Melbourne Law School The Melbourne Law Masters

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Subjects 2009


Corporate Taxation A (Shareholders, Debt and Equity) 730629

Objectives

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

  • Have an understanding of the policies, detailed rules and current practical problems involved in the taxation of companies and shareholders, particularly at the shareholder level
  • Have an advanced understanding of the policies underlying Australia’s imputation system, shares, corporate distributions, debt-equity integrity rules and corporate rollovers.
Syllabus

This subject consists of a detailed examination of the tax rules applied to companies and shareholders in a domestic setting in Australia, with a focus on issues at the shareholder level. Students may also (but are not obliged to) complete Corporate Taxation B (Companies and Consolidation), which is an advanced subject with a detailed focus on corporate tax losses and taxation of consolidated groups.

Principal topics will include:

  • The policy and problems of taxing companies and shareholders
  • The corporate-shareholder imputation system
  • Taxation treatment of contributions of share capital and assets to a company
  • Share value shifting
  • Taxation of company distributions and dealings with interests in companies, including liquidations and share buybacks
  • Private company deemed dividends
  • Franking credit and capital streaming and associated anti-avoidance rules
  • Debt-equity classification
  • Corporate rollovers.