The material in the test will not be directly examined again in the exam but may form necessary background to answering a question on another area of the course. The exam will consist of three questions of which students are required to answer two questions. Each question will have two parts. There is a total 3000 word limit on exam answers inclusive of everything.

Optional 7,000 word capstone research essay (70%) in lieu of final exam (with permission only)

Students wishing to take the option of completing a research essay in lieu of the 70% final exam (including LLM students who are seeking to complete their capstone essay through this unit of study) must email a 200 word essay proposal (ungraded) to the Unit Coordinator for approval by 12 November 2021. The essay topic should respond to the material covered in the present unit. The essay will be 7000 words (including footnotes but not including bibliography). The essay should comply with Academic Integrity requirements, and be submitted in compliance with assignment submission requirements.

Students are required to submit research essays in electronic form via the Canvas site by 5.00pm on 6 December 2021. Failure to submit by this deadline can result in penalties for lateness; Sydney Law School reserves the right not to mark assignments that are not submitted via the Canvas site.

Assessment requirement to pass a unit of study: A student must make a satisfactory attempt at all assessment tasks set out for this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.

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 in-semester test and final exam: Due to the nature of the assessment(s), no late submission of work will be accepted after the assessment submission deadline. Please apply for special consideration https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/special-consideration.html. Any approved requests for special consideration will receive a replacement exam. For capstone research essay: The late submission of a piece of assessment, 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.

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
Ongoing	Introduction to international taxation	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Residence	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Source	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Taxation of residents and the relief of double taxation	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Taxation of non-residents and method of taxation	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Anti-deferral regimes: Taxation of residents on income accrued through controlled foreign entities and foreign portfolio investment	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Transfer pricing	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Thin capitalization, interest barriers, debt dumping and hybrid mismatches	Block teaching (1.5 hr)
	Role of tax treaties in international taxation	Block teaching (2 hr)
	Treaty abuse	Block teaching (2 hr)
	Tax incentives for foreign direct investment and tax competition	Block teaching (2 hr)
	OECD/G20 Two Pillar solution to international tax issues	Block teaching (2 hr)
	Cross-border administration – Transparency and exchange of information	Block teaching (2 hr)
	Cross-border administration – Mutual Agreement Procedure and arbitration	Block teaching (2 hr)
	Cross-border administration – Assistance in collection of taxes	Block teaching (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of classes (or as otherwise specified by the Unit Coordinator) to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study. Attendance requirements may be satisfied by online attendance as specified by the Unit Coordinator. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment.

For units offered in Intensive mode, participation in all scheduled sessions may be expected by a Unit Coordinator in order to satisfy the requirements of the unit.

Word count penalty: A piece of assessment 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. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will include: bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page, body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations.

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, 2021 [Block mode] - Remote

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