General provisions

Determined on May 18, 2020 by Faculty of Law's Teaching Committee, Uppsala University, by virtue of Chapter 6 Section 14 and 15 of the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100). The course plan enters into force on August 15, 2021.

In General

The course is the second course at the Master's Programme in Comparative and International Tax Law. The course is 15 university points (15 ECTS credits). The course is a mandatory course for the degree of Master of Laws (60 credits) LLM, according to the degree requirements adopted May 12, 2020 by the Board of the Faculty of Law of Uppsala University. The course is held in English.

Entry requirements

Be admitted to the Master's Programme in Comparative and International Tax Law.

Learning outcomes

After this course students should individually be able to:

• identify problems and suggest adequate solutions to these by interpreting and applying tax treaties including the Multilateral instrument,
• understand problems related to transfer pricing, and to suggest legal solutions to these by using adequate material and methods,
• identify problems in cross boarder situations and suggest adequate solutions to these by using adequate methods and materials,
• present, orally as well as in writing, complicated problems and arguments for objective-oriented solutions (for instance argue the case of the applicant or the defendant in a moot court).

Grading criteria

The grades given are Fail (U), Pass (B), Pass with credit (Ba), and Pass with distinction (AB). The grades F-A will also be used.

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 objective is to provide knowledge of tax treaty law and transfer pricing. Tax treaty law may also be part of a moot court exercise arranged in connection with the master's programme. Different forms for elimination of double taxation will also be subject to study. A number of different tax treaties will be studied, including tax treaties with developing countries formed according to the UN Model Tax Convention. OECD and UN materials on tax treaties, and on transfer pricing will be studied. Alternative methods to transfer pricing will be introduced, primarily "formulary apportionment". The objective, method and application of the "Multilateral instrument" (MLI), which is a multilateral treaty adding a new set of treaty articles to already existing tax treaties, is thoroughly studied and discussed.

Instruction

All teaching and materials are in English. The teaching is given through seminars where students discuss cases previously prepared in smaller groups of three to five students. There are also lectures and field trips (study visits).

Participation in all sessions is compulsory. If a student misses more than 3 sessions (lectures/seminars/study visits, etc.) complementary assignments will be given (see annexed study plan).

During the course, the students must also complete written and oral achievements. The course director may, grant exemptions in extraordinary cases. However, complemen­tary assignments may be given.

The course may contain a moot court (in Sweden or elsewhere).

Detailed information concerning the teaching is given in the annexed study plan. The instruction is based on the annexed list of literature. Additional reading assignments will be provided during the course.

Assessment

In order to pass the course, students must fulfil all compulsory elements. Examination will be made through individually written memoranda, oral presentations and a written exam at the end of the course.

Detailed information is given in the annexed study plan. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator. Students who fail are provided a re-take examination (see the annexed study plan).

The written exam 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 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.

Other regulations

Acceptance of courses on other programmes

The course director decides according to Chapter 6, Sections 6-8 of the Higher Education Ordinance on taking into account similar courses undertaken with other universities.

Delegations

It is delegated to the programme director to issue the study plan and to the course director to issue the literature list. These shall be annually submitted to the Teaching Committee as part of the programme report.