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Overview

Course Prescription

Covers tax law and policy generally including: theoretical aspects of tax system design; New Zealand’s system of income tax and GST; problems such as tax avoidance and the taxation of large, heavily digitalized multinational enterprises; and possibilities for reform such as capital gains tax and death duties.

Course Overview

The course will cover some or all of the following broad areas, depending on students’ preferences.
Tax history

  • The tax history of the world
  • New Zealand tax history
Tax Policy
  • Capital gains taxes
  • Death taxes
  • Wealth taxes
  • Green taxes
Tax administration
  • The Revenue’s powers
  • Section 17GB: information for tax policy development
The basic scope of New Zealand’s system of income tax
  • The residence principle
  • The source principle
  • Income
  • Subpart CB and the current tax treatment of capital gains
  • Section BG 1: the general anti-avoidance rule
  • Fringe benefit tax and the problem with 39%
The taxation of companies and Māori authorities
  • Imputation
  • Distributions
  • Losses
The taxation of trusts
  • Foreigners using New Zealand trusts to escape other countries’ taxes
  • The Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers
  • New disclosure rules for domestic trusts
GST – Goods and Services Tax
  • The possibility of preferences for basic foodstuffs, etc
  • Privately imported goods
  • Netflix, etc
International tax
  • Profit reduction techniques
  • Transfer pricing
  • Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules
  • Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) rules
  • Thin capitalisation
Double tax treaties
  • The OECD Model Treaty
  • The “permanent establishment” rule
  • Dividends, interest and royalties
  • Employment income
  • Treaty shopping
  • Arbitration
  • Information exchange
  • Assistance in collection
  • The Multilateral Instrument (MLI)
Tax information exchange agreements
  • The OECD Model
  • New Zealand’s network of TIEAs
International tax reform
  • BEPS (Base Erosion and profit Shifting)
  • New Zealand’s response
  • The OECD and Digital Services Taxes
  • The OECD and Pillar One: heavily digitalised businesses
  •  The OECD and Pillar Two: global minimum corporate tax

Workload Expectations

An honours seminar is a 20-point course – that is 48 hours of class time. According to the University, as a general guide, you should expect a workload of three hours outside of the classroom for each hour spent in class. That means that the guideline for the total workload for this course is 200 hours. However, given how an honours seminar operates, the reality is that the workload will be different depending on the time of year. In semester 1, you will likely need to spend the several hours per class in order to be properly prepared to participate in discussion. In semester 2, unless you are presenting that particular week, this will not be necessary.
You should, however, be working on your research project steadily throughout the year. Students usually underestimate how much time it takes to get from first draft to finished paper. When you have completed a decent first draft, that is usually the half-way point. You should therefore aim to complete your first draft by the end of the first semester.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Corequisite

Additional Advice on Prerequisites

To complete this course students must enrol in LAWHONS 750 A and B

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Attendance at seminars is required to receive credit for certain components of the course. Seminars will not be recorded.

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Other Information

Students taking LawHons 750 must also take, or have taken, Tax Law, LawComm 403. The reason is that LawHons 750 entails studying tax law and policy at a level that presupposes a basic understanding of the tax system, and it would be undesirable for LawHons 750 to duplicate LawComm 403 (which is a basic introduction to the tax system). Also a substantial number of students taking LawHons 750 are taking (or have taken) LawComm 403 anyway, so students not taking it would be at a significant disadvantage.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type1234

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.