Classroom:   Pigott -  208       Schedule:     Tuesday,  6:00 – 8:40pm 

(Start Jan. 8, 2008)

Instructor:     Craig  Duncan               Email:   duncanc@seattleu.edu

 

Office:     Pigott – 407         Office Hours: Tuesday,  4:00pm – 5:45pm,

                                                                                                            and by appointment. 

 

Course Objective:

 

Concepts or Rules? – This course focuses on broad income tax concepts, identification of tax planning issues, the value of effective (and ethical) tax planning and use of technical resources to develop planning solutions.  We will not memorize rules or limit our study to specific tax return forms.  That is what reference books are for.

 

Learning by “Doing”.  Students will complete several projects typically performed by tax professionals, including:

Ø   Preparation of individual income tax returns for real taxpayers, in the VITA program – a one-on-one client service experience and community service.

Ø   Preparation of partnership and corporation tax returns.

Ø   Calculation of the income tax provision (expense) reflected in the same corporation’s annual financial statements.

Ø   Tax research and preparation of memorandum for a business tax planning scenario.

Ø   Extra credit projects involving tax research and development of solutions.

 

Textbooks & Other Resources:  Resources you will need for this course include:

 

Advanced Strategies in Taxation,  Sally M. Jones, Shelley C. Rhoades-Catanach, Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin.   (Chapters 1 – 14 will be covered during the quarter.)

 

Federal Income Tax, Code & Regulations – Selected Sections, CCH: Dickinson, editor, 2007-2008 edition.  (Most students will have this text from previous tax class.  2006-2007 version also acceptable.)

 

Online Research – you must have online access to RIA Checkpoint research database.  You can sign up at Library.

 

ANGEL – all course communications will be through ANGEL.  You must check ANGEL course ACCT 539 regularly for assignments and course information.  Most assignments will be submitted through ANGEL dropboxes.

 

Course Structure:  ACCT 539 includes six components:

           

(1) Advance Preparation Assignments (homework); (2) Classroom Activity;

(3) Team Exercises; (4) Extra Credit Projects;

(5) Examinations and  (6) VITA participation.

 

The class structure will be quite different from your first Income Tax course, which was a lecture format.  This is not a lecture course!!    You are expected to prepare

in advance for classroom coverage of assigned topics, as described in following sections.

 

Advance Preparation Assignments -  consist of weekly Readings and Problems from the textbook, and Other Readings, e.g., Code sections, court cases, etc.  Students are expected to read the assigned material, attempt the exercises/problems, discuss with teammates/classmates, if you like, and organize your ideas and calculations to facilitate classroom discussion.  You are not required to turn in written homework. 

 

Students will be asked to present assigned homework problems in class, individually or by Teams (see below), and lead open classroom discussion of the assigned Problems. 

Do not be nervous if you lack presentation experience.  Incorrect answers will not adversely affect your grade, and are actually useful in generating helpful discussion of concepts.  Only lack of preparedness can affect your grade negatively.

 

Classroom Activity:  I will introduce the subject areas, from the Advance Preparation Assignments, and we will apply and (hopefully) learn these concepts and principles by presentation and discussion of the assigned problems in class.

 

I expect active discussion and questions from all class participants.  I will ask questions to stimulate class discussion.  We will learn together, through individual and group discussion - just like a real world tax manager or tax advisor environment. 

 

Class participation is important.  5% of your grade for the quarter depends on the quality and willingness of your participation in class. 

 

Note on Instructor’s “Style”:  I spent 30+ years as the senior member of many teams of tax professionals, most of whom would confirm that I hardly ever answered a technical question without first asking at least 4 -5 questions to help the team member figure out an answer on their own.  You will frequently see this approach in this class. I want you to discover answers, rather than always being told the answer.  Some of you will like this approach, some of you will find it very strange.  If you took philosophy courses (as I did at Seattle U in the 60’s), you recognize this as the Socratic Method, although Socrates is not well known for his taxation discourses.

 

 

Team Exercises:   Working in Teams, you will prepare and submit:

 

·        U.S. Partnership Return of Income,

·        U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return,

·        Corporate income tax provision, applying GAAP to determine income tax expense included in a corporation’s financial statements, and

·        Tax research written memorandum.  Teams will choose one exercise from a list of tax research projects.

 

The Tax Research Exercises serve a two-fold purpose:

·        Learn to identify and evaluate critical facts and decision points in a business situation, and

·        Learn to communicate effectively in a very technical area of business.

 

Students may organize their own Teams (maximum of four classmates), and submit a single return/memorandum per Team.  Teams must be finalized on January 15, 2008.  I will make Team assignments for anyone who does not arrange their own Team affiliation.

 

Team Exercises have significant accounting aspects.  I recommend including at least one member on your team who has recently completed intermediate accounting, so graduate students may wish to invite an undergraduate (ACCT 436) student to join their team. 

 

Team Exercises are due on the date indicated on the schedule.  You will receive no credit for an exercise turned in later than 6:00 p.m. on the due date.

 

Consultation:  I am available to consult with Teams on the Exercises, as if we are team members in the real world and I am the senior member charged with guiding you through the project.  We can consult on campus or via email exchanges.  I frequently meet with Teams on campus, Saturday afternoons following VITA.

 

Extra Credit Opportunities:  Each week, starting with Week #2, an Extra Credit Project (ECP) will be posted on ANGEL.  A total of ten ECPs will be posted for the quarter.  ECPs are not required assignments.

 

Successful completion of each ECP can add up to ½ percentage point to your final grade for the course.  EXAMPLE:  You complete the Week # 3 ECP and receive a grade of 80% - your final grade for the course will be increased by 0.4 percentage points.

 

You may complete ECPs as individuals or in Teams.  ECP answers must be submitted, in writing or via ANGEL, before the start of class each week.

 

Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program:  Participation in the VITA program is a requirement for ACCT 539 and ACCT 436.  Your VITA participation and examinations will constitute 20% of your overall grade for the quarter.

 

Ann Dawson is the faculty advisor for the VITA program, and will determine this segment of your overall grade – see below.  A separate VITA memorandum will be posted on ANGEL, when all scheduling details are available.

 

Examinations:  There will be a mid-term examination (tentative date - February 12) and a final examination on March 18.  Consistent with the concepts rather than rules approach of this course, all examinations will be open book.

 

Feedback:  Solutions to assigned homework Problems will be published on ANGEL, after they are presented in class.  I am happy to review and grade any additional textbook problems that students wish to undertake on their own, but solutions to unassigned textbook problems will not be published on ANGEL.

 

I will grade and return Team Exercises and ECPs to the Teams and/or individuals, and will be available to discuss results.  Solutions to Team Exercises and ECPs will not be published on ANGEL.

 

Grading System:  Final Grades for the quarter will be weighted on the components indicated below.  Each separate component will be graded on a 1 – 100 scale. 

 

   Percent of

  Total Grade

            15%                 Mid-Term Exam (material covered to date)

            15%                 Final Exam (cumulative, but mostly on material since Mid-Term )

            10%                 Partnership Tax Return Team Exercise

            10%                 Corporate Tax Return Team Exercise

            10%                 Income Tax Provision   Team Exercise

            15%                 Tax Research Project Team Exercise

              5%                 Class Participation

            80%                             Percent of total grade determined by class activities **

 

20%                 Percent of total grade determined by VITA participation                       

 

100%               Components of Final Grade for course

 

            **  You may earn up to ½ percentage point per successful ECP.

 

Grade Range:  Final grades for the quarter will be determined on the following scale.  Remember, ECPs give you the opportunity to increase your grade.

 

A >= 94;  A- >=90                  B+ >=88; B>= 83; B- >=80

 

C+ >=78; C>= 73;  C- >= 70             D>=60                         F<60

 

VITA grades cannot be assigned until approximately four weeks after the final exam.  Therefore, grades will be indicated as “Incomplete” until approximately April 20, 2008.

 

 

Tardiness and Snow:  Please do not come to class late.  Tardiness is very disruptive to class, and rude to your fellow classmates.  If you are late, wait until the break to come in the classroom.  Your grade will be reduced for repeated tardiness.

 

I live very close to campus, so I will show in the snow.  Class is cancelled only if Seattle University cancels all classes.  Check the appropriate announcements and/or “hot lines”.

 

Academic Honesty:  

 

“Seattle University is committed to the principle that academic honesty and integrity are important values in the educational process.  Academic dishonesty is a serious offense and will be addressed according to this policy.”

Seattle University - Learning and teaching - Bulletins of information - Undergraduate Bulletin of Information  -  page 53.

 

Most aspects of this course are intended to be “group learning”, e.g., homework, team exercises, extra credit projects, classroom discussion, where you are entitled/expected to work with fellow students and the instructor.  On the other hand, examinations are specifically designated as individual assignments and any collaboration with others on an examination is a direct violation of the Academic Honesty Policy.  If you are not sure whether a particular action is acceptable according to the Academic Honesty Policy, please check with me before engaging in it.  

 

 

Disabilities:  If you have, or think you may have, a disability (including an ‘invisible disability’ such as a learning disability, a chronic health problem, or a mental health condition) that interferes with your performance as a student in this class, you are encouraged to arrange support services and/or accommodations through Disabilities Services staff in the Learning Center, Loyola 100, (206) 296-5740. Disability-based adjustments to course expectations can be arranged only through this process.