Pace University

Lubin School of Business

New York City Campus, Pace Plaza, New York

Syllabus

Tax 639 CRN 53356 Fall 1999

Instructor:

Dean L. Surkin, Esq., Adjunct Professor

Moore Stephens, P.C.

331 Madison Avenue, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10017-5102

Phone: (212) 682-1234;  Fax: (212) 687-8846

Internet: dsurkin@moorestephensnyc.com

Office hours:

By appointment, during regular business hours

Required and Recommended Materials

 

Required books:          Gertzman, Federal Tax Accounting, Published by Warren Gorham & Lamont, Student Edition

Internal Revenue Code
Internal Revenue Regulations

Course Description and Prerequisites

Federal Tax Accounting. This course contrasts the difference between tax accounting and business accounting. It covers cash method, accrual method, inventories, changes in methods, and other topics, times permitting.

The prerequisite for this course is the successful completion of Tax 626, Tax 627 and Tax 695. Substantial professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the prerequisite subject to departmental and instructor written approval. Warning: pursuant to departmental policy, students without the prerequisites or a written waiver may be removed from class. This course is not open to students who have completed Tax 636.

Course Objectives

To teach substantive tax law, how to analyze a tax situation, how to recognize tax issues, how to learn the applicable tax law for a situation the student has never before encountered, and ultimately to learn the political and social shaping of the tax law. Students will address ethical issues in tax law as they relate to each topic.

Procedure for students with disabilities who wish to obtain accommodations or auxiliary aids for this course

Pace University has a procedure that must be followed to insure that any disabled student who is entitled to accommodations and auxiliary aids may obtain them.

If you have a disability for which you wish to obtain an accommodation or auxiliary aid for this course or any other course or program at the University, you must contact the University’s Counseling/Personal Development Office. For New York, call extension 1526. For Pleasantville and White Plains, call extension 3710. Trained professional counselors will:

Your professors are not authorized to provide accommodations or aids prior to your arranging for accommodations or aids through the Counseling/Personal Development Center. Neither are your professors authorized to contact the Counseling/Personal Development Center on your behalf. You must contact the Counseling/Personal Development Center directly in order for the University to be placed on notice of your request for accommodation. In order to insure that the Counseling/Personal Development Center has sufficient time to process your request, you should contact the Center at the earliest possible time, in advance of your need for the accommodation, preferably before the semester begins.

Following this procedure will ensure timely and efficient handling of your request for accommodation or auxiliary aids.

Course requirements and grading

Exams: There will be an in-class final exam. The final will be open book, and will likely comprise essay/computational problems. All students will be on the honor system.

Components of the final grade: The exam will be 80% of the final grade, and class participation will be 20% of the grade. See below for a discussion of class participation. Penalties for late work: Not applicable.

Attendance policy: Class attendance is vital to understand the course work. If you must miss a class, you don't have to tell me – just have a classmate tape the lecture, or loan you notes (make sure you have a friend who takes good notes).

Class participation: The burden of learning is yours. If you have ever tried to teach something, you will understand this little gem of philosophy. I use the Socratic method, combined with some lecturing. The Socratic method means that I ask you questions, and you answer them. Based upon your answers, I ask different questions. Ideally, my questions will guide you to an understanding of the topic. For this to work, you must do all assigned reading before the class session, and work out all the assigned problems (if any). Do not hand in the homework, but use your answers as a guide to the class dialogues. I will call on each of you in turn. You will learn best if you are prepared. Your answer does not have to be right. I recognize effort. I do not expect you to know the correct answers, and in fact, we will have the best dialogues if your answer is a well thought-out wrong answer. You have to pay close attention to my dialogues with other students, and not doze off when I have not called on you; you will also learn well if you can follow another student's mistakes and determine what he or she did wrong, and why. You will get a good grade for class participation if you try. You will get a bad grade if you are unprepared.

Course Schedule

Because the Socratic method takes varying amounts of time depending upon class size or student enthusiasm, I cannot tell you exactly when we will cover each of the units below. My goal is to do all the chapters cited below by the end of the term.

Reading Assignments:

1.         Overview

Code § 446

Treas. Regs. § 1.446-1(a)-(d)

Text Chapter 2

2.         Accounting Periods

Code § 441

Treas. Regs. § 1.441-1, 1.441-2

Text Chapter 10

3.         Cash Method

Code §§ 448, 451, 453(a), 453(d), 461(a), 461(g)

Treas. Regs. §§ 1.448-1T(a)-(c), 1.448-1T(e)-(f),1.451-1(a), 1.451-2,1.446-1(e), 1.461-1(a)(1), (3)

Text Chapter 3

4.         Accrual Method

Code §§ 451(a), 461(a), 461(h), 461(f)

Treas. Regs. §§ 1.448-2T, 1.451-1(a), 1.461-1(a)(2), 1.461-4, 1.461-5, 1.461-2(a)-(e)(1), 1.468B

Text Chapter 4

5.         Inventories

Code §§ 471, 263A

Treas. Regs. §§ 1.446-1(c)(2), 1.471-1, 1.263A-1T

Text Chapter 6

6.         Installment Method

Code §§ 453(a)-(f), 453(i), (j), 453(l)(1), 453A(a)-(d)m 453B(a)-(c), (f), (g)

Treas. Regs. § 15A.453-1

Text Chapter 5, ¶ 5.05-5.07

7.         Original Issue Discount

Code §§ 1271-1275, 1276-1278, 1281-1283

Treas. Regs. § 1.1271-1, 1.1272, 1.1273, 1.1274, 1.1275

Text Chapter 11

8.         Claim of Right and other topics

Code §§ 111(a)-(c), 1341

Treas. Regs §§ 1.111, 1.1341-1

Text Chapter 12

9.         Change in accounting method

Code § 446, 481

Treas. Regs. § 1.446-1(e), 1.481-2,

Text Chapters 8-9

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