Master of Studies in Law Taxation

LAW 805 v01 Advanced Individual Income Tax and Personal Financial Planning

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

The course will examine selected topics of individual taxation that are often relevant when advising high net-worth individuals. The course will include topics such as the Qualified Business Income Deduction; itemized deductions; individual net operating losses; interest expense deductions (Mortgage Interest, Investment Interest, and Interest Tracing); loss limitations (Passive Activity Loss, At-Risk, Excess Business Loss); basic income tax considerations in financial planning; and tax exclusion on gain from the sale of a principal residence. The class will also discuss the alternative income-based tax systems applicable to individuals: Individual AMT, Net Investment Income Tax, and Self-Employment Tax. The class will be beneficial for students that seek to advise high net worth individuals (such as executives, entrepreneurs, or closely held business owners) in financial planning, tax, and estate planning matters.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Note: J.D. students may not enroll in this course without professor permission.  Generally, JD students will be limited to those with prior accounting experience.

LAW 710 v00 Advanced International Taxation

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course is designed for those students who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the effect of certain U.S. rules governing the taxation of U.S. persons doing business overseas and foreign persons doing business in the United States. The course will cover a broad range of topics with particular emphasis on the tax consequences of cross-border reorganizations, liquidations and taxable acquisitions and dispositions. The course will cover the tax consequences of outbound transfers of assets, foreign-to-foreign transfers of assets, and inbound transfers of assets. Students will be expected to have a working knowledge of corporate taxation, and transactional aspects of subpart F and the foreign tax credit rules.

Prerequisite: Corporate Income Tax Law I (or Corporate Taxation); International Tax (or U.S. International Outbound Tax).

Recommended: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Corporate Income Tax Law II (or completion of Corporate Taxation).

LAW 702 v00 Advanced Partnership Taxation

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

Focuses on the skills necessary (including review of transactional documents) for a tax attorney involved in advising on partnership structuring matters. Topics will include drafting the partnership agreement, allocations of tax items, amortization of partnership intangibles, classification/conversions, interplay of partnership rules on debt restructuring application of various gain triggers upon exiting from partnerships, partnership mergers and divisions, partnership equity-based compensation, and the partnership anti-abuse rules.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation; Taxation of Partnerships. Neither prerequisite may be taken concurrently.

LAW 3015 v00 Basic Principles of Finance

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 0 credit hours

This zero-credit pass/fail course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the basic principles of finance and accounting in order to enhance their study of tax or business law. The course is intended to provide students with little or no prior background in finance and accounting with an introduction to the core concepts, the essential vocabulary, and the basic tools of these two subject areas. The course is designed to equip students with a basic primer of topics relevant to a range of business law courses. Accordingly, it covers subjects such as the time value of money, the distinction between debt and equity, the role of risk in valuing financial assets, and how assets and liabilities are described in accounting materials such as balance sheets and income statements.

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for this course and the J.D. course Demystifying Finance.

Note: This zero-credit course is delivered via distance education to all students. There is no live class session. This course is required for all Tax LLM and Executive Tax LLM students.

LAW 822 v00 Consolidated Returns

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

This course studies the law and regulations governing the taxation of corporations filing consolidated federal income tax returns. This course is highly recommended for students who intend to practice corporate tax law because it will focus on consolidated return principles that affect corporate tax planning, mergers and acquisitions. The course will cover the following subjects: eligibility to file consolidated returns; treatment of business transactions within the group; treatment of dividends and other distributions within the group; adjustments to the basis of stock of members of the group; treatment of acquisitions of another consolidated group; treatment of dispositions of subsidiaries of a group; consolidated return treatment of the group's favorable tax attributes; use of disregarded entities by a consolidated group; and treatment of earnings and profits accounts. The consequences of filing consolidated returns in specific situations are considered as each topic is covered.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation (formerly Taxation I); Corporate Income Tax Law I.

LAW 822 v50 Consolidated Returns

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

Studies the law and regulations governing the taxation of corporations filing consolidated federal income tax returns. This course is highly recommended for students who intend to practice corporate tax law because it will focus on consolidated return principles that affect corporate tax planning, mergers and acquisitions. The course will cover the following subjects: eligibility to file consolidated returns; treatment of business transactions within the group; treatment of dividends and other distributions within the group; adjustments to the basis of stock of members of the group; treatment of acquisitions of another consolidated group; treatment of dispositions of subsidiaries of a group; consolidated return treatment of the group's favorable tax attributes; use of disregarded entities by a consolidated group; and treatment of earnings and profits accounts. The consequences of filing consolidated returns in specific situations are considered as each topic is covered.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation (formerly Taxation I); Corporate Taxation (formerly Taxation II) or Corporate Income Tax Law I.

Recommended: Corporate Income Tax Law II (for students who did not take Corporate Taxation).

LAW 848 v00 Corporate Income Tax Law I

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Examines the U.S. federal income tax effects of certain basic transactions involving corporations and their shareholders. Principal subjects covered include corporate formation and capital structure, distributions to shareholders, redemptions, and liquidations. Major emphasis is upon Internal Revenue Code Sections 301-362 and related Treasury Regulations.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Recommended: Corporations.

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for both this course and the J.D. course, Corporate Taxation (formerly Taxation II).

LAW 850 v00 Corporate Income Tax Law II

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Continues the study of provisions of the federal income tax law applicable to corporations and their shareholders. Detailed study is given to corporate reorganizations under Subchapter C, including acquisitions, divisive reorganizations, and recapitalizations; the treatment of boot; the basis provisions; the assumption of liabilities; and related matters. Consideration also is given to carryovers of corporate tax attributes, including restrictions applicable to loss corporations.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation (formerly Taxation I).

Recommended: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Corporate Income Tax Law I.

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for both this course and the J.D. courses, Corporate Taxation (formerly Taxation II) or Corporate Tax Planning in Practice: Structuring and Negotiating the Deal.

LAW 3111 v00 Criminal Tax Law and Procedure

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course examines the life cycle of a criminal tax case, including the warning signs that a civil tax case may be referred for criminal investigation, applicable privileges, potential defenses, the opening of an administrative investigation, sources of information, authorization of a grand jury investigation and prosecution, best practices in plea negotiations, trial strategies, sentencing, and collateral and civil tax consequences.  The course also will address current priorities of IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of Justice, and cases pulled from the headlines.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Recommended: Tax Practice and Procedure; Criminal Law; and Criminal Justice (Democracy and Coercion) or Criminal Procedure.

LAW 2042 v01 Ethics in Tax Law

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course provides students with an opportunity to consider and address the ethical issues that attorneys frequently encounter in different kinds of modern-day tax practice, either tax planning or controversy. Such contemporary issues relate to conflicts of interest, evidentiary privileges and confidentiality duties, tax return preparer penalties, tax opinion standards, tax shelters, federal-court petitions for injunctive relief and for review under the Administrative Procedure Act, and rules governing disciplinary proceedings. To help students to grapple with these issues, both individually and in collaboration with fellow students, this course will provide a legal framework and tools to analyze and address the tax lawyer's legal and professional obligations under the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, as adopted by state disciplinary authorities, Treasury Department Circular No. 230 (the regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service), and the Internal Revenue Code’s penalty provisions.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Note: NOTE FOR SUMMER 2024: The professor will teach this course virtually via Zoom.

This is a distance-learning section. Students enrolled in the Executive LL.M. in Taxation, the Executive LL.M. in Securities & Financial Regulation, the MSL program, and the certificate in State and Local Taxation may take this course on a distance basis. All J.D. students and resident LL.M. students may not enroll in this course on a distance basis. 

LAW 722 v02 Federal Limitations on State and Local Taxation

LL.M. Course/Seminar (cross-listed) | 2-3 credit hours

As an instrument of federalism, the U.S. Constitution plays a vital role in defining state and local governments’ taxing powers. In some instances this is accomplished by express Constitutional provisions; in others, by express or implied grants of authority to the legislative, executive or judicial branches of government. This advanced state and local tax course will explore and analyze Constitutional provisions that limit (and sometimes expand) state and local taxing powers. It will include a historical review of Supreme Court jurisprudence that underscores the inherent complexities and tensions precipitated by the intersection of federalism and the underlying goals embodied within the Commerce Clause, Equal Protection Clause, Import-Export Clause, Privileges and Immunities Clause, and Supremacy Clause, among others. The course also will explore how issues of federalism have shaped various Federal statutory enactments, as well as pending pieces of federal legislation. For example, it will analyze how federalist tensions and statutory dynamics were balanced in a proposed congressional bill concerning state and local tax incentives. Additionally, the course will explore the impact of Treaties and international trade laws, as well as their related enforcement mechanisms, which continue to spawn new issues implicating the States’ powers to tax.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Note: Students must register for the 3 credit section of the seminar if they wish to write a paper fulfilling the Upperclass Legal Writing Requirement. The paper requirements of the 2 credit section will not fulfill the Upperclass Legal Writing Requirement.

LAW 854 v00 Income Tax Accounting

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

Covers the critical tax question of "when" as we consider accounting methods and accounting periods and their overlays on other areas of tax.  After all, what good is a tax deduction if you don't know when to take it? The course examines a broad range of subjects concerning the timing of income and deductions under Subchapter E of the Internal Revenue Code. Topics include requests to change methods, inventories (including costing, valuation, and the requirements for maintaining inventories), principles of income recognition, prepaid income, cash equivalency and constructive receipt, special methods involving long-term contracts, depreciation, estimated expenses, prepaid expenses, and expensing versus capitalizing costs. We have fun analyzing these topics from technical, historical, tax policy, and strategy perspectives. 

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation, but knowledge of financial accounting is not necessary for this course.

LAW 3063 v00 International Tax Controversy

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course concentrates on real world civil and criminal tax controversies involving international tax matters facing today’s tax practitioners.  The course begins with an introduction to the U.S. compliance regime, including the obligation to report worldwide income, specified foreign financial assets and international business activity. Students will learn the various international tax reporting obligations, applicable statutes of limitations and tolling provisions, potential civil penalties under the Internal Revenue Code and the Bank Secrecy Act, options for resolving non-compliance, procedures for challenging proposed and assessed penalties, and the risk of criminal investigation and prosecution. The course concludes with study of current international enforcement and litigation trends involving cross-border business transactions and base erosion/profit shifting issues.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation

Recommended: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Federal Tax Practice & Procedure or any International Tax Course

Note: The course may include occasional presentations by guest speakers experienced in the field of international tax.

LAW 3012 v00 Introduction to Federal Income Tax, Research & Writing

LL.M. Seminar | 2 credit hours

This course will be divided into two parts. The first half of the course will be devoted to learning about sources of information used in tax research, i.e., primary and secondary research sources, including the application of available internet links dealing with tax issues. The students will learn about information generated by both primary and secondary sources regarding tax legislation, administration and interpretation and secondary sources available to explain and assist tax researchers understanding tax issues. There will be an examination at the end of the first half of the course testing the students’ knowledge of these available sources and the tax research process. In the second half of the course, students will apply their research skills in preparing one written product. It will either require an objective analysis of tax issue(s) or deal with preparing an opinion letter or other similar written product regarding tax issue(s).

LAW 859 v00 Private Equity & Hedge Funds: Taxation & Transactions

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

Recent years have witnessed explosive growth in private equity funds and hedge funds. It is estimated that over $1 trillion is currently invested in hedge funds globally, and assets held by private equity funds may also exceed $1 trillion. Many law firms now have specialized practice groups focused on these investment vehicles, and the M&A tax practices of law firms and Big 4 accounting firms are often driven by private equity transactions. Given their rapid growth and economic clout, it is not surprising that private equity funds and hedge funds have attracted increasing attention in the tax-writing committees of Congress.

This course is designed to help students gain an understanding of the structure, economics, and taxation of these investment vehicles. The course will begin with a general overview of private investment funds, the different types of funds, and the main economic drivers affecting the fund, its investors, and the sponsor or general partner. We will then examine the major US tax issues that arise during the life of a fund, beginning with the consequences for investors and the general partner when the fund is organized. Students will study the partnership, corporate, and international tax issues that are common to each type of investment and to fund operations generally. Finally, the course will address the tax consequences of certain exit transactions, such as the sale of a portfolio company.

The course will also include recent legislative and regulatory developments affecting private equity funds, including the taxation of so-called “carried interests” (the profits interest earned by the general partner or sponsor).

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation (formerly Taxation I) and Corporate Taxation (formerly Taxation II) or Corporate Income Tax Law I.

Strongly Recommended: Partnership Taxation.

LAW 772 v00 S Corporation and LLC Taxation

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Examines the business and tax issues encountered when using either an S corporation, a limited liability company, or a combination. Most of the course focuses on S corporation taxation rules including eligibility requirements, elections, revocations and terminations, corporate level taxes, distributions, loss utilization, compensation planning, and merger and acquisition transactions. Regarding limited liability companies (LLC), areas covered are formation and classification, conversions, application of partnership rules, and compensation. Business considerations and practical tax planning opportunities, as well as choice of entity fundamentals, are highlighted throughout the course.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation; Corporate Income Tax Law I; Prior or concurrent enrollment in Taxation of Partnerships.

LAW 947 v00 Special Topics in Exempt Organizations

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course will focus on the practical deal-making aspects of structuring transactions involving non-profits and for-profits, with focus on the rules governing joint ventures (designing a joint venture policy), choice of entity issues, hospital and health care industry deals, environmental and conservation ventures, university joint ventures (e.g., distance learning, faculty research and pouring rights), impact investing, social benefit corporations (Hobby Lobby case) and valuation and reasonable compensation issues. The course will also examine financing from the for-profit and nonprofit side, using low income housing tax credit, historic and renewable energy tax credits (Inflation Reduction Act), new markets tax credits and opportunity zone funds. It will include negotiating strategies (key structural issues, how to educate the for-profit party, “must-have” deal terms); case studies with students taking sides in negotiating the deal; Congressional outlook (political and lobbying) and “hot” UBIT topics. The course will feature guest lecturers from the Treasury, IRS and the private sector, including in-house general counsel of tax exempt organizations. The course will require a 20 page (approx.) paper.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Recommended: Taxation of Charities and Other Nonprofit Organizations.

LAW 775 v01 Special Topics in State and Local Taxation

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

The biggest challenge of a multistate tax practice is dealing with the practical issues of multiple states with sometimes conflicting laws and regulations. Most companies operate in multistate environment and must learn how to apply their operational realities to a patchwork of state and local tax laws and regulations. With telecommuting, internet and other work options, and a fluid workforce, this course will also review the state and local tax rules for employers/employees and individuals.

This course reviews the basic concepts that govern multistate taxation on an operational level and detailed practice and procedures guidelines. The issues surrounding audits and record access will be discussed along with the use of tools such as managed audits and voluntary disclosures. Appeals on administrative and judicial levels will be reviewed with an emphasis on statute of limitation, de novo and other issues. Additionally, this course will provide a review of the relationships between the states, information sharing between and among the states and the federal government, and the natural tension between taxpayers and the state revenue departments.

Learning objectives:

Gain an understanding of the practical aspects of state and local taxation. This understanding will prepare you to take on real time state tax projects with a client perspective. The class will also provide you with an understanding of state and local learning resources to gain the needed information to define and complete state and local tax projects.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

LAW 944 v00 State and Local Taxation: Income & Franchise Taxes

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course discusses the basic principles of state and local taxation, focusing primarily on state income and franchise taxes. The course provides an overview of the limitations of state taxation provided by the Due Process and Commerce Clauses of the U.S. Constitution as well as selected federal statutes that pre-empt state taxation. The course discusses conformity with federal tax laws and introduces the student to the state tax concepts of unitary business principle and formulary apportionment. In addition to corporate income and franchise tax issues, the course will discuss issues relating to passthrough entities, common planning strategies, states’ authority to challenge positions taken by taxpayers, and taxation of non-U.S. income and non-U.S. taxpayers.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

LAW 824 v01 State and Local Taxation: Other Business Taxes

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course, in conjunction with the state and local income and sales and use tax courses, is intended to complete a foundational overview of primary state and local taxes, fees and other charges (“taxes”) imposed on manufacturing and mercantile entities, as well as select industries operating in a multijurisdictional environment. Included among the areas that are reviewed in this course, on a comparative law basis are: ad valorem taxes imposed on real, tangible and intangible property, as well as select federal provisions, such as that found in the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act (4-R Act) of 1976; escheat/unclaimed funds laws; net worth taxes; transfer taxes, including those imposed on the transfer of “controlling” real property interests; select excise taxes, including those imposed on telecommunication and natural resource companies; withholding taxes, including state equivalents to the federal withholding tax imposed by Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act” (FIRPTA) rules; unemployment taxes, including State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) dumping provisions; statutory and negotiated tax incentives; privilege and retaliatory taxes; and, business license taxes and fees. By presenting the above topics in a comparative laws context, nonuniform principles, policies, jurisprudence and administrative positions confronting the multijurisdictional business operating in multistate environment are brought to light and will serve as one of the primary themes of this course.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Note: This course will meet Online via Zoom during the fall 2023 semester.

Students in the J.D. Program will not be allowed to enroll in this course. 

LAW 2031 v00 State and Local Taxation: Sales and Use Taxes

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course provides an in-depth examination of Sales & Use taxes. These taxes make up approximately half of all state tax revenues. The course focuses on fundamental principles of the Sales & Use tax regime by reviewing seminal and recent cases on the subject. The course also discusses U.S. Constitutional limitations applicable to Sales & Use taxes and state efforts to bypass these limitations.  Finally, we will discuss current issues in the field of Sales & Use taxation, including application of Sales & Use taxes to remote electronic commerce and marketplace facilitators. 

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation. 

LAW 3017 v00 Survey of Employee Benefits Law

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course provides a general overview of the federal labor and tax law policies and principles that apply to employment-based retirement plans, health care plans, and executive compensation arrangements. Students will examine the principles of the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA that govern the form and operation of employer-sponsored plans, especially tax-qualified pension plans, executive compensation arrangements and welfare plans (with a focus on health care). This class will concentrate on the structure and basic rules that govern such arrangements. In the context of tax-qualified and nonqualified plans and health and welfare programs, this course will explore plan administration, fiduciary duties, claims appeals and litigation.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Note: Students enrolled in the Employee Benefits Certificate Program may not register for this course.

LAW 2072 v00 Survey of State and Local Taxation

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course is designed as a survey course for those students not pursuing a SALT Certificate in conjunction with their LL.M. in Taxation, Executive LL.M. in Taxation, or MSL Program. The course begins by first introducing the student to the dynamics and taxonomy of SALT, and why (out of necessity) the study of subnational taxes must vary from the “classic” pedagogy of most LL.M. – Tax programs that have come to focus and build on a study of the differing subchapters of the Internal Revenue Code.  Next, the course explores important subnational topics not encountered in the study of federal corporate income taxes, such as federal limitations on the powers of subnational governments to tax.  To close the course, the student will be presented with a case study and a comparative law analysis that will provide them insight into analytical approaches employed by interdisciplinary tax teams made-up of international, federal and subnational tax specialists assigned to deal with enterprise restructurings.

SALT issues unique to following types of taxes will be explored: income based taxes; sales and use taxes; ad valorem taxes; unemployment taxes; real estate and controlling-interest taxes; transfer taxes; gross receipts taxes; capital stock (net worth based) taxes; excise taxes; and, other taxes to illustrate the diversity of subnational levies and how they can be of critical importance to select industries and their advisors, e.g., such as the insurance industry (premium and retaliatory taxes); the natural resource industry (severance taxes); the communication industry (telecommunication taxes); and, the health care industry (hospital and medical provider taxes).

In addition to overviewing key taxes, the course will introduce the student to other important topics that routinely engage multijurisdictional enterprises, including: unclaimed property (“escheat”) audits; issues implicated by operations and transactions within and without the U.S.; statutory and negotiated tax and non-tax incentives; and, the nonuniform taxing and sourcing rules that face unincorporated multijurisdictional enterprises and their owners that choose to operate through partnerships, limited liability companies, S Corporations or joint ventures.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Note: Students enrolled in the SALT Certificate program may NOT receive credit for this course.

LAW 784 v00 Tax Planning for Corporate Acquisitions Seminar

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This seminar will examine the tax planning for recent public M&A deals from the practical vantage points of tax counsel advising the buyer and the seller. The principal focus will be on: (1) the tax structure utilized; (2) the tax representations, warranties, covenants, and indemnification provisions in the acquisition documents, along with any tax-sharing agreements; (3) the tax disclosure discussion in the proxy/prospectus delivered to the shareholders; and (4) the form of tax opinions provided by the buyer’s and the seller's tax counsel.

Prerequisite: Completion of Corporate Income Tax Law I and prior or concurrent enrollment in Corporate Income Tax Law II or Corporate Taxation (formerly Taxation II).

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for this course and Corporate Tax Planning in Practice: Structuring and Negotiating the Deal.

Note: This class will require a final paper and a short mid-term paper.

LAW 856 v00 Tax Practice and Procedure (Administrative Practice)

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

Examines the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code, including types of guidance, preparation and filing of returns, audit procedures (including centralized partnership audit procedures), administrative appeals, deficiencies, assessments, closing agreements, collection, civil penalties applicable to taxpayers and practitioners, criminal tax penalties, interest, refund claims, statutes of limitations, and practice before the IRS.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

LAW 858 v00 Tax Practice and Procedure (Litigation)

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Studies problems and considerations arising in the litigation of federal tax cases before the U.S. Tax Court, District Court, and the Court of Federal Claims, including jurisdictional, procedural, ethical and evidentiary issues. Practical problems of choice of forum, pleadings, discovery, privileges and tax trial practice are surveyed. Considerable attention is given to IRS summons enforcement litigation, privileges, civil collection, levy and distraint, collection due process, criminal tax litigation, and the tax lien and its priorities. Government attorneys, practicing attorneys, and U.S. Tax Court Judges are utilized as guest lecturers on some of the subject matter.  This is a comprehensive course covering all aspects of tax litigation. 

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

LAW 846 v00 Tax Treaties

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

International tax treaties determine why hedge funds are located where they are, how motion pictures are financed, whether the dispatch of employees abroad is economical, and why financial assets follow prescribed international paths. They determine why Netherlands and Luxembourg have a large positive balance of trade with the United States, and why recording studios are established in the Caribbean. They determine whether bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein are really secret. While tax treaties ostensibly are only about dividing up tax bases between countries and exchanging information between sovereigns, in reality they channel the flow of investment and development in the global economy.

This course assumes that students have some familiarity with basic tax treaty concepts and examines how provisions of the OECD Model Treaty and the United States Model Treaty are used by tax practitioners to achieve specific business objectives. Students will acquire an understanding of how treaty provisions help shape economic and financial decisions in different industries and economic sectors. The course uses examples drawn from actual practice to illustrate the creative use of tax treaty provisions. It is designed to be an interactive experience, with students working on case studies, discussing alternative approaches, and using different jurisdictions and changes in the form of the underlying transaction to achieve desirable tax results.

Learning objectives:

This course is intended to teach the concepts underlying the United States Model Tax Treaty and the OECD Model Tax Treaty. By the end of the course, students are expected to understand how tax treaties are organized and be able to apply the model tax treaties to factual situations in which the tax treaties are applicable.

At the same time, the course is intended to challenge the student to be aware of the ethical challenges and risks of practice in the area of international taxation. More and more, tax authorities are not only looking to penalize a taxpayer for improper tax planning, but also the tax advisor who recommended the course of action followed by the taxpayer. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to understand where the borders of ethical behavior are when developing international tax structures and to be able to analyze risks to the clients and themselves when working in this area.

Finally, the course is intended to reinforce principles of close reading and attention to the specific wording used in the tax treaties and cases interpreting the tax treaties. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to read and understand why specific words are used in tax treaties and the significance of these words.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation and one course in international taxation.

Note: Enrolled students will have until the beginning of the second class session to request a drop by contacting the Office of the Registrar; a student who no longer wishes to remain enrolled after the second class session begins will not be permitted to drop the class but may request a withdrawal from an academic advisor in the Office of Academic Affairs. 

LAW 948 v00 Tax Treatment of Charities and Other Nonprofit Organizations

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Studies the treatment of charities and other nonprofit organizations, including private foundations, churches, hospitals, trade associations, social clubs, and political organizations under the federal income tax law. Among the topics covered are the characteristics of the various classes of exempt organizations, the legislative policies underlying their exemption from tax, problems associated with qualification for and retention of exemption, joint ventures, the unrelated business income tax including corporate sponsorship, the declaratory judgment remedy, implications of racial discrimination, international activities and the treatment of lobbying and political expenditures.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

LAW 1842 v00 Taxation of Bankruptcies & Workouts

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This class will focus on the Internal Revenue Code provisions that deal with taxpayers restructuring either in a bankruptcy proceeding or outside of bankruptcy, and how the Bankruptcy Code deals with existing tax obligations. This class will also examine tax obligations incurred during a bankruptcy case, cancellation of indebtedness, the termination of tax through a bankruptcy court, and related corporate tax issues.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation

Recommended: Corporate Income Tax Law I or Corporate Taxation

LAW 945 v00 Taxation of Energy Markets

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

The energy industry has undergone dramatic change in recent years. The US power sector is undergoing a transformation from a coal-based sector to one that now has incredible diversity between natural gas, wind, solar and even nuclear energy now leading the way in new development. Likewise, the oil and gas sector has seen a revolution in responses to changing US energy policy and energy politics. More so than almost any other industrial sector, energy is highly influenced by the tax law. The economics of renewable and alternative energy is highly dependent on specific tax credits designed to encourage their development.

This course will examine these important areas of energy tax policy:

  1. taxation of electric utility and natural gas markets (including tax changes flowing from deregulation of these markets),
  2. tax subsidies and tax incentives for alternative energy development (including analysis of creative tax-planning structures designed to maximize the value of these incentives), and
  3. new tax incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

The course is designed to help students appreciate the role tax plays in the generation of energy in the US and issues confronted by tax practitioners in this rapidly changing environment. There will be a final examination at the end of the semester.  Class attendance and participation is encouraged. 

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Recommended: Corporate Tax Law I or Corporate Taxation (formerly Taxation II).

Note: This course is part of the following graduate programs: Environmental and Energy Law LL.M.

LAW 752 v00 Taxation of Financial Institutions

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Examines the taxation of insurance companies, banks, regulated investment companies (RICs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), and real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs). The course analyzes the applicable tax provisions applicable to these financial institutions. Consideration is given to why financial institutions are taxed differently from other taxpayers in light of the economic function and operation of these financial institutions.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

LAW 2069 v00 Taxation of Financial Instruments and Transactions

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

The course will explore selected federal income tax issues relating to financial instruments and transactions. Major topics will include the legal and economic characteristics of indebtedness, equity, and derivatives, the fundamentals of the original issue discount (OID) rules, market discount and bond premium, variable rate and contingent payment debt instruments, the fundamentals of the tax rules for derivatives, hedging transactions, and anti-abuse rules such as straddles, wash sales, constructive sales, and conversion transactions.

Note: JD students may not enroll in this course. 

LAW 976 v00 Taxation of Intellectual Property

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

This course covers the tax treatment applicable to the development, purchases, sales, transfers, licensing, and valuation of intellectual property (IP), such as patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and computer software. It will begin with a brief introduction to the field of intellectual property for those unfamiliar with this area of law, along with the policies behind U.S. and foreign taxation of intellectual property.  Specific tax areas then covered will include some or all of the following: the different tax treatment afforded to the development, acquisitions, and transfer of IP; cross-border IP transaction issues; transfer pricing considerations; and considerations relating to other non-federal areas of taxation.

Students should come away from the course with a substantial working knowledge of how IP is integrated into basic and advanced tax transactions, what are the hot areas for IP tax planning, and how to spot issues relating to IP assets in multinational organizational structures. 

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Recommended: Corporate Income Tax I and a course on international taxation.

Note: NOTE FOR SUMMER 2024: The professors will teach this course virtually via Zoom. 

LAW 1843 v00 Taxation of Mergers & Acquisitions

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course will focus on the tax issues related to corporate mergers and acquisitions, with a primary focus on taxable acquisition deal structures. Topics covered will include the differences between stock and asset deals, ways to achieve synthetic asset deals, different taxpayer profiles (C-corporations, S- corporations, consolidated groups, and foreign-entities), and tax considerations for buyers vs. sellers. This course will also examine transaction financing, the valuation of tax attributes, tax due diligence, drafting contracts, and tax insurance, as well as a short introduction to achieving control using tax-free acquisition structures.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax I, or Corporate Taxation

LAW 362 v03 Taxation of Partnerships

J.D. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course examines in-depth the provisions of Subchapter K of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder as they apply to the life cycle of a partnership, from formation to liquidation. Students will be able to evaluate the tax consequences of the most common partnership transactions, including the acquisition of a partnership interest, compensation of a service partner, distributions by the partnership to partners, and transfers of partnership interests. In addition, students will understand the mechanics and implications of profit and loss allocations, liability allocations, allocations with respect to built-in gain property and disguised sales of property between a partner and a partnership. Students will also have a basic understanding of partnership tax accounting, including creating and maintaining tax and book balance sheets.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Recommended: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Corporate Taxation.

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for both this course and the LL.M. course, Taxation of Partnerships (LAWG-942).

LAW 942 v00 Taxation of Partnerships

LL.M. Course | 2 credit hours

This course examines in-depth the provisions of Subchapter K of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder. Attention is given to the tax issues arising upon the formation, operation and liquidation of a partnership, including the consequences of acquisitions of partnership interests, distributions by the partnership to partners, the optional adjustment to basis of partnership property, the transfer of partnership interests, and current topics in partnership taxation.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for both this course and the J.D. course, Taxation of Partnerships (LAWJ 362).

LAW 808 v00 Taxation of Property Transactions

LL.M. Seminar (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Explores the federal income tax consequences arising from sales, exchanges, and other dispositions of property. Principal issues considered include determination of the taxable event; ascertainment of basis and amount realized; ascertainment of gain or loss; limitations on the allowability of losses, including the at-risk and passive activity loss provisions; and the relevance of the capital/ordinary gain or loss distinction and the original issue discount rules. The course includes an analysis of certain major non-recognition provisions, including like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions and replacements. The course also includes an examination of the taxation of deferred payment sales, including the effect of taxpayer's method of accounting and the availability and operation of the installment method.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

LAW 883 v00 Transfer Pricing

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

The topic of international transfer pricing – that is, how a business conducting operations in a number of different countries should divide its taxable income among those countries – remains among the most practically important of international tax issues. This course seeks to provide an introduction to the United States' principals and current practice of international transfer pricing, as well as some understanding of the historical and conceptual basis of the current system. Specific goals of the course are to assist foreign students in gaining a general perspective on the United States system and to provide domestic students and practitioners a sufficient level of understanding of the area and practices to provide a platform for the development of further interest in the area.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation.

Recommended: Prior or concurrent enrollment in a course in international taxation.

LAW 986 v01 U.S. International Inbound Tax

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Concentrates on the U.S. taxation of foreign persons and foreign investments in the United States. The course covers the U.S. taxation of passive and business income of nonresident aliens and foreign corporations, the source rules, the principles and application of U.S. tax treaties, special rules governing foreign investment in U.S. real estate and other business, cross border financing transactions, the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, and tax planning possibilities involved in the foregoing.

Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation and either prior or concurrent enrollment in Corporate Taxation or Corporate Income Tax I.

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for both this course and the J.D. course International Tax Law or U.S. Taxation of International Transactions.

Note: Required for U.S. trained students pursuing the Certificate in International Taxation.

LAW 756 v01 U.S. International Outbound Tax

LL.M. Course (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

Concentrates on the U.S. taxation of U.S. persons and businesses earning income outside of the United States. The course examines, in depth, U.S. taxation of the international operations of U.S. multinational corporations. It covers the GILTI rules, the foreign tax credit provisions, Subpart F, repatriation, and overall strategic tax planning, including the significant new U.S. international tax rules and other changes introduced by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation and either prior or concurrent enrollment in Corporate Taxation or Corporate Income Tax I.

Mutually Excluded Courses: Students may not receive credit for both this course and the J.D. course International Tax Law or U.S. Taxation of International Transactions.

Note: Required for U.S. trained students pursuing the Certificate in International Taxation.