Insegnamento a.a. 2022-2023

Classes: 31 (II sem.)

Instructors:
Class 31: CARLO GARBARINO

There are no prerequisites for the course. The course is open also to students who have not previously taken a course in tax law or international law.

The course is particularly suited for those students interested in international corporate taxation and related job opportunities in private practice and in the corporate sector. The course is the only elective course in international taxation offered in the graduate degrees. The course which pairs seminars and case studies to traditional lectures - provides a sound theoretical framework as well as practical tools for dealing with the typical issues encountered in global tax consulting. The course is divided in two sections, which are aimed to combine the international, EU and comparative approaches to the transnational dimension of taxation. The first section deals with international and EU tax law: this section is aimed at providing a general framework of the subject matter, together with the discussion of case studies. The second section aims at covering the basic issues of corporate taxation with a comparative approach, focusing on the connections between taxation and business strategy.

Section One (International and EU Tax Law):

• International tax treaties and the OECD Model Tax Convention (tax treaty formation, tax treaty interpretation and key definitions).
• Basic international taxation rules (tax residence, permanent establishment).
• Investment income: dividends, interest, royalties.
• Other categories of transnational income.
• Principles of international tax planning and analysis of tax treaty case law (including optional presentations by Students).
• EU tax law (general principles, sources, tax coordination).
• The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in income tax matters (including optional presentations by Students).

 

Section Two (Comparative Business Tax Law):

• Basic concepts on the taxation of business income.
• Basic methods of comparative taxation.
• Comparative analysis of corporate taxation and circulation of models.
• The taxation of multinational group of companies.
• Selected Issues (Distribution of profits; Intra-group financing; global tax consolidation; CFC rules).

In addition, the course provides some practical instruction on how to conduct bibliographic research on international taxation using the resources available through the Bocconi Library and on the drafting and editing of the final paper.

At the end of the course student will be able to...

At the end of the course student will be able to

• Recognize the key issues of international taxation.
• Illustrate the principles of tax planning.
• Explain the most relevant aspects of comparative business law.
• Identify the main features in cases from the Court of Justice of the European Union.
• Select the most relevant aspects of a tax treaty.

At the end of the course student will be able to...

At the end of the course student will be able to

• Analyze and interpret the most relevant and widespread elements of international taxation.
• Compare different situations in business taxation.
• Discuss on problems concerning cross-border taxation.
• Arrange a presentation on a case of the Court of Justice of the EU or on a tax treaty.
• Organize and develop a paper on an international tax theme.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)

During the course, external guest speakers  give talks on specific issues of international taxation.

There is the possibility for students to give a presentation on a case study, concerning one of the topics of the course.

	Continuous assessment	Partial exams	General exam
Individual assignment (report, exercise, presentation, project work etc.)			x

During the semester, a set deadline is scheduled for the assignment of the titles of the take home paper, which is the only exam assessment method. Therefore, it is not possible to include the course in the study plan in a given academic year and take the exam in the same year unless the student has not been formally assigned a paper title by the agreed deadline.

For the assignation of the final paper title, students should wait for the publication of the list of available titles (released each year by late March/early April) and then forward their preferences to the Professors.

The exam consists exclusively in the submission of the final paper in electronic format by the deadlines established in the Syllabus (typically 10 days before the date of each exam session).

The course is based on materials that are placed in the course platform. The suggested reference books are:

• C. GARBARINO, Taxation of Bilateral Investments, Cheltenham, Elgar, 2019.
• A.K. HOLMES, International Tax Policy and Double Tax Treaties. An Introduction to Principles and Application, Amsterdam, IBFD, 2014, 2nd edition.