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The article presents the 2021 Erwin N. Griswold Lecture delivered by professor and lawyer Herbert N. Beller at the American College of Tax Counsel on tax education and the role of tax lawyers as teachers of law school tax courses. Topics discussed include the significance of well-educated and trained tax professionals to the self-assessment tax system, role of the Northwestern undergraduate business school in his decision to pursue a tax sector career, and his experience of tax law teaching.

This Essay describes and connects the dots between three strands of scholarship--concerning capital gains taxation, tax compliance costs, and tax system complexity--produced by Professor Chris Evans over two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ABA Standards now require formative assessment to be integrated into law school courses, and there is extensive literature, both in legal education and education more generally, about the goals and methods for formative assessment. This Article makes the key insights of that literature accessible and actionable for professors teaching tax courses. This crash course on formative assessment is intended to enable tax professors to integrate formative assessment into their classrooms effectively and efficiently without having to become legal pedagogy scholars in addition to being tax law scholars. The formative assessment techniques discussed herein range from those that require relatively little time and effort to those that may be particularly impactful but that require additional time and work. This Article also discusses strategies for reducing the burden of even the work-intensive approaches. Ultimately, by using numerous examples from basic federal income tax, corporate tax, and partnership tax courses, I hope to make it easier for tax professors to figure out which approach(es) to formative assessment is(are) likely to work best for their students, make it easier for tax professors to implement their chosen formative assessment techniques in their classrooms, and make it easier for tax professors to achieve their goals for their classes as successfully as possible, all at as little cost as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas some researchers suggest that education fosters tax compliance, others argue that tax knowledge inspires tax evasion. The present study explores whether 'tax education' improves tax compliance using data from Hong Kong, given its influential position in East Asia and the government's reliance on taxpayers' voluntary reporting. Taxpayers comply if they are 'able and willing to' positively 'perceive tax system fairness' and 'morally' believe that it is right to comply. Our research model consolidates and empirically tests these factors as underlying channels explaining how tax education improves tax compliance. Being the first study to investigate how tax compliance in Hong Kong is affected by tax education through these channels, our empirical evidence is useful for future researchers and policy‐makers in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to offer suggestions for future research that may encourage an increased emphasis on the teaching of taxation. All articles published in primary accounting education journals from the years 2010-2017 were reviewed and broken into categories of tax policy, instructional aids, individual taxation, taxation of business entities, estate and gift tax as well as international taxation. Advancement of tax education research will provide resources for accounting faculty to more effectively manage curriculum, and deliver the tools that will close expectation gaps that exist between the profession, academic community and Uniform CPA exam. This paper provides value as it allows the reader who may be unfamiliar with research in tax education to become familiar with the primary areas of focus in the major journals that specialize in accounting education. This paper is a call for increased research in all areas of tax education based on the gaps in literature in addition to the fact that a significant volume of this historical literature may be outdated to the Tax Reform Act of 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the development and implementation of an online computer game, PlayTax, which was used in the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Business School course International Business Taxation (TABL2756 and TABL5583) for the first time in Session 1 2016 as a means of teaching general principles of outbound international tax planning. The idea for developing PlayTax was the product of several factors: general awareness by course staff of the pedagogic value of interactive and problem-based approaches to learning; survey data of employers that indicated a clear preference for students with ‘soft skills'; a UNSW Business School policy of promoting teaching approaches that encourage critical thinking and analysis and utilise digital technology; and the positive experience and expertise of the School of Economics in the UNSW Business School in developing and using an online computer game in teaching first-year microeconomics. PlayTax provides an applied learning experience for students, who are made responsible for determining international business decisions. These decisions enable students to establish operations across multiple jurisdictions, make capital funding decisions, and determine sales and pricing strategy - including the possibility of developing an ecommerce presence. Importantly, international tax rules overlay these business decisions, and act as decision-making parameters. The overall aims of PlayTax are to raise student awareness of some outbound international planning principles and to have students think critically about the structuring issues involved in international tax planning. This paper begins by outlining the background context in which the game was developed and reviews the existing academic literature on the use of gamification in teaching. The paper then provides an in-depth discussion of the game itself: the process of developing and implementing PlayTax; lessons learned from the pilot testing; and the effect of the game on student performance in an assessment task. The paper concludes with an overall evaluation of the game, which found that PlayTax did not achieve the positive results in assessment that were expected. As such, plans for adjusting the game and proposed future developments are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practitioners routinely note that new staff lack documentation skills, communication skills, and strong Excel skills. Further, new staff report critical-thinking, written and oral communication, teamwork, and project management skills deserve greater emphasis in Master of Accountancy programs. The AICPA's (2014) Model Tax Curriculum suggests that active learning approaches be used to enable students to build communication, criticalthinking, and interpersonal skills. This case uses a realistic corporate tax return preparation experience to address these criticisms by focusing on four main areas: time management, communication, research, and technical skills. The case is divided into two phases. In Phase 1, students review client information, generate requests from the client for missing information, keep a log of hours spent on the project, research ambiguous issues, meet with the project ''senior'' to obtain guidance, and prepare electronic work papers. In Phase 2, students incorporate feedback from the senior's review of their work papers to make corrections, prepare a corporate tax return, and create a client letter. Student feedback about the project is positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

''The Not So Pokey Hokies'' is a running club comprised of runners based on real people who participate in a wide range of running activities including charitable race participation, not-for-profit running organization management, nationally competitive racing, pacing, competitive team membership, coaching, and collegiate sports. This case requires students to identify tax issues related to the running club members' running activities and address the issues using tax research skills. Each runner in the case is based on a real person and is presented as a separate scenario with some common concepts across the scenarios. Specific concepts included are hobby versus for-profit activity classification, independent contractor versus employee role classification, income recognition, expense deductibility, charitable contribution deductions, and athletic scholarship taxation. The modular nature of the case allows the instructor to assign specific tax issues or entire scenarios, depending on the nature of the class. As the students complete the case, they are required to use critical thinking to identify and build tax research skills to address the issues. In addition, students gain technical knowledge through exposure to a variety of tax concepts and written communication skills through completion of a written analysis of the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author talks about law professor Erik M. Jensen. Topics discussed include his contribution to the teaching of law in Case Western Reserve University School of Law; his work at the intersection of tax and the Constitution such as a book "The Taxing Power;" and analysis of his law reviews publishing stories such as "A Day in the Life of S. Breckinridge Tushingham."

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence accounting students’ preference toward career paths. Career path refers to the choices of jobs and occupational positions an individual may choose to hold. Accounting students may choose to advance their career into one of the following areas: financial accounting, management accounting, taxation, auditing, finance, etc. According to past literature, choices of career path are influenced by intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, third parties, and career exposure.Design/methodology/approach A self-administered survey was used to collect data from students in a reputable private university in Malaysia. This university recruits a huge number of accounting students annually for its accounting program. A total of 306 questionnaires were collected for data analysis using statistical analysis system.Findings The findings of the study suggest that undergraduate accounting students are more influenced by intrinsic motivation and career exposure in selecting their career paths, whereas third parties and extrinsic motivation are less likely to influence undergraduate accounting students’ career choices.Research limitations/implications The results, however, could not be generalized to all accounting students in Malaysia since the study was collected from only one private university in Malaysia and non-probability sampling technique was applied. The theoretical contribution of this study is the inclusion of new variables in the model.Practical implications Professional accounting bodies may benefit from the findings of this study as it may provide a basis in designing member recruitment strategies.Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to study how shortage of certain career path for accounting students could be resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of taxation in risk process was first introduced by Albrecher, H. & Hipp, C. Lundberg’s risk process with tax.Blätter der DGVFM28(1), 13–28, who suggested that a certain proportion of the insurer’s income is paid immediately as tax whenever the surplus process is at its running maximum. In this paper, a spectrally negative Lévy insurance risk model under taxation is studied. Motivated by the concept of randomized observations proposed by Albrecher, H., Cheung, E.C.K. & Thonhauser, S. Randomized observation periods for the compound Poisson risk model: Dividends.ASTIN Bulletin41(2), 645–672, we assume that the insurer’s surplus level is only observed at a sequence of Poisson arrival times, at which the event of ruin is checked and tax may be collected from the tax authority. In particular, if the observed (pre-tax) level exceeds the maximum of the previously observed (post-tax) values, then a fraction of the excess will be paid as tax. Analytic expressions for the Gerber–Shiu expected discounted penalty function and the expected discounted tax payments until ruin are derived. The Cramér-Lundberg asymptotic formula is shown to hold true for the Gerber–Shiu function, and it differs from the case without tax by a multiplicative constant. Delayed start of tax payments will be discussed as well. We also take a look at the case where solvency is monitored continuously (while tax is still paid at Poissonian time points), as many of the above results can be derived in a similar manner. Some numerical examples will be given at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tax legislation affects the business and social environment in the Czech Republic significantly. Therefore, the objective of the School of Business Administration in Karviná is to provide students with key information concerning taxes and tax policy of the state within their courses. Emphasis is put on theoretical knowledge and its practical application including the advancement in the field of direct and indirect taxes. Frequent changes in tax legislation and the state's approach to tax policy particularly are one of the fundamental teaching specifics in this area. Specificity of teaching taxes and tax policy consists in linking academic education with vocational one. The article follows up the research on the level of tax education of university students. The objective of the research is to determine and verify the extent to which teaching subjects, dealing with tax issues, affects the level of students' knowledge in connection with a chosen type of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely accepted that students value timely and targeted feedback on their assessment tasks; however, this is also the area where they are most critical when it comes to their teaching and learning evaluations. These criticisms can be grouped into three categories: first, where feedback is not easily accessible to the student; second, where the feedback is not targeted to the particular problems the student has demonstrated; and finally, where the feedback is hard for the student to understand (this may be due to the marker's poor expression, the student's difficulty in understanding, or a combination of both). In 2006, Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick set out seven principles of good feedback practice in their research based on their experiences as part of the Centre for Academic Practice, University of Strathclyde, Scotland. Those principles are based on a synthesis of the literature on assessment and feedback and provide a good model on which to benchmark feedback practices. This article explains the use of online assessment and feedback in the School of Taxation and Business Law at UNSW, Australia, when teaching taxation law and business law to undergraduate and postgraduate students. It analyses the use of these assessment and feedback tools using educational theory and survey feedback from students and academics. In 2014 and 2015, students at UNSW were surveyed and their responses are evaluated in the article. Academics at UNSW were also surveyed and their responses are analysed. The article concludes with an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of online assessment and feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several leading professional service firms report an increased demand for accounting hires with tax experience out of college. The increased demand for tax focused hires is greater than the number of students interested in tax, and students with an interest in tax often lack the skill set upon graduation to satisfy the expectations of firms. This paper discusses a perspective and best practice to better engage tax students, and increase interest in tax as a profession. Based on the results of an informal student survey, a tax class that flips the responsibility of learning the principles typically covered in a textbook outside of class, leaving class time for targeted discussion of current events and relation of current events to tax principles will increase student interest in tax and the supply of tax candidates available to firms with the appropriate qualifications for gainful employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the changing perceptions of students when learning methods are altered in an undergraduate taxation course. In this study a qualitative case study involving five separate cohorts of third year business students using learning methods such as a moot court with discussions, filming and direct observation was undertaken. The study found that there was a change in perception from taxation being "as dry as toast" to being an enjoyable subject. The students preferred the moot courts that were used as one of the summative assessments, as opposed to the traditional summative assessments of assignments and exams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics in the special 75th anniversary issue including evolution of tax practice, state and local tax arena, and awareness for tax related education along with the development of tax laws.

The scope and complexity of the Australian taxation system (as with other tax regimes) is daunting for many accounting students. This paper documents the implementation of new practices that were initiated in an effort to address some of the challenges faced by undergraduate students studying taxation. Based on the principles of cognitive load theory, summaries of the lecture material became the focus of tutorials. These summaries provided the impetus for teaching staff to experiment with illustrations as a strategic means of delivery. Drawing diagrams and presenting them in the form of pictorial mnemonics proved to be effective tools in helping students understand and synthesize basic taxation concepts, thereby promoting effective deep learning. Both formal and informal feedback was overwhelmingly positive and affirming of this innovative approach to the subject. A selection of the pictorial mnemonics we designed is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australasian Tax Teachers Association (ATTA) is a not-for-profit association originally aimed at improving the standard of tax teaching in institutions of higher education in Australia and New Zealand. It was established as an informal network of tax academics in 1987 although the first formal conference did not take place until 1989. ATTA members organise annual conferences which are hosted by a different institution each year. The members agreed early on that in principle every fourth conference should take place in New Zealand, although this has not always been achievable often due to budgetary constraints and also other practical reasons. Furthermore, it is often the larger universities that have hosted the conference, also for budgetary and practical reasons. At the 2013 conference which was held at the University of Auckland it was decided that it was time to draft a new constitution and also investigate formalising the organisation of ATTA as an incorporated association. It therefore seems timely that a paper is written discussing the history of ATTA. In particular this paper focuses on the development of ATTA, the ATTA annual conferences, the scholarly refereed journal that has been established as a vehicle for ATTA members to publish their research and the role that ATTA and the conferences play in the development of tax teaching and research excellence in Australia and New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo explora la idoneidad de la teoría del circuito monetario del economista Knut Wicksell y la teorización de la fiscalidad del italiano A. Graziani en el contexto de los sistemas tributarios latinos de España e Italia. Se comparan estas teorías con la de Public Choice de J. Buchanan y se consideran las implicaciones de las innovaciones tributarias.

The author discusses the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) "policy intent" approach to statutory construction. He argues that Griffith CJ's observation 100 years ago that "nothing could be more dangerous or fallacious" holds true today, especially because the ATO is involved in drafting. This approach, which not only leads to the wrong result, has led to the ATO being criticised for encroaching beyond its Constitutional function. He urges tax teachers to add to their syllabus the consequences of the wrong approach with a view to ensuring that the correct purposive approach is understood better by the next genera-tion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountant's (AICPA's) vision statement outlines that a practicing accountant cannot deliver value to a company without a foundation in tax. To help educations determine what, exactly, the AICPA deems this foundation in tax to be, the AICPA has created a Model Tax Curriculum outlining tax topics that tax educators should cover in their undergraduate tax classes. The AICPA's goal is to ensure that "all accounting students obtain the fundamental tax knowledge they need to begin careers in accounting or tax regardless of the path that a student might take to obtain a degree." The Model Tax Curriculum furthers that goal by breaking the study of taxation into core components that include: 1) the role of taxation in economic decision making and financial reporting; 2) the fundamental tax laws and essential tax-planning concepts; and 3) the breadth of existing tax issues and their impact on a variety of taxpaying entities. This paper reviews the AICPA's Model Tax Curriculum and concludes that it provides a comprehensive overview of tax subjects that students need to enter the accounting profession. It outlines effective teaching methods that can be gleaned from the Model Tax Curriculum. Consequently, tax educators - particularly those who are teaching income tax at the university undergraduate level - should incorporate the AICPA's Model Tax Curriculum into their teaching plans. The Model Tax Curriculum recommends teaching students more information than can be covered in a single semester, however. Thus, tax educators and universities also should compel students to take multiple tax courses to ensure that the students are exposed to the full breadth of information that they will need to pursue careers in taxation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the teaching and study of Election Law courses in the U.S. The author discusses the importance of election law in disparate courses on two subjects including the Constitutional Law and the Taxation of Exempt Entities. It also offers brief information on several subfields of Election law including election administration, redistricting, and voting rights.

Taxation is an important component of the knowledge base that certified public accountants (CPAs) are assumed to understand, by mere association. Whether or not CPAs, in general, actually possess enough taxation education and /or experience to warrant this reputation of prowess is a debatable matter. This paper will explore those presuppositions, restate selected previous research involving accounting education in taxation, and evaluate various educational delivery methods that might be utilized to prepare accountants to face tax issues in the real world, from the view of a veteran accounting practitioner turned enthusiastic accounting educator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The findings of various studies regarding the association between students' learning style and academic performance are inconclusive. This study examines the association between learning style preferences and performance of students in an undergraduate taxation course at a large New Zealand university. An instrument based on Kolb's Learning Style Inventory was used to profile the learning styles of students as one of four learning groups: Converging, Diverging, Assimilating or Accommodating, The results indicated that the majority of the students were either Convergers or Assimilators and there were no significant differences in performance between the two learning style groups. These results suggest that as more and more educators adopt various approaches in teaching and engaging students in learning, certainly students have the ability to adapt to different learning styles. Educators can certainly help students to learn by exposing them to varied learning styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching taxation presents peculiar challenges for academics, especially when delivered as part of a law program. This paper documents the approach taken in the two subject taxation course available as part of the LLB program at La Trobe University. Particular attention has been given to the design of the assessments used in each subject, which include an optional moot, in class presentation and extended research paper. The paper concludes by identifying those features of these taxation subjects to suggest a model generalisable to the delivery of other law subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several papers discussed at the 22nd Annual Mid-Year Meeting of the American Taxation Association held in Denver, Colorado on February 19-20, 2010. The meeting featured Continuing Professional Education (CPE) sessions with papers on tax administration, book-tax difference disclosure and the nature of tax. Presenters and researchers featured in the meeting includes former Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Deborah Nolan, Michael P. Donohoe and John Robinson.

Purpose - This study aims to examine the ICT skills needed by a fresh accounting graduate when first joining a tax firm; to find out usage of electronic tax (e-tax) applications in tax practice; to assess the rating of senior tax practitioners on fresh graduates' ICT and e-tax applications skills; and to solicit tax practitioners' opinion regarding integrating ICT skills and tax software into a tax course. Design/methodology/approach - An online survey method was used to collect the data. An online survey was distributed to 385 tax practitioners who worked in the accounting/tax firms that participated in the university's internship programs. A total of 112 usable questionnaires were analyzed. Findings - The survey found that the three most important ICT skills with which fresh graduates should be familiar before graduating were spreadsheet software, word-processing software, and e-mail. The result shows that the usage of e-tax applications is still not pervasive in tax practice. Overall, senior tax practitioners rated fresh accounting graduates' ICT skills as "average". Both senior (75 percent) and junior (73.7 percent) tax practitioners agreed that ICT skills and tax software should be integrated in the tax course offered by the universities. Practical implications - This study has provided insights to policy makers and tax educators to revamp the existing tax curriculum, and to introduce learning tax software in classes, and to place more emphasis in imparting ICT skills in tax education. Originality/value - Scholarly study on tax education and ICT is scant. Little is known about whether the existing tax education is adequate in meeting the needs of the employers in the job market. This paper has emerged to fill a knowledge gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the teaching of civil rights law through the basic tax course in the U.S. It offers an examination on the racial implications of federal tax policy. The author recalls her childhood experience on how she wanted to be a civil right lawyer. The author provides a discussion on how to incorporate race and class into the basic tax course and put emphasis on describing the existing state of the world.

The article lists the 2015 graduands of the Graduate Diploma of Applied Tax Law in Australia including Amy Adams, Matthew Barlow, and Andy Bubb.

The author used the integrated course design model to create new learning activities in her course on federal taxation. Although she is a veteran teacher, she found this new way of thinking about her courses unleashed her creativity and set her on a path of continuous learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirically-based, exploratory study outlines the framework of chartered accountants' tax education and training in South Africa and focuses on training officers' perceptions of the existing tax knowledge of trainee accountants when entering into a training contract after completing their university qualification. The study identified the respondents' satisfaction with the performance by 'entry-level' trainee accountants of their duties. The results indicated that, although the educational background of trainee accountants was for the most part adequate, these trainee accountants were not sufficiently able to perform their duties when entering into training. The implication of this study is that the syllabus setters and educators should review the practicality of the current tax syllabi's content for the education and training of aspirant chartered accountants in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores ways to integrate sexual orientation and gender identity issues into tax courses, especially in the basic income tax and estate and gift tax courses. It identifies several areas likely to be covered in tax courses in which a discussion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) issues is relevant. A narrative was used to establish the personal connection that helps students empathize with lesbians and gay men as they face a hostile tax system.

The article discusses the impact of peer mentoring program on distance education students taking up Bachelor of Tax (BTAX), a three-year undergraduate degree program offered in off-campus delivery mode in Australia. It cites a research which reveals the increasing dropout rate of first year students in the BTAX program and suggests the application of support strategy to help them. It highlights the 12 contributing factors of attrition from university of off-campus or distance students which include the problems in developing study skills, change of employment and problems of time management. Moreover, it notes the success of such strategy in other Australian universities.

The article examines the issue on taxation of private equity profits interests. It provides an academic and policy discourse on the topic. It discusses the nature as well as the complications of the tax advantage of profits interests. It says that the real tax advantage is a form of joint tax arbitrage that explores differences in the tax positions of fund managers and their investors. It emphasizes the lower tax rates imposed on the service compensation of private equity fund managers as well as their enormous returns. Also, despite its economic intentions, such taxation can be a source of a problem.

This paper develops an infinite horizon model of public spending and taxation in which policy decisions are determined by legislative bargaining. The policy space incorporates both productive and distributive public spending and distortionary taxation. The productive spending is investing in a public good that benefits all citizens (e.g., national defense) and the distributive spending is district-specific transfers (e.g., pork-barrel spending). Investment in the public good creates a dynamic linkage across policymaking periods. The analysis explores the dynamics of legislative policy choices, focusing on the efficiency of the steady-state level of taxation and allocation of spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the volume of gambling activity continues to expand in the U.S. the question of exactly what constitutes a gambling transaction for income tax purposes takes on increasing significance for taxpayers as well as tax practitioners. The law requires reporting gambling winnings separately from gambling losses. This separation raises the question of what constitutes a gambling winning which rests in turn on the definition of a gambling transaction. Is it a hand of blackjack or a day at the racetrack, a spin of a roulette wheel or the result from $100 placed in a slot machine, a roll of the dice or the night's poker results? Revenue recognition is not often an issue for individual taxpayers who report their income on a cash basis. The income recognition doctrine of constructive receipt reduces the direct control a cash basis taxpayer can exercise over the timing of the recognition of income. For the increasing number of taxpayers engaging in gambling activities, this doctrine may directly impact the amount of income they are required to recognize not merely because of the gambling income itself (some or all of which may be offset with a deduction for gambling losses) but as a result of this income's impact on adjusted gross income (AGI). While the exact definition of a gambling transaction, and thus the proper recognition of gambling income, is addressed by the I.R.S., it remains a contentious issue. However, when the doctrine of constructive receipt is extended to gambling revenue it clarifies the meaning of a gambling transaction and hence the proper amount of gambling income to be reported by taxpayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical cases are developed from examples of real situations and companies and are valuable pedagogical tools in our classrooms. For the tax instructor, the challenge may not rest with writing and publishing cases, but in making choices among the available case histories in the legal records to provide a portfolio for case study. In this paper the author describes one method for tax instructors to select cases into case study. The method is helpful in teaching the details of tax algorithms. Applying this method, individual readings elaborate the details of the tax provision by providing interesting examples. These elaborations act as cues in the student's memory for the basic tax algorithm. The collection of readings helps students to understand the process of applying the complexity and ambiguity of tax law to the facts presented in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the call in recent years for a change in accounting education to redirect the focus from being too technically oriented to more conceptually oriented and more skills based, this study examined the content coverage of first tax courses in New Zealand. The survey results show that both educators and practitioners considered a higher level of conceptual understanding than technical proficiency is required in most taxation topics canvassed. A wide range of topics was covered but not to the extent that tax educators would like or the practitioners expected them to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines ways of taxing monopolistically competitive firms that pollute the environment. There are two sources of welfare loss: production externalities and product selection bias associated with fixed costs. We argue that the optimal firm specific tax is always, strictly speaking, less than the Pigouvian tax and that furthermore, under some circumstances, both Pigouvian and optimal taxes leave the monopolistically competitive industry with too few firms. Under either regime, however, the tax targets the right firms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Taxation is emerging as a profession in its own right in the UK. Professions require academic underpinning both in terms of research and university study but little is known about the relationship of tax teaching to the requirements of the profession. The study examines whether or not an 'expectations gap' exists between the knowledge of taxation acquired at university and the knowledge which employers expect and would prefer graduates to have. Parallel postal questionnaires were sent to educators teaching taxation within accounting programmes at UK universities and to accounting firms likely to recruit graduates who had studied taxation at university for taxation work. The results indicate that differences exist not only between the 'old' (pre-1992) and 'new' (post-1992) university sectors but also between employers' current expectations of graduates' tax abilities and employers' preferences for graduates' tax abilities. This leads on to question the future direction of taxation teaching within UK undergraduate programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the impact of computer-based instruction (CBI) on a professionally-accredited undergraduate taxation course. The objective of introducing CBI into the course was to promote independent learning among students to prepare them for lifelong learning. Students' enthusiasm for the software and the frequency with which they used it would indicate that this objective was achieved to some degree. Furthermore, they perceived CBI to be as effective as lectures and taught tutorials in helping them achieve the designated learning outcomes of the course and to be the most interesting and stimulating learning tool. However, students considered that the tax software chosen was insufficiently detailed to permit achievement of the professional learning outcomes and inadequate as a delivery medium for theoretical and conceptual material. Consequently, supplantive use appears inappropriate on an undergraduate taxation course. Nevertheless, students strongly supported the use of CBI in a supportive role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To uphold public confidence, businesses have been active in formulating ethical policies to regulate the behaviour of their members. It is generally accepted that the educational preparation of business people is critical for the effective implementation of such policies. Since taxation is an area that could have a potential impact on human behaviour, it is pertinent that taxation courses include elements of ethics to sensitize students to ethical issues in this area. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the current state of ethics teaching in the tax curriculum in New Zealand tertiary institutions. It looks at the coverage of ethics, the time devoted to the subject, the teaching mode and resources, areas covered, types of assessment used, expected outcomes, and the constraints. Research results indicated that there was limited coverage in this area as the existing curriculum is subject to a number of constraints. The findings have provided evidence to suggest that there is a need to strengthen the ethics component in the taxation curriculum in New Zealand tertiary institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study set out to test the relative merits and desirability of teaching tax principles and policy based either on a single textbook, or by using the more traditional UK social science method of wider reading and a more individualistic approach to learning. The method employed was to teach taxation using the two approaches on two parallel public finance courses and to assess the outcomes in the form of student course essays and examination answers together with a questionnaire survey of students' opinion. The balance of advantage appeared to lie with the single textbook approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The AICPA Model Tax Curriculum (AICPA 1996a) stresses the importance of entity taxation throughout the first two undergraduate tax courses and a master's of accounting program. This paper provides instructors with a case that uses a simplified example of the Boston Celtics, a publicly traded partnership, to highlight the tax and nontax considerations that must be evaluated when making a choice of entity decision. The case also incorporates technological tools including CD-ROM or Internet-based tax research, Excel spreadsheets for preparing tax and cash flow projections, word-processing software, and an optional PowerPoint presentation. The case is designed to be completed in stages throughout the semester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a postal survey designed to examine the teaching of taxation in UK universities. The project looks at taxation in undergraduate accounting degree programmes and adopts an objective centred focus. The principal aim of the survey was to examine the relationships between some characteristics of individual tax courses, including the course objectives and coverage, staffing, teaching and assessment methods, in an attempt to draw some conclusions on the nature of tax education in UK accounting degrees. The results of the survey and consequent analysis may provide taxation and accounting educators, professional bodies and researchers into accounting education with an insight into approaches to, and methods used in, taxation teaching. It may also present a framework for comparative international research in tax education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]