Outline

Overview

Globalisation is driving corporate tax systems closer together and often into conflict. For many tax practitioners, it is now not enough to know their own corporate tax system - they must grapple with and question the operation of other corporate tax systems. This unit seeks to develop an ability to understand and analyze any corporate tax system and assess its impact on corporate decision making. With a dedicated textbook (written by the presenter), it does this by comparing a number of influential and archetypal corporate tax systems (both common law and civil law) and assessing their behaviour in the context of a number of practical problems. For tax professionals, the unit develops an ability to ask direct and informed questions about a foreign corporate tax system and discuss that system at a high level with foreign tax professionals. Topics include: corporate entities and hybrids, groups, interface with accounting, service companies, debt vs. equity, dividend relief, cross-border issues, incorporation, takeovers, trading in loss companies, share buy-backs, liquidation, bonus issues, convertible notes, mergers and demergers. This unit contrasts the corporate tax systems of Australia, China, Germany and the US and will consider recent reform proposals. Refer to the Sydney Law School timetable - https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/4533/pages/postgraduate-lecture-timetable

Unit details and rules

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

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Michael Dirkis, michael.dirkis@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 24 April 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	(Alternative) Capstone Essay proposal (0%) Written task	0%	Week 03 Due date: 01 May 2025 at 17:00 Closing date: 15 May 2025	500 words / 4 weeks
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research Proposal on Self-selected Essay (non-graded) Research Proposal on Self-selected Essay (non-graded)	0%	Week 05 Due date: 16 May 2025 at 17:00 Closing date: 30 May 2025	One page
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Self-selected Research Essay (40% or 70%) Research Essay	0%	Week 06 Due date: 25 May 2025 at 17:00 Closing date: 08 Jun 2025	3200 or 5600 words / 3 weeks
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Prescribed Essay (60% or 30%) Prescribed Essay – two prescribed topics	0%	Week 07 Due date: 01 Jun 2025 at 17:00 Closing date: 15 Jun 2025	2400 or 4800 words / 4 weeks
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	(Alternative) Capstone Essay (100%) Written task	0%	Week 08 Due date: 08 Jun 2025 at 17:00 Closing date: 15 Jun 2025	8000 words / 4 weeks
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Students are required to complete one of the following assessment choices:

Assessment Choice 1
1. Research Proposal on Self-selected Essay (non-graded) – one page
2. Self-selected Research Essay (40%)
3. Prescribed Essay (60%) – two prescribed topics

Assessment Choice 2
1. Research Proposal on Self-selected Essay (non-graded)
2. Self-selected Research Essay (70%)
3. Prescribed Essay (30%) – one prescribed topic

1. Self-selected Research Essay (40% or 70%)
All students must complete the self-selected essay. It will constitute of either 40% or 70%, at participant's choice. If 40% choice is selected, the word limit is a maximum of 3200 and if 70% essay is selected, the word limit is a maximum of 5600 words. Use of editors is not permitted. A self-selected research essay must be submitted at 5:00pm on Sunday 25 May 2025 Sydney, Australia time and state whether it is submitted as a 40% or 70% essay.

The essay will be assessed according to the Self-Selected Essay Report Form incorporated in Canvas. Subject to the following requirements, the essay topic is at the choice of the participant:

-     The topic must be covered by the unit syllabus. A non-limiting list of sample topics will be distributed at the start of the seminars.
-     The essay must compare the treatment of the selected topic under the corporate tax systems of at least 3 but not more than 5 countries. At least one of the countries must be Australia, China, Germany or the US.
-     A one page proposal outlining the proposed scope and structure of the assignment must be emailed to the unit coordinator for approval by 16 May 2025 Sydney, Australia time. This requirement is designed to ensure that participants select a topic that is both workable and within the unit syllabus. Participants may (but are not required to) have their topics approved prior to the seminars in order to begin work on their essay.

2. Prescribed Essay/s (60% or 30%)
All students must complete a prescribed essay or essays, from a list of prescribed topics/problems. The topics will be released via Canvas at 5:00pm on 1 May 2025 Sydney, Australia time and the essays must be submitted at 5:00pm on 1 June 2025 Sydney, Australia time. The prescribed essays will constitute 30% of a participant's assessment if the participant has elected to submit a 70% self-selected essay or 60% if the participant has elected to submit a 40% self-selected essay.

There will a minimum of four prescribed topics/problems, at least two of which will be problems of a similar nature to those used in the self-selected research essay. Participants will be required to illustrate their essays with examples from or address a problem with reference to at least two of the corporate tax systems of Australia, China, Germany and the US. Participants submitting a 30% prescribed essay must write about one prescribed topic/problem (at the participant's choice) and stick to a word limit of 2400 words. Participants submitting a 60% prescribed essay must write about two prescribed topics/problems (at the participant's choice) and stick to a word limit of 4800 words. Use of editors is not permitted.

Prescribed essays will be assessed according to the Prescribed Essay Report Form incorporated in the learning guide.

Alternative Capstone Essay (100%) - with permission

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

Students wishing to take up this option are required to submit a 500-word topic proposal by 5:00pm on 1 May 2025 Sydney, Australia time.

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.

The Capstone Essay will replace all assessments in this unit. The Capstone Essay must be a limit of 8000 words and is due 5:00pm on 8 June 2025, Sydney, Australia time.

Special consideration: Successful grants of Special Consideration may involve alternative tasks, as appropriate.

Word limit 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 all footnotes and exclude bibliography, and exclude acknowledgements of assistance from editors, automated writing tools or generative AI (where use is permitted).

Use of editors or proof-readers: The use of assistance in preparing and editing assessment tasks in this unit of study is strictly prohibited. Assistance includes human and automated writing tools (not including spell checking).

Assessment requirements to pass a unit of study: A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in 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

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2021 (Schedule 1).

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 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.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Except for supervised exams or in-semester tests, you may use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessments unless expressly prohibited by your unit coordinator.

For exams and in-semester tests, the use of AI and automated writing tools is not allowed unless expressly permitted in the assessment instructions.

The icons in the assessment table above indicate whether AI is allowed – whether full AI, or only some AI (the latter is referred to as “AI restricted”). If no icon is shown, AI use is not permitted at all for the task. Refer to Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks for this unit.

Your final submission must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of automated writing tools or generative AI, and any material generated that you include in your final submission must be properly referenced. You may be required to submit generative AI inputs and outputs that you used during your assessment process, or drafts of your original work. Inappropriate use of generative AI is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

The Current Students website provides information on artificial intelligence in assessments. For help on how to correctly acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the  AI in Education Canvas site.

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:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, without an approved extension, will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per 24 hours or part thereof, after the due time on the due date. For example, a submission after the due time specified in the assessment summary but before the same time the following day will attract a 10% penalty.

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.

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.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Taxation of Corporate Income on Derivation: Identifying Corporations; Special Tax Base Issues including relationship with accounting and corporate groups; Tax Treatment including tax shelters and personal service companies.	Seminar (5.2 hr)
	Taxation of Corporate Income on Distribution: Identification and Allocation of Distributions including debt versus equity and hidden profit distributions; Tax Treatment including relief from economic double taxation.	Seminar (5.2 hr)
	International Issues on Derivation and Distribution: Taxation of Resident Corporations; Taxation of Non-resident Corporations.	Seminar (5.2 hr)
Week 02	Dealings in Share Interests: Creating Share Interests including incorporation; Transferring Share Interests including change of corporate control; Terminating Share Interests including share buy-backs and liquidations; Varying Share Interests including options, bonus shares, mergers and demergers.	Seminar (5.2 hr)
Week 02	Terminating Share Interests including share buy-backs and liquidations; Varying Share Interests including options, bonus shares, mergers and demergers.	Seminar (5.2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of classes to satisfy the pass requirements for this unit. Failure to meet this requirement will result in an Absent Fail grade being recorded as the student’s result for this unit (see The University of Sydney Law School Resolutions: Coursework Awards cl 11).

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 Referencing and Citation Styles: AGLC4 

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

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library’s reading list system Leganto, available on Canvas.

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. Analyse a variety of influential and archetypal corporate tax systems, including frameworks from common law and civil law
LO2. Evaluate the policies underlying variations between corporate tax systems and their impact on corporate decision making
LO3. Critically apply statutory approaches from various jurisdictions to factual situations involving commercial and private relationships
LO4. Conduct comprehensive legal research to compare corporate tax systems, synthesising complex information to solve problems, propose reforms and suggest improvements
LO5. Communicate complex corporate taxation concepts and analysis effectively to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, including the ability to argue persuasively

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 the unit was last offered.

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

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

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

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

LAWS6153: Comparative Corporate Taxation

Semester 1b, 2025 [Block mode] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

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