General provisions

Determined on June 27, 2013 by Faculty of Law’s Teaching Committee, Uppsala University, by virtue of Chapter 6 Section 14 and 15 of the Higher Education Ordinance. The course plan enters into force on July 1, 2013.

In General

The course is 15 university points (15 ECTS credits) and an optional course at advanced level in the studies for the degree of Master of Legal Science, according to the degree requirements adopted 3 September 2012 by the Board of the Faculty of Law of Uppsala University. The course is held in English.

Entry requirements

Be admitted to the Master Programme in International Tax Law and EU Tax Law.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the students shall have the ability

• to independently identify and analyse relevant legal material in the field of international tax law and EU tax law,
• to independently identify and understand such national and international norms having an impact on international establishments and restructurings,
• to independently relate general concepts and principles of international tax law to specific situations,
• to independently analyse the domestic international tax law of different legal systems from a principal, systematic and comparative point of view,
• to independently analyse different systems of company taxation from a national and an international point of view,
• to apply the main elements of domestic international tax rules in a qualified manner.

Grading criteria

The grades given are Fail (U), Pass (B), Pass with credit (Ba), and Pass with distinction (AB).

For the grade “B”, the student is required to achieve all the learning outcomes in a descriptive, summary, thoughtful and analytical fashion.

For the next grade “Ba”, in addition to the requirements for grade “B”, the student is required to demonstrate the capability of taking an analytical approach through structured, independent and critical thinking.

For the highest grade, “AB”, in addition to the requirements for grade “Ba”, the student must demonstrate good analytical skills through well-structured, well-thought thoughts and critical thinking, enabling him/her to take positions based on convincing arguments and a high degree of independence.

Content

The course is an introductory course to fundamental aspects of international taxation of individuals and companies. The course comprises two essential parts. The first part of the course is an introduction to international tax law and EU tax law. The second part deals especially with international business taxation. These course parts are preceded by an introduction to the special type of problem based learning model which is practiced in Uppsala.

Instruction

All teaching and materials are in English. Instruction is mainly given in the form of seminars, which the students are expected to have prepared in tutorial groups. In addition, a few introductory lectures will be held.

Participation in all seminars is compulsory. During the course, the students must also complete written and oral achievements. The teacher responsible for the course may, however, grant exemptions in extraordinary cases.

Detailed information concerning the teaching is given in the annexed study plan. The instruction is based on the annexed list of literature.

Assessment

In order to pass the course, all the obligatory phases of the course must be completed. The examination takes the form of a written test at the end of the course with a maximum time limit of five hours. The course is graded on the basis of the written test and the written achievements during the course (see above Teaching). Detailed information is given in the annexed study plan. In extraordinary cases a student will be able to perform the final exam in another way, for example at an oral exam. Students who fail are provided a re-take examination (see the annexed study plan).

The examination is a so-called open book test which means that legislation, course literature, and other course material may be used. Dictionaries and the student’s own hand-written notes are also allowed.

It is prohibited to attempt to use deceptive means to influence the outcome of an exam or other ways of evaluating student performance such as essays. This entails inter alia the following points. A student may not use non-permitted aids or materials during a written examination. It is also prohibited to pass off another person’s work as one’s own work, in other words, to engage in plagiarism. See the specific instructions given during the course in this respect. In addition to the result of the exam or other way of evaluating student performance being reduced or declared null, a student who, in the above or other ways engages in cheating will be reported to the University Disciplinary Board. The Board can issue formal warnings or disbar the student from studying at the university for a period of up to six months.

The grades given for the course are Fail (U), Pass (B), Pass with credit (Ba), and Pass with distinction (AB).