Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Ronald Pearlman

J.D. Seminar 428 (cross-listed) | 3 credit hours

This course will examine the legal, economic, and political considerations relevant to the formulation of U.S. tax policy. Specific topics will be selected from among the following: the concept of income and the tax base; issues relating to the allocation of the tax burden, including equity and distributive justice, economic efficiency; tax expenditures; the taxation of capital, including capital gains, corporate taxation and the taxation of income from intangible property; international taxation, including tax competition; consumption taxation; the tax legislative process, including transition issues; fundamental tax reform; tax compliance and enforcement, including tax shelters; and current tax policy initiatives. Active participation in class discussions is expected, and grades will be based on class participation as well as on a 25-page paper due on the last day of classes. Students seeking to satisfy their upperclass legal writing requirement must meet the additional requirements described in the Law Center Bulletin, including the submission of an outline and first draft.

Prerequisite: Taxation I.

Students may not receive credit for both this seminar and the J.D. seminar, Current Issues in Tax Law and Policy Seminar or the graduate course Tax Policy Overview or the graduate seminars, Tax Policy or Graduate Seminar: Federal Tax Policy.

The 3 credit writing requirement section is only open to J.D. students. This course requires a paper. J.D. students must register for the 3 credit section of the course if they wish to write a paper fulfilling the J.D. Upperclass Legal Writing Requirement. The paper requirements of the 2 credit section will not fulfill the J.D. Upperclass Legal Writing Requirement.