Tax Law and Policy Colloquium

This tax policy seminar is open to students who are enrolled in the “tax stream” as well as students who are interested in exploring tax issues at a deeper level. It serves as the capstone course for the Tax Law Program. The main learning objective, as both a tangible outcome of the course and the main basis for students’ evaluations, is to help students develop a strong sense of tax law in its fiscal and general legal context.  Attention is paid to the significance of this understanding for proglem solving and advice giving in a professional setting.  To that end, supervised by the instructor, students are responsible throughout the seminar to craft a piece of writing of at least 7,000 words that is of a  quality that would be expected of an entry-level lawyer in the private or public sectorof publishable quality.  This paper is expected to take advantage of the subjects addressed in the seminar and how they are explored to connects theory and policy in the tax law to outcomes in its application. More specifically, the seminar is designed to help students bring together the knowledge and skills they have developed in the tax and related courses they have taken, to further develop their critical thinking and writing abilities, and to engage them actively in the production of new knowledge in the tax field. Although the precise content of the course will vary from year to year to capture dynamic fiscal and tax policy developments in relation to fundamental tax notions, basically the seminar will involve a topics-oriented examination of current research in tax law and policy. At the end of the seminar students should have the ability to think critically and expabnsively about tax issues and to read the most sophisticated tax articles – whether theoretical or practical – critically and with understanding and to write publishable tax commentaries. There will be  scheduled classes throughout the course to discuss tax literature, topical policy issues and research methodology. Under the guidance of the instructor, students are expected to work on their chosen research project as early as possible in and throughout the term. Students will be required to present their draft papers before the end of the term by leading a seminar presentation in which all members of the class with the instructor will participate.