Outline

Overview

This unit further pursues the goals of Australian Income Tax and is to be regarded as an extension of that unit. In particular, the unit both builds on the materials covered in Australian Income Tax and examines some more advanced aspects of Australia's tax system. In addition to advanced topics in income tax and tax administration, the unit provides an overview of state taxes (transfer duty, land tax and payroll tax) and particular attention is given to aspects of international taxation, including the role and operation of tax treaties. The unit aims to focus on tax issues of practical relevance and those topics that have been the subject of recent reform or substantial development, and so the content and coverage of topics may be adjusted each year to reflect this. Together with Australian Income Tax these units provide an understanding of fundamental elements of the Australian tax system and provide a basis for further study and/or practice.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	LAWS5112
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	LAWS3409
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Celeste Black, celeste.black@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Celeste Black, celeste.black@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final Exam (60%) Problem-style questions	60%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
In-semester test (On-campus supervised)	In-semester test (40%) Problem-based questions	40%	Week 07 Due date: 13 Sep 2022 at 11:15	1 hour
Outcomes assessed:
= Type D final exam ?

Assessment summary

The in-semester test (40%) will be an on-campus supervised test. It will be held in the normal class time on Tuesday the 13th of September. It will be an open book test in the form of problem style questions which will examine your tax law knowledge, your ability to identify and analyse tax issues raised by the novel facts presented, and your written communication skills. The topics covered in weeks 1-4 of class (inclusive) are examinable in the in-semester test. The exam will commence at 11.15am. You will have sixty (60) minutes of writing time plus 30 minutes of reading time to prepare your responses which are due at 12.45pm. Your responses are to be handwritten and there is no word limit.

The final exam (60%) will be released via Canvas and will be held during the formal exam period, specific date and time to be determined. It will be open book exam in the form of a number of problem style questions which will examine your tax law knowledge, your ability to identify and analyse tax issues raised by the novel facts presented, and your written communication skills. All materials and topics from the unit are examinable in the final exam. You will have two hours writing time plus 30 minutes reading time to prepare your responses to the questions. There is a strict word limit of 3000 words for this exam, including all references. Any words in excess of 3000 will not be read or marked.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A student must make a genuine 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

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (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 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:

Due to the nature of the assessments, no late submission of work will be accepted.

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.

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

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

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
Week 01	Advanced income topics: commercial annuities, financial arrangements and royalties	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 02	Advanced Cost Recovery: building allowances and black hole expenses	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 03	Advanced issues in entity taxation: trusts—present entitlement and disclaimers; companies—losses; Div 7A; share issues and bonus shares	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 04	Tax accounting and temporal nexus for deductions: bad debt deductions and the prepayment rules	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 05	Taxing powers under the Constitution and State taxes: transfer/stamp duty, land tax, payroll tax	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 07	Tax administration life-cycle (part 1): payments in advance of assessment (PAYG); and audit and LPP	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 08	Tax administration life-cycle (part 2): Assessment and penalties (incl rulings); and judicial review of actions and decisions	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 10	International tax: individual and company residency; taxation of offshore income of residents	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 11	International tax: Taxation of non-residents (PE threshold, Div 855 and withholding tax)	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 12	Working with Tax Treaties	Seminar (4 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of classes to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study and attendance records will be kept for this unit. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment.

Word count penalty: Any words in excess of the word count limit specified for the assessment task will not be read or marked. The total word count for written assessments will include all words. Given that the assessments are short-release exams, in-text references should be used and footnotes should not be used.

Referencing: All material that is summarised, paraphrased or quoted from other sources in assessment submissions must be acknowledged but formal footnoting is not required. Rather, for the assessment tasks, in-text short-form referencing is acceptable, such as 'Sun Newspapers at [15]' or 'Textbook at [10.250]' or 'ITAA 97 s 104-10'.

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 Casebook

Cooper, Dirkis, Stewart & Vann, Income Taxation: Commentary and Materials, 9th edition (Thomson Reuters, 2020) (“CDSV”)

Required Legislation

CCH, LexisNexis Butterworths, and Thomson Reuters all publish single volume versions of the tax legislation sufficient for this course. Where necessary, these volumes can be supplemented by downloading additional sections from the consolidated legislation available free on the ATO legal database.

The unit of study Reading Guide provides further information regarding reading assignments and class preparation.

Additional readings may also be required with respect to some topics. Please refer to the Canvas site for any announcements regarding additional readings.

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. identify and apply tax law to factual situations involving a variety of complex commercial and private arrangements and clearly and accurately communicate your analysis of the tax consequences arising from these situations
LO2. apply advanced problem solving skills by learning how to identify and analyse tax issues and engage with and assess alternative lines of argument in relation to a variety of commercial and private arrangements
LO3. determine and apply the most correct tax accounting approach to a variety of commercial and private arrangements
LO4. identify the tax base of the three main State taxes, being transfer/stamp duty, land tax and payroll tax, and demonstrate an ability to apply the core rules of these taxes to a variety of commercial arrangements
LO5. demonstrate an understanding of the Constitutional law context of taxation law, in particular the allocation of taxing powers between levels of government, and the role of judicial review of the decisions and actions of the Commissioner
LO6. describe the key components of the statutory framework for the administration of the Commonwealth level taxes and link that to the practice of the ATO
LO7. identify and apply statutory and tax treaty rules to a variety of factual situations involving cross-border transactions and arrangements

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.

The mode of presentation of the seminars has been changed since the unit was last taught to accommodate the return to on-campus teaching in 2022.

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

LAWS5109: Advanced Taxation Law

Semester 2, 2022 [Normal day] - 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