Outline

Overview

This advanced unit covers the tax policy and detailed rules for companies and shareholders designed to ensure that corporate profits are not subject to double taxation in Australia. Topics to be covered include: the policy and problems of taxing companies and shareholders; taxation of company distributions and dealings with interests in companies; imputation; debt equity classification; special anti-avoidance rules dealing with taxation of companies and shareholders; bonus issues, rights issues, share buybacks and liquidations.

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 an understanding of Australian income taxation law commensurate with that which would be obtained from completing undergraduate study in Australian taxation law or five years working with Australian tax law in a law or accounting practice in an industry role or in the Australian Taxation Office. For students who do not have such knowledge or work experience they first should undertake LAWS6825 Introduction to Australian Business Tax before enrolling in this unit. The completion of other foundation units such as LAWS6840 Taxation of Business and Investment Income A and LAWS6841 Taxation of Business and Investment Income B will provide students; without such knowledge or work experience; with additional knowledge and skills that will assist in successfully completing this unit.
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Richard Vann, richard.vann@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
In-semester test (Take-home extended release)	In-semester test (40%) 3000wd in-semester test	40%	Week 08 Due date: 12 Apr 2022 at 10:00	48 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final exam (60%) 3000wd problem-based exam	60%	Week 11 Due date: 09 May 2022 at 14:00	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
= Type D final exam ? = Type E in-semester exam ?

Assessment summary

In-semester test (40%)

Each participant is required to submit an in-semester test, worth 40%. The test will consist of a written answer comparing current law and new recommendations by the IMF and the OECD, regarding reduction of Australian corporate tax rate for listed companies and private companies in one or more practical situations. The proposed changes to Australian corporate tax rate automatically involve LO1 and LO3, and the test will also involve LO2 and LO4 through application to practical situations. The question will be released at 10:00am on Tuesday 12 April 2022 and the answer is due by 10:00am on Thursday 14 April 2022, Sydney Australia time. The maximum length of the answer is 3000 words. Any words in excess of 3000 will not be read or marked. The outcome of a successful special consideration application is a replacement test. The replacement test may be delivered via an alternative assessment, such as a viva voce (oral test), that has been designed to meet the same learning outcomes as the original test. The format of the alternative assessment will be determined by the unit coordinator.

Final exam (60%)

The final exam (60%) will be released at 2:00pm on Monday 9 May 2022 and is due by 4:30pm on the same day, Sydney Australia time. The total duration of the final exam will be 2 hours and 30 minutes (including 30 minutes reading time). The exam will be in the form of a mixture of problem style and /or essay style questions. There is a strict word limit of 3000 words for this exam. Any words in excess of 3000 will not be read or marked. All materials and topics from the unit are examinable. The outcome of a successful special consideration application is a replacement exam. The replacement exam may be delivered via an alternative assessment, such as a viva voce (oral exam), that has been designed to meet the same learning outcomes as the original exam. The format of the alternative assessment will be determined by the unit coordinator.

Assessment requirement 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 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 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. Demonstrates the minimum level of competence and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies.
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:

Late penalties do not apply to exams and tests and any late submission will not be accepted. Please refer to Assessment Summary.

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
Ongoing	Policy and problems in taxing companies and shareholders	Block teaching (6 hr)
	Distributions (dividends, capital gains, ordinary income or other tax treatment)	Block teaching (5 hr)
	Imputation; Debt equity rules	Block teaching (5 hr)
	Dividend and capital streaming, trading and stripping	Block teaching (5 hr)
	Bonus shares and rights; Buy backs, redemptions, cancellations and liquidations.	Block teaching (5 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 or face-to-face 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: Any words in excess of prescrubed word limit will not be read or marked. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page and include body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.

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

Participants are required to have an up-to-date full multi-volume or electronic version of the income tax legislation as produced by one of the commercial publishers and should bring it to every seminar. The legislation on superannuation is not needed.

The readings for each class problem are listed in the reading guide on Canvas in association with the problems. This provides a list of legislation, cases, ATO rulings, and additional readings. The most important cases for a particular problem are identified with an asterisk (*). From time to time, additional readings, such as new court decisions, may be added to the reading list. Notice of such additions will be provided in class as well as via announcements posted on the course website.

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 critically assess the policies underlying the legal rules on taxation covered in this unit of study
LO2. interpret the current legal rules on taxation covered in this unit of study and justify your analysis
LO3. evaluate and suggest alternatives to the current legal rules on taxation covered in this unit of study
LO4. apply the current legal rules on taxation covered by this unit of study to practical problems

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.

Assessment has been changed.

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

LAWS6030: Corporate Taxation

Semester 1b, 2022 [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