Admission requirements
Students following this course are recommended to have completed at least one year of university education (not necessarily in law). We expect the students to have a good proficiency in English both orally and in writing.
This course is not available to students who have already attended the course Comparative Tax Law (22989280).
Description
1.1 Context
In the context of globalization, countries around the world are introducing domestic tax rules to promote investment and to protect their revenue base. As a consequence, lawmakers, tax administrations, and business are required to understand the role of taxation to build a sustainable and fair society, as well as the choices made by countries when designing their domestic (national) tax system.
1.2 Connection with the minor
The minor ‘tax and society’ is to familiarize students with the social impact of taxation. This course aims to introduce the main income) tax provisions in civil law and common law countries and to provide working knowledge of these rules from a perspective of developing and developed countries.
1.3 Design of the course
This course starts with contextualizing Tax and Society: Building a Sustainable and Fair Tax System by addressing the importance of taxation to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Thereafter, this course will provide an introduction to comparative tax law addressing the differences between common law and civil law tax systems and the use of legal transplants in taxation. Subsequently, the influence of the constitutional principles (e.g. legality, equality) in taxation will be studied. Thereafter, the basic structure of tax systems (i.e. global vs. schedular) and the main concepts of income tax and corporate income tax will be addressed.. This course will have a theoretical and a practical (comparative research) approach. During the course, the students will carry out comparative tax research on the issues discussed during the lectures. For this purpose, the students will choose 2 countries: one common law and one civil law country. The theory discussed during the lectures will be researched by the students in their two selected countries of study.
Course objectives
Objectives of the course
To gain understanding of the architecture through which tax for the achievement of SDGs can be realized;
To gain understanding of the basic principles of direct taxation – mainly income tax and corporate income tax;
To be able to compare and analyze the differences between common law and civil law tax systems;
To have working knowledge of the main features of the i tax systems of developing and developed countries such as definition of tax, tax principles, sources of tax law, definition of income and taxable unit, schedular versus global elements in income tax, rate schedules, Achievement levels
The following achievement levels apply with regard to the course:
By the end of this course the students will have knowledge about the role of taxation to build a sustainable and fair society, as well as the choices made by countries when designing their domestic (national) tax system. In addition, students will gain a basic understanding of the main features of common law and civil tax systems and of the differences between developed and developing countries. .
Timetable
Check MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Number of (2 hour) lectures: 5
Names of lecturers: Prof. Dr. Irma Mosquera Valderrama
Required preparation by students: Required Reading (see course overview in Brightspace)
Seminars
Number of (2 hour) seminars: 2
Names of instructors: Prof. Dr. Irma Mosquera Valderrama
Required preparation by students: Assignments, Required Reading (see course overview in Brightspace)
Other methods of instruction
None
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
The grade for this course is based on one written assignment and a final, written exam at the end of the course. Depending on the number of students, we may choose to make the exam an oral exam instead of a written exam.
A passing grade for the course is 5.5 or higher. The assignment will count to 30% of the final grade and the written exam will count to 70% of the final grade.
Re-examination
Students who fail to obtain a passing grade for the course are entitled to a re-examination. The re-examination consists of an individual oral exam that will count to 100% of the final grade.
Areas to be tested within the exam
The examination syllabus consists of the required reading (literature) for the course, the course information guide and the subjects taught in the lectures, the seminars and all other instructions which are part of the course.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Literature:
- Course book Comparative Tax Law, Second Edition (Victor Thuronyi, Kim Brooks, Borbala Kolozs)
Kindle edition available at https://www.amazon.nl/Comparative-Tax-English-Victor-Thuronyi-ebook/dp/B07W6RNNWT
Hardcover edition available at https://lrus.wolterskluwer.com/store/product/comparative-tax-law-second-edition/
- Tax Law Design and Drafting IMF Library Available for download https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/nft/1998/tlaw/eng/
Registration
Registration for courses and exams takes place via MyStudymap. If you do not have access to MyStudymap (guest students), look here (under the Law-tab) for more information on the registration procedure in your situation.
Contact
Coordinator: Prof. dr I.J. Mosquera Valderrama
Work address: KOG, Steenschuur 25, (melden bij het secretariaat B211)
Telephone number: via the institute below
Email:[ i.j.mosquera.valderrama@law.leidenuniv.nl](mailto: i.j.mosquera.valderrama@law.leidenuniv.nl)
Institution/division
Institute: Institute of Tax Law and Economics
Department: Tax Law
Room number secretary: B211
Opening hours: 9.00 – 14.00 hrs
Telephone number secretary: +31715277840
Email: Belastingrecht@law.leideuniv.nl