This course introduces the fundamental principles of the Canadian federal income tax system. We focus on building the vocabulary of taxation and exploring the social, political, and economic factors that shape the development of the law. By the end of the course, students should understand why societies tax, who and what they tax, and how they do so; be familiar with the general structure and principles of the Canadian federal income tax system; and develop skills in close, critical reading and interpretation of primary and secondary legal sources.

The central focus of the course is on the tax principles for the treatment of revenue, losses, and expenses earned or incurred by individuals. We further discuss general tax policy issues and situate the income tax within the broader Canadian tax system. To ensure students obtain a practical understanding of tax law, the course also introduces the tax administration and dispute resolution frameworks.

Throughout the course, students have the opportunity to build their skills in interpreting complex statutes and applying tax rules to facts. The course uses a combination of lectures, videos, short exercises, and problems for discussion, which provides students with several opportunities for active learning.

In modern and contemporary society, taxation stands as a fundamental means to articulate a conception of economic and distributive justice. Tax policy choices reflect a people’s views over the desired size and shape of government and, more profoundly, its social, political, and cultural aspirations as a society. Yet, in a globalized economy, domestic tax policies cause significant externalities for other states. As a result, a country’s tax policies influence and are significantly constrained by other countries’ policies.

In this course, we discuss some of the main theories of global justice and examine how they apply to taxation. We consider how tax systems across the globe relate to each other and analyze the role of international tax policy in addressing global justice concerns, particularly in light of the existing international inequalities and the increasing influence of global social structures in the international tax domain. From the lens of global justice, we explore several contemporary issues that shape tax policymaking worldwide, such as tax avoidance and tax competition, the tax challenges brought about by the increasingly digitized economy, and the ongoing reallocation of the international tax base.

The course uses a combination of readings, written assignments, in-class discussions, and in-class exercises to promote rigorous critical thinking, active reading, and effective verbal and written communication. The course also focus on how to author a legal research paper.

Consumption taxation is the most important source of tax revenue worldwide after income taxation. Still, although the latter is comprehensively studied in basic tax law courses across the country, law schools often provide limited opportunities for students to discuss and learn about the economic, political and legal complexities of consumption taxation. Many economists favour consumption taxation due to its neutrality on economic actors. Consumption taxes are also considered to provide a more efficient instrument for controlling the economy in the interests of economic stability than income taxes. Nonetheless, the implementation of consumption taxation raises relevant questions about equity and distributive justice due to its potential regressivity.

The primary form of consumption tax in Canada is the federal Goods and Services Tax and, in some provinces, the Harmonized Sales Tax or the Provincial Sales Tax. Most Canadians pay consumption taxes daily on the goods and services they acquire. Globally, consumption taxes account for a significant and growing proportion of tax revenues. Beyond its pervasiveness and apparent simplicity, consumption taxation elicits interesting political and legal questions. From a political perspective, the adoption of the Goods and Services Tax in Canada in the 90s faced the opposition of almost 80 percent of Canadians, despite the wide support of most public finance scholars. From a technical standpoint, the Canadian consumption tax is globally unique. It generally mirrors the European-style value-added tax but is one of the few worldwide to have been successfully implemented at a subnational level.

This seminar examines the nature and application of consumption tax law in Canada but will also explore some common principles of consumption taxes in other jurisdictions. It discusses fundamental issues such as consumption versus income as a basis for taxation, overviews its underlying principles and policies, and analyzes the Canadian rules under the Excise Tax Act. Students will learn the rationale for taxing consumption, the different forms of consumption taxes, the key principles of modern consumption tax systems, and how those principles are operationalized in the Canadian tax system. In addition, students will learn how to problem solve by applying normative concepts together with the basic technical rules. The seminar will help students develop important legal skills, such as statutory interpretation, analytical thinking, problem-solving, and writing. Taxation Law is not a prerequisite.