Overview
This advanced course examines lawful tax planning, tax compliance management, and risk control for individuals, businesses, and organizations. Students distinguish legitimate planning from aggressive avoidance and evasion through analysis of statutory purpose, substance over form, anti-avoidance provisions, disclosure obligations, taxpayer rights, and professional ethics.
The course covers registration, recordkeeping, return preparation, payment systems, audits, investigations, objections, appeals, penalties, interest, voluntary disclosures, and dispute resolution. Planning applications include entity selection, income and deduction timing, remuneration, investment, retirement, succession, property, international mobility, financing, and business restructuring, with attention to statutory limitations and changing policy environments.
Students research current legislation and administrative guidance, perform accurate calculations, identify compliance risks, design internal tax-control procedures, prepare practical advice, and communicate uncertainty. Emphasis is placed on defensible recommendations, audit readiness, ethical judgment, and comparison of alternatives using financial, legal, and reputational criteria.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate tax planning strategies against legislative requirements, anti-avoidance principles, professional ethics, and reputational considerations.
- Interpret current tax legislation, administrative guidance, filing requirements, and taxpayer rights to support defensible professional advice.
- Calculate tax liabilities, deductions, penalties, interest, and payment obligations accurately for complex individual and organizational cases.
- Design compliance workflows incorporating registration, recordkeeping, return preparation, payment monitoring, review controls, and escalation procedures.
- Diagnose tax compliance risks and formulate proportionate controls for audits, investigations, voluntary disclosures, and regulatory change.
- Prepare client case files, tax planning reports, compliance schedules, and audit-response correspondence using appropriate evidence and documentation.
- Compare alternative structures and transactions using financial, legal, operational, and reputational criteria while stating assumptions and uncertainty clearly.
- Synthesize ethical and legally defensible recommendations for objections, appeals, dispute resolution, business restructuring, property, succession, financing, and international mobility matters.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
| Practicum | 2 hours | Fortnightly | Second term |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Legislation and guidance research memorandum | 20.00% |
| Deliverable | Tax compliance workflow and control schedule | 20.00% |
| Capstone | Integrated client tax planning case file | 30.00% |
| Assignment | Audit-response letter and supporting evidence plan | 15.00% |
| Test | Applied tax calculations and compliance test | 15.00% |
Prerequisites
- Requirement Admission to advanced study in law, taxation, accounting, finance, or a related discipline.
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.