Kurset blir i utgangspunktet gitt på engelsk, med pensum på engelsk, og derfor foreligger også kun kursbeskrivelsen på engelsk. Dersom det er kun norsktalende studenter på kurset, vil norsk bli brukt som forelesnings/seminarspråk.

This course bridges macro and micro related topics and brings sustainability and inequality into the curriculum under the broader umbrella of taxes. Emphasis is on understanding the basic structure of the tax system, how taxes affect behavior by individuals, and how this again is related to inequality and sustainability. Teaching is research based and draws on current newspaper articles and policy debates, and emphasis is put on discussion in class.

The companion course BUS360 introduced you to basic concepts and definitions of taxes, inequality and sustainability and provided a better understanding of how taxes affect individuals` behavior. The current course expands on these insights and studies how taxes affect firm`s investment, employment, location, profit shifting decisions, and how this then relates to inequality and sustainable development.

The majority of the lectures will be a combination of lectures and seminar discussions, where the students are divided into groups for presentation/discussion assignments.

The goal is to integrate current economic events and developments in the course. For instance, as the covid-19 crisis evolved during spring 2020, we changed the curriculum to include lectures on the economic impact of covid-19 and on implications of the measures taken to lessen the negative effects on the economy.

Knowledge

After completed course, the student should have knowledge on the topics covered by the course:

• The anatomy of the corporate tax - across time and countries
• Tax effects on firms` decisions
• Interactions between firms and owners
• Tax avoidance and evasion by firms - and implications for inequality
• Challenges to taxing corporations in a globalized world
• Tax competition across countries and the role of tax havens
• Multinational corporations` profit shifting
• Taxes, growth, development, and inequality

Skills

After completed course, the student should be able to:

• Give an account of basic terminology of taxes, inequality, and sustainability
• Describe the anatomy of the corporate tax - across time and countries
• Describe how firms can participate in tax avoidance and evasion- and how this affects measured inequality
• Describe how taxes affect firms` decisions
• Explain the underlying shortcomings in the corporate tax system that facilitates multinational corporation`s profit shifting
• Give an account of the size of multinational corporations` profit shifting
• Explain why developing countries are particular vulnerable for multinational corporation`s profit shifting.

General qualifications

After completed course, the student

• Masters basic tax and inequality terminology
• Has a basic understanding of corporate tax system and its challenges in a global economy
• Is able to participate in a discussion on the challenges to taxing corporations in a globalized world

The course curriculum will be specified on the course page on Canvas and consists of research papers from the research frontier, reports, and newspaper articles, and builds partly on research by NMBU`s Skatteforsk - Center for tax and behavioral research.

You may sign up for e-mail updates with relevant tax news here.

Class presentation/discussion: Bestått / Ikke bestått

School exam, 2 hours electronic exam: Bestått / Ikke bestått

If the class presentation/discussion is not passed, the course has to be taken again. No continuation exam will be arranged in this course. Both tasks (class presentation/ discussion and school exam) must be passed in order to pass the course.