Courses

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

• LAW TX 936: Taxation of Bankruptcies and Workouts
  Study of the tax and opportunities arising in bankruptcy and nonbankruptcy workouts of individuals, partnerships, and corporations. Topics include cancellation of indebtedness income from the reduction or renegotiation of debt, gain or loss recognition on foreclosures and similar property transfers, restrictions on net operating loss carryovers, special tax consequences of the restructuring of partnership debt and equity, the taxation of the bankruptcy estate and its owners and creditors, and trust fund tax penalties on officers, directors, and other individuals. Prerequisites or corequisites: Introduction to Corporate Tax and Partnership Tax I.
• LAW TX 937: Taxation of Trusts and Fiduciaries
  Income tax consequences arising upon the death of a decedent and special income tax treatments of estates, trusts, and fiduciaries. Topics include determination of gross income and allocation between the decedent and the estate or trust; special problems with income in respect of a decedent; separate and conduit taxation of estates and trusts; allocation of tax attributes between an estate or trust and its beneficiaries; grantor trust rules, and other topics. Prerequisite: Federal Income Taxation I.
• LAW TX 939: Outbound International Tax
  The current international tax environment can be fairly described as verging on chaos, with considerable pressure on the traditional approach sharing international tax revenues amount countries based on residence of the taxpayer or source of revenues. This course will examine the important areas relating to the U.S. taxation of U.S. corporations' foreign operations in the context of these international developments. This course is designed for those students who are interested in practicing in the international tax area or who are interested in exploring in considerable detail one of the Internal Revenue Code's more complex statutory regimes. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) promulgated some of the most significant changes in US international tax rules in history, including those of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. For purposes of this course, the most relevant change was the creation of an annual US tax charge on US corporations under the rules relating to GILTI (Global Intangible Low Taxed Income) and its sister provision, FDII (Foreign Derived Intangible Income). Factoring in changes from the TCJA, this course will involve an in-depth analysis of the rules relating to the foreign tax credit, including the increasingly-important source-of- income and allocation-of-deduction rules, the calculation of the deemed paid credit, the various foreign tax credit limitations, and the look-through and foreign-loss rules. We will address the anti-deferral provisions under Subpart F of the IRC, including the revised definitions of U.S. shareholder and controlled foreign corporation, the determination of the various types of subpart F inclusions, and the effect of partnership and disregarded entities on the application of these rules. We will then address the GILTI provisions and their interaction with both the subpart F and foreign tax credit provisions. Finally, we will consider the FDII rules and compare these rules to the GILTI provisions. This course should place the students on a solid path to a career in international tax in these very interesting times. Pre or co-requisite: Tax Aspects of International Business (recommended)
• LAW TX 950: Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving
  Charitable gift planning has long been a crucial component in wealth management and estate planning. It remains an important factor in the "tool box" of estate and tax professionals. While humanitarian commitments remain the primary motivating force behind private philanthropy, the tax benefits associated with charitable strategies and techniques have assumed greater importance as our system of taxation has grown increasingly complex. This course will examine the federal tax implications (income tax, gift tax, estate and generation skipping transfer tax, and capital gains tax) of key strategies associated with charitable gift planning for incorporation into the overall estate plan. Topics covered will include types of charitable entities, requirements of a charitable gift, charitable alternatives (private foundations, donor advised funds and supporting organizations), split interest transfers (charitable remainder and lead trusts), bargain sales, gifts of complex assets, and testamentary transfers. Case studies will be used to illustrate optimal intervivos and testamentary planning for creating flexibility while avoiding pitfalls. None. Recommended: Federal Income Taxation I, Federal Income Taxation II and Estate and Gift Taxation.
• LAW TX 951: US Transfer Pricing
  This course examines the US transfer pricing system. A close reading of the Code and regulations will be expected as well as a detailed consideration of the major transfer pricing decisions. There is no other assigned text. The theme of this course is to bring students to an understanding of how the law has developed in this area focusing closely on the interplay between case law and regulatory enactments. Students should expect to encounter a reasonable amount of supporting economic and accounting analysis as they work their way through the course, and come to an appreciation of how this area of the tax law relies considerably on the blending of these three analytical perspectives.
• LAW TX 952: Comparative VAT
  This course considers the details of the world's leading Value Added Tax system, the E.U. VAT. Students should expect to acquire a good grounding in the major legal instruments of the community (regulations, directions and decisions) which have binding effect on the member states as well as the recommendations and opinions which do not. Case law will be considered primarily from the leading decisions of the European Court Justice, although an occasional decision or two from domestic courts will be included. Major developments in the E.U. VAT are expected to be covered, including: (1) the adoption of the "reverse charge" mechanism as a response to widespread carousel fraud, (2) the inclusion of a transfer pricing regime under Rationalization Directive, and (3) proposals for major changes in the place of supply rules in services and intangibles. There are no pre-requisites for this course.
• LAW TX 953: Inbound International Taxation
  This course will cover the U.S. tax rules applicable to taxation of income from U.S. (and sometimes foreign) sources received by corporations and individuals that are non-residents of the United States. In some cases, such income will be derived from passive investments and be in the form of dividends, interest, rents, or royalties. In other cases, the income will arise from active business activities. The course will address the concept of residence and entity classification, the U.S. source of income rules, the U.S. withholding tax rules (including the obligations of withholding agents) with respect to non-business income, the types of activities that can generate a "trade or business" (tax nexus) in the U.S., the U.S. rules for determining income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business and thus taxable in the U.S., the branch profits tax, FIRPTA (foreign investment in U.S. real property) and the U.S. rules applicable to financing U.S. operations owned by non-U.S. taxpayers Finally, we will address the impact of tax treaties on the taxation of income of non-residents. This course will be of interest to students who will represent foreign resident taxpayers with economic operations in the United States. Prerequisite or corequisite: Federal Income Taxation I; Recommended: Tax Aspects of International Business
• LAW TX 955: Taxation of Intellectual Property
  Intellectual property- from sophisticated aerospace technology to computer software and web applications to music and video rights- is one of the most important, challenging, and sophisticated areas of modern commerce. However, because the IP revolution has occurred in only the last 25 years, many of the traditional principles of income taxation are not easily applied to IP assets. This course will explore the tax aspects of creating intellectual property, buying intellectual property, exploiting IP through leases and licenses, and strategies for selling valuable IP rights with the best tax results. The course will also explore important international tax issues, including the so called "migration" of IP offshore, cost-sharing arrangements, and other mechanisms that seek to "locate" IP and the associated tax liabilities in tax-favorable jurisdictions. The course will teach the tax differences between copyrighting and patenting a software program, the right and wrong ways to license and sell a trademark, and the mechanisms for turning a "license" into a "sale" and thereby converting ordinary income into capitol gains.
• LAW TX 956: Tax Court Practice
  This course focuses how to effectively represent taxpayers before the United States Tax Court. The course begins with an introduction to the history, organization and jurisdiction of the Tax Court. Students will examine the procedural and strategic decisions arising in litigation of federal tax controversies before the Tax Court. The matters covered in the class include: choice of forum, pleadings, discovery, motions practice, pre-trial procedures, stipulations, settlement negotiations, trial procedures, trial, post-trial briefs and procedures, opinions, decisions and appeal.
• LAW TX 957: Comparative Income Taxation
  This course considers different solutions adopted by nine industrialized countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to common problems in income tax design. It responds to the need for a broader understanding of the way that tax matters are handled in different countries as business transactions become increasingly global. The course presents a policy-focused overview of variant tax treatments in individual, business (corporate and partnership) and cross-border transactions. The intent is not to develop an expertise in any one, or any group of tax systems, but rather to provide a comparative knowledge base upon which a further, in-depth inquiry can be based. Course Structure: This course follows an assigned text. After the opening class the course is structured in three equal (four-class) segments on (1) Individual, (2) Business and (3) International tax topics. An effort will be made when appropriate to update the materials in the text, allowing us to discuss some current problems.
• LAW TX 958: International Estate Planning
  The course will cover international estate planning from two perspectives: (1) U.S. citizens residing outside of the U.S. or owning assets located outside of the U.S.; and (2) foreign citizens residing in the U.S. or transferring assets in or to the U.S. U.S. gift and estate tax laws applicable to both situations will be studied in depth in a practice-oriented manner. Planning techniques and vehicles utilized in international estate planning will be explored, in particular trusts and the special U.S. income tax rules applicable to foreign trusts with U.S. beneficiaries and off-shore U.S.-grantor trusts. The impact of non-U.S. transfer taxes and tax treaties will be considered, as well as non-tax foreign laws impacting on international estate planning. The course will also cover the U.S. tax and estate planning issues applicable to "mixed marriages" where one spouse is a U.S. citizen and the other is a non-U.S. citizen, and multi-jurisdiction situations of gifts or bequests from non-U.S. donors or decedents to U.S. beneficiaries. Finally, the course will also consider cultural and ethical issues peculiar to the area of international estate planning. Prerequisite or corequisite: Estate and Gift Tax, Estate Planning
• LAW TX 959: Making Tax Law
  The course explores how U.S. tax law is made in order to provide context and perspective for interpreting the various provisions of the tax law. It examines how considerations of tax policy, tax politics and tax administration contribute to the development of law through the legislative process, the promulgation of regulations and other administrative guidance, and the negotiation and ratification of tax treaties, as well as interactions and judicial evaluations of all of the above. In other words, the course explores what happens on the road to tax law and what causes those twists and turns. It necessarily discusses issues of tax policy, but the principal focus is on process. We will use traditional cases, legislative documents, and other materials. Pre or corequisite: None
• LAW TX 968: Tax and 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: Business Succession Planning
  This course will cover the practical, tax, financial, accounting and ethical considerations in succession planning for the family business owner. It will propose strategies to deal with the psychological hurdles and pitfalls business owners face when doing this planning, such as giving up control or equity in the business during their lives and determining equitable ways to treat children actively involved in the business and children who will not participate in operating the family business. It will compare the various vehicles used in succession planning and discuss the different levels of protection and the fiduciary standards between using a trust, business entity and private trust company to encourage entrepreneurship. It will discuss ways to separate the business's control and equity for purposes of doing lifetime planning for the business owner as well as for benefiting children both inside and outside of the business. It will compare the typical estate planning strategies for family business owners, including life insurance trusts, buy-sell agreements, GRATs, sales to grantor trusts and freeze partnerships. It will also cover the ethical issues involved when working with business owners in their succession planning, including identifying who your client is, navigating conflicts when doing planning with the business in trusts or otherwise and provide best practice and practical tips for advisors to avoid these ethical dilemmas. The materials will also deal with passing on an operating business to key employees while retaining a portion to pass on to one's children. The materials will cover income tax planning that can be used when a senior family member intends to sell the family business for cash while still alive, when an earnout is part of the sale, the pre-sale due diligence a business owner should undertake before the business is offered for sale, and how the income tax costs in a lifetime sale can be reduced by integrating lifetime charitable planning. Prerequisites: TX901, TX902, TX930, TX933, TX904
• LAW TX 970: No Gain No Pain ? Opportunity Zones, Like Kind Exchanges and QSBS Strategies
  Since 1986, when Congress aggressively shut down many conventional tax shelters and tax "loopholes", tax planning has been largely a "defensive" exercise, trying to avoid inadvertent, catastrophic mistakes, rather than seeking smart tax-advantaged opportunities. This course will try and put the "offense" back into tax planning. This course will examine three Code sections that offer sophisticated tax-planning opportunities that can allow taxpayers to dramatically reduce their tax burdens: 1) use of Opportunity Zones (Code Section 1400 Z--2) to defer gain from existing investments and avoid gain entirely from OZ investments; 2) Code Section 1031, Like Kind Exchanges, for deferring gain on the sale of real estate indefinitely by investing in other real estate; and 3) Code Section 1202 and 1045, that allow investments in qualified small business stock (QSBS) to avoid up to $10 million of gain (or, if greater, ten times the tax basis invested), and also to rollover and defer gain indefinitely under Code Section 1045.
• LAW TX 975: Estate Planning and Drafting
  This course will focus on the tools and techniques used in drafting estate planning documents. The objective will be to provide students with a hands- on opportunity to understand what it means to design and implement an estate plan in order to achieve a client's dispositive wishes while factoring in transfer taxes, probate, trust administration, choice of fiduciaries and other important considerations. We will work through planning situations from the ground up and evaluate both the technical and practical aspects of what goes into drafting an effective estate plan. Prerequisites: Estate Planning LAW TX 935 and Estate and Gift Taxation LAW TX 904
• LAW TX 977: Elder Law
  Understanding the differences between Medicare and Medicaid. Exploring the operation of a Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Proxy in connection with the admission of a loved one to a nursing home. A walk through the Federal and corresponding Massachusetts Medicaid Regulations as they relate to: understanding what is a countable and non countable asset for Medicaid eligibility purposes: exploring the five year look back period versus the period of ineligibility resulting from disqualifying transfers along with related exceptions to these rules; discuss real estate as a countable and non countable asset including the different treatment of a primary residence, vacation home and rental properties along with ways to convert these countable assets to non countable assets; last minute planning techniques with annuities and personal care contracts; understanding the drafting and operation of Medicaid Irrevocable Trusts including a complete analysis of the Income, Gift and Estate Tax consequences of using these trusts from Grantor Trust rules to step up in basis, use of life estates along with real life fact patterns that explain the planning opportunities and related pitfalls to be avoided.
• 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 981: Criminal Tax
  This Course will cover the legal, evidentiary, and procedural challenges presented in the prosecution of criminal tax cases. Class discussion will cover basic criminal tax violations found in United States Code Title 26 and a selection of federal crimes found in Title 18. The Course will also cover: IRS and Department of Justice, Tax Division practice and procedure; IRS audit, appeal and collection procedure and parallel civil and criminal tax procedures; the various methods of proof used by the IRS in investigating and prosecuting criminal tax fraud cases; federal grand jury practice; financial records search warrants; federal conspiracy and money laundering offenses; testimonial and document production immunity; foreign evidence processes, including select portions of the Title III of the USA PATRIOT ACT (also known as the International Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act of 2001; and application of criminal tax offenses to terrorism financing cases.

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