Tax Law

Code:

D305

Acronym:

DFISC1

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Legal Sciences

Instance: 2004/2005 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Course/CS Responsible:	Law

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
D	126	Official Study Plan - LD	3	-	7	-

Objectives

a)Knowledge of the basic tax principles and techniques;
b)Grasp and understanding of the basic structure of income taxes;
c)Basic knowledge of international tax law, specifically the structure of conventions on double taxation (basic techniques and concepts).

Program

GENERAL PART
INTRODUCTION
1. Object and Methodology
2. Portuguese taxes

CHAPTER I
PRINCIPLES FISCAIS
1. Introduction
2. The Neutrality Principle
3. The Progressiveness Principle
4. The Equity Principle
5. The Efficiency Principle
6. The Simplicity Principle
7. The Reciprocity Principle
8. The Non-discrimination Principle
9. The Territoriality Principle
10. The Residence Principle
11. The Nationality Principle
12. The Transparency Principle

CHAPTER II
TAX SYSTEMS
1. Introduction
2. Income vs. Expense
3. Taxing Property Wealth

CHAPTER III
TAX ON PRIVATE INCOME
1. Introduction
2. The Principle of Residency and the Principle of Territoriality as regards Tax on Private Income
3. Deductions and Discounts
4. Income Tax Rates
5. Conclusions

CHAPTER IV
TAX ON COMPANY INCOME
1. Introduction
2. Taxable Income
3. Carrying Over of Losses
4. Exemptions
5. Tax Withholding and Payment on Account
6. “Tax Havens”
7. Conclusions

CHAPTER V
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ADOPTING
TAX BENEFITS
1. Introduction
2. The Tax Benefits Statute

CHAPTER VI
THE INTERNATIONAL SCALE
1. Introduction
2. Conventions regarding Double Taxation
3. Unilateral Measures
4. Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS
The Challenge of the 21st Century

SPECIAL PART
THE PORTUGUESE TAX SYSTEM AND CONVENTIONS REGARDING DOUBLE TAXATION
1. Introduction
2. Principles of Interpretation
3. The Portuguese Tax Reform
4. Residence Criteria

5. Fixed Establishment
6. Dividends, Interest and Royalties
7. Pensions
8. Elimination or Reduction of International Double Taxation
9. Conclusions
10. Attachment

The Impact of Unilateral Tax credit in the USA, the United Kingdom and in other Tax Systems
1. Introduction
2. The USA’s Experience
3. The United Kingdom’s Experience
4. Other Countries’ Experiences – General Perspective
5. Final Observations

Sub-capitalisation in the Portuguese Tax System
1. Introduction
A. Recent Trends in the Portuguese Tax System
2. The Portuguese Sub-capitalisation System
A. Choosing the Indebtedness / Own Capital Coefficient
B. The International Scale
C. Sub-capitalisation and the Portuguese Network of Conventions regarding Double Taxation
D. The Non-discrimination Principle
3. A Comparative Perspective of The European Union
A. The German Case
B. The British Case
C. The Dutch Case
D. Other EU Cases
4. Conclusions
5. Attachment

Tax Treatment of Derivatives
1. Introduction
2. Fundamental Principles
3. Commercial Law Definitions
4. Tax Treatment of Derivatives: Internal and International Aspects
5. Conclusion

Non-Government Organisations: Some Legal and Tax Aspects
1. Introduction
2. What are Non-Government Organisations (NGO(s))?
3. The Legal Form Adopted by Non-Government Organisations
4. The Legal and Tax Treatment of NGO(s) in the European context
5. Brief Aspects of International Tax Law
6. Conclusions

The Portuguese Taxation System: The Challenges of the New Millennium
1. Introduction
2. The Reform of Property Taxation
3. The Portuguese Tax Authorities: the “human capital” factor
4. Conclusions

Main Bibliography

TEIXEIRA, Glória – A Tributação do Rendimento, perspectiva nacional e internacional, Almedina, 2000
TEIXEIRA, Glória (co-ord.) – A Tributação do Trabalho Dependente, Vida Económica, 2000 (Freitas Pereira, David Williams, Arthur Pleijsier)
FEYO, Diogo – A substituição fiscal e a retenção na fonte: o caso específico dos impostos sobre o rendimento, Coimbra Editora, 2001
TEIXEIRA, Glória – Taxing Corporate Profits in the EU: A Comparative Study. A Comparison of the Portuguese British and Dutch Systems, Klwer, 1997
SANCHES, J. L. Saldanha; TEIXEIRA, Glória; ESTEVES, Jaime; RODRIGUES, João – Jurisprudência fiscal anotada, STA, Almedina, 2001
SANCHES, J. L. Saldanha – Manual de Direito Fiscal, Lex, Lisbon, 1998
FREITAS, Pereira – Teoria Geral do Imposto, Lisbon, ISEG, 1999
Periodicals:
Fiscalidade / Cadernos de Ciência and Técnica Fiscal / Intertax / EC Tax Review / Financial Times / The Economist.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical classes: Exposition of the contents of the discipline with the support of case-studies.
Practical classes: The students have to solve exercises of Financial Law and of Tax Law.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Eligibility for exams

The marks the student must get have to be equal or higher than 10, in a scale of [0,20] in one of the following hypotheses:
a)Written final examination;
b)Oral final examination (if the student obtained in a) a mark between 7 and 9.

Calculation formula of final grade

Are the marks obtained in the examinations referred in “Frequency Attaining”

Examinations or Special Assignments

None

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

General LAw and rules enforced in FDUP

Classification improvement

Is obtained by doing a written or an oral examination