Introduction to Income Tax (B650)

Leandra Lederman

Description

The principal subject matter of this course is federal income tax law as it applies to individuals. Topics covered in this course include what constitutes income; what is deductible; the tax treatment of gains and losses; and which income items are taxed at preferential rates. Learning to read and apply the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations is an important focus of this course. The course uses the "problem method;" although some court cases will be discussed at length, class discussion will generally focus on application of the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, cases, and other sources of tax law to the factual situations in the problems in the casebook. Policies underlying the tax law will also be discussed. This is an introductory course with no prerequisites. This course is a prerequisite for most other tax courses.

Course Web Site

Find the course Web site at webcourses.lexisnexis.com.

Course Readings

The required books for this course are:

• Burke & Friel, Taxation of Individual Income, 8th ed., and 2008 Supplement (available online).
• Selected Federal Taxation Statutes and Regulations (CCH 2007-2008).

First Day Assignment

The following is the reading assignment for the first class:

• Obtain and read the first 5 pages of the syllabus (also located at course web site at webcourses.lexisnexis.com).
• Read the Casebook Preface (pp.v-vi), pp.4-8 of the Casebook (stop before Part V), and Appendix 1 of Casebook (pp.1095-1100, Researching the Tax Law).
• Read Internal Revenue Code § 1(a) and the note above § 1; look over the Table of Code and Regulations Sections beginning at page xix of the CCH Code & Regs.
• Look over the structure and content of Rev. Proc. 2007-66 (included in front portion of CCH book, starting at page ix, or obtain on Lexis by typing the citation above at "Get a Document").
• Read the Chart ("Road Map of a Tax Return,"”available on the LexisNexis webcourses site and also attached to the Syllabus as the last page).
• Look over and bring to class the first 8 pages of President and Mrs. Bush's 2007 tax return—stop before Schedule E; print it out from: www.taxhistory.org/thp/presreturns.nsf/Returns/43394514D22A89F185256E750075F0F4/$file/GW_Bush_2007.pdf).