This course provides students with a framework for thinking about tax planning. This framework has two principal advantages. First, it is designed to have value long after the recent and next tax law change. Second, the framework is portable, in that it can be applied to any set of tax laws - those of the United States or any other country. Although the course generally focuses on U.S. based transactions and planning examples, the underlying ideas are applicable in other jurisdictions. Once developed, the framework is applied to a variety of business settings. The applications integrate concepts from finance, economics, and accounting to achieve a more complete understanding of the role of taxes in business strategy. The course also includes periodic focus on the financial accounting ramifications of tax planning. Moreover, the course content has valuation related implications.
The following groups will profit from this course: financial executives (e.g. CFOs), entrepreneurs, private equity professionals, investment bankers, financial analysts, and consultants who want to have a competitive advantage by understanding how taxes impact the structure and value of various types of transactions.
Topics include the following: tax planning for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; taxation of structures for new businesses (e.g., C Corps, and LLCs); tax planning for financing transactions, including cross-border financing, executive compensation (e.g., incentive stock options); and others.
Business 30000. Business 35200 useful. No prior tax knowledge is needed for this course. Cannot enroll if BUSN 20170 previously taken.
Textbook: Erickson, Hanlon, Maydew and Shevlin, Taxes and Business Strategy, 6th edition (Cambridge Publishers). Casebook: Erickson, Cases in Tax Strategy, 8th edition (available for purchase electronically from study.net). Weekly handouts.
Based on short assignments, cases, and a final exam. No early final grades.
Description and/or course criteria last updated: August 08 2023
