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Special Issues in Tax Treaties (LAWS90050)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Not available in 2024

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Overview

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Using a series of case studies, this subject will explore complex issues involving the interpretation and application of tax treaty provisions. During this subject, students (who will have a previous general knowledge of tax treaties) will be asked to analyse how these provisions apply in situations to which multinational enterprises and tax administrations are often confronted.

The subject will be given by Jacques Sasseville, a former tax treaty negotiator who has lectured and written extensively on tax treaties and who is now Head of the Tax Treaty Unit of the OECD. In this capacity, he is involved in all the work related to the regular updating of the OECD Model Tax Convention and provides training and advice on tax treaty issues to OECD and non-OECD countries.

Principal topics that will be addressed during the subject include:

  • The application of the permanent establishment definition
  • The tax treaty rules for the attribution of profits to permanent establishments
  • The application of tax treaties to transparent and hybrid entities
  • The taxation of expatriates
  • The tax treaty treatment of employee stock-options
  • The tax treaty treatment of various digital economy payments
  • The interaction between treaties and domestic anti-abuse rules
  • Timing issues related to tax treaties.

Intended learning outcomes

A student who has successfully completed this subject will:



  • Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the legal principles of international tax treaties, the underlying structural, institutional and policy influences that make income tax systems the way they are and recent developments in this field of law and practice
  • Be able to critically examine, analyse, interpret and assess the effectiveness of these legal rules and the underlying structural, institutional and policy influences
  • Be an engaged participant in debate regarding emerging and contemporary issues in the field
  • Have a sophisticated appreciation of the factors and processes driving international revision of the legal framework
  • Have an advanced understanding of the similarities and differences of international tax treaties
  • Have a detailed understanding of problems that arise in the international tax treaty context
  • Have the cognitive and technical skills to generate critical and creative ideas relating to comparative international tax treaties
  • Have the cognitive and technical skills to independently examine, research and analyse existing and emerging legal issues relating to international tax treaties
  • Have the communication skills to clearly articulate and convey complex information regarding comparative international tax treaties to relevant specialist and non-specialist audiences
  • Be able demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and learner in the field of comparative international tax treaties.

Last updated: 30 January 2024

Eligibility and requirements

Prerequisites

Students must meet one of the following prerequisite options:

Option 1

Admission into a relevant Melbourne Law Masters program

Option 2

Admission into the MC-JURISD Juris Doctor

AND

Code Name Teaching period Credit Points
LAWS50046 Taxation Law and Policy
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Corequisites

None

Non-allowed subjects

None

Recommended background knowledge

Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.

Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

Last updated: 30 January 2024

Assessment

DescriptionTimingPercentage

Take-home examination

  • 5,000-6,000 words
100%
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendanceThroughout the teaching periodN/A

Last updated: 30 January 2024

Quotas apply to this subject

Dates & times

Not available in 2024

Time commitment details

136-150 hours The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.

Additional delivery details

This subject has a quota of 30 students. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.

Last updated: 30 January 2024

Further information

Last updated: 30 January 2024