Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• LAW TX 968: TAX TECHNOLOGY
  This course examines the convergence of technology solutions, in support of taxation, from two different angles: corporations and government. The course will also compare and contrast these movements in America with other countries, as US-headquartered companies expanding abroad face new realities, unfamiliar tax structures and increasingly complex regulatory environments; and legal and tax professionals must be prepared for these challenges. Rather than focus on technology per se, analyzing computer programming language and codes, the bias of this course is the real-life business perspective of technology when applied to taxation and fiscal policy. This course gives students exclusive access to tax software actually used by multinational corporations to determine indirect taxes in the US and nearly 200 other countries and foreign tax jurisdictions. This access will allow students to simulate domestic/international transactions and analyze their tax implications while becoming familiar with the mechanics of an Enterprise-class tax automation solution.
• LAW TX 969: ACCOUNTING FOR FINANCIAL INSTI
  
• LAW TX 975: ESTATE PLANNING & DRAFTING
  This course description is currently under construction.
• LAW TX 978: Tax Accounting for Financial Statements
  TX978 is an introductory course in the reporting of income taxes on financial statements under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). This course covers financial reporting rules that every tax attorney needs to know to be conversant with business clients and other tax professionals. Subjects include deferred taxes, valuation allowance, uncertain tax positions, effective tax rate, and permanent reinvestment of subsidiary earnings.
• LAW TX 979: Transfer Pricing and Supply Chains
  This course will focus on advanced transfer pricing aspects of business restructurings (including supply chain redesigns and intangible property movements). Students will have the opportunity to experience applying the concepts of Section 482, GILTI/BEAT/FDII (new TCJA provisions) and the OECD's BEPS initiative in international tax planning for complex cross- border operations. Through case studies and small group projects, we will bring legal, accounting, and economic disciplines together to discuss practical tax challenges faced by multinational enterprises in the evolving international tax framework.
• LAW TX 982: TAX SEMINAR
  This course provides an opportunity for students to conduct in-depth research and to improve their writing skills on current issues in taxation. This class meets weekly to discuss tax law developments globally at the State & Local, US Federal and International topics and to review the topic proposal and outlines of class participants.
• LAW TX 984: TAXATION OF S-CORPS
  This course undertakes a detailed examination of Federal Income Taxation of S Corporations using a contextual approach so that students will be able to identify opportunities and pitfalls in the use of S Corporations. This will be accomplished through a combination of reading the Internal Revenue Code, regulations and other authorities relating to Federal Income Taxation of S Corporations. Use of S corporations in a multinational setting will also be considered. The course will emphasize, teach, expect, and measure the internalization of professional responsibilities in tax practice to clients using actual judicial decisions as well as hypothetical case studies. The inherit tension resulting from duties to clients and duties to the tax system is explored. We will also explore the various settings in which choice of entity for business operations will be a consideration and the utility of such choices for tax and non-tax purposes. Students will practice analytical and writing skills through written assignments. Since a contextual approach is used, it is expected that students will acquire knowledge of substantive tax law in addition to an understanding of ethical and legal responsibilities in federal tax practice.
• LAW TX 985: TAX RESEARCH
  Tax Law research is among the most complicated areas of the law to research. Statutes, regulations and agency issuances interact to create a thickly layered set of legal precedents. This class will explore the resources a tax professional would use to perform his or her research from legislative history to private letter rulings. Students will become familiar with the research platforms outside of Lexis and Westlaw that are commonly used in practice. Students will get practice in using many of the most heavily used practice materials. Classes will combine instruction and hands-on exercises using the major print and electronic resources available for tax law research. Students will be required to complete an assignment for each class.
• LAW TX 987: US & INTERNATIONAL TAX POLICY
  Understanding the policy drivers that underlie the formation of tax rules is a valuable asset for a tax advisor. Knowledge of the technical rules can become dated as laws and regulations change, but a sophistication about the policy drivers will remain relevant throughout a tax career. This course will help a student to develop instincts about how the rules are most likely to work, and to evolve. In most cases, there are limited policy design choices available to legislators, and an observer can see repeating patterns in history and across various countries. This course, with an emphasis on debate and discussion, will provide an overview of the policy objectives and the political drivers that commonly shape the formation of tax laws. There are no prerequisites for this course.
• LAW TX 989: Tax and Regulation of Cryptocurrency
  This course is designed to provide an introductory understanding of the theory and principles by which decentralized digital currencies - cryptocurrencies - operate, within both a practical and legal framework. The course can be broken down into three broad topics: (1) An examination of the concept of money, currency, and legal tender; (2) An introduction to the history of decentralized digital currencies, including the logic of a peer- to-peer payment system, the decentralized governance of cryptocurrency solutions, an analysis of the problems that cryptocurrencies are intended to resolve, and a high-level understanding of the blockchain; and (3) An in- depth examination and analysis of the current state of regulatory and tax treatment of various cryptocurrency transactions in the United States and in international jurisdictions.
• LAW TX 990: SALT EXTERNSHIP
  SALT EXTERNSHIP
• LAW TX 991: WORLD OF LLCs
  LLCs have become the most popular entity for businesses. They are used in estate planning, joint ventures by large corporations, investment vehicles, small businesses, mergers and acquisitions, international transactions, operating businesses and individuals. This is a hands on course with lots of problem solving, drafting suggestions and practical approaches to dealing with these LLCs (emphasis on Subchapter K) within whatever tax discipline you practice. Co-requisite: Partnership Tax I
• LAW TX 992: WRITING FOR TAX PRACTICE
  This course will focus on teaching students how to write client letters, internal memoranda, responses to IRS IDRs, and other documents common in tax practice. Students will be required to do multiple drafts of each assignment to allow for feedback and improvement on student writing. Additionally, there will be an emphasis on understanding the different audiences for each assignment (client, tax partner, government authority, etc.) and the relevant considerations in writing to each audience. Students will also be required to research and write the client letter and supporting memorandum in response to the problem set issued by the ABA Law Student Tax Challenge (submission to the competition is optional).