General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3072 |
| Course name: | International Business Taxation |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Commercial, corporate and financial law |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No but preferably having taken Business Association and/or Company Law |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
| Cap on student numbers: | 30 |
1.2 Course description
This course aims to provide students considering pursuing a career in corporate or commercial law, accounting or wealth management with the theoretical and practical skills to identify and analyse tax issues and to advise effectively both corporate and individual clients. Taxation plays a critical role in commercial transactions and corporate structuring in Hong Kong and throughout the world. This course will focus on a close examination of the Inland Revenue Ordinance and of the extensive case law on point. On a practical level, we will also consider relevant guidance and practice notes of the Inland Revenue Department, with a view to enabling students to understand how Hong Kong and international taxation operate in practice and to develop strategic and commercial awareness. Having acquired a sound theoretical basis in revenue law, students will be expected to apply that knowledge to tax structures and issues commonly encountered by corporations and high net worth individuals in Hong Kong. We will further cover tax policy issues, including an analysis of Hong Kong’s territorial taxing jurisdiction, international taxation, broadly-based indirect taxation and taxation compliance, with a view to providing an understanding of Hong Kong tax in the broader social, political, and international contexts. Where appropriate, these issues will be compared and contrasted with the taxation system of Mainland China as well as other common law jurisdictions such as the UK and Singapore.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Stefano Mariani | stefanodmariani@gmail.com | N/A | By email |
| Course convenor | Wilson Chow | wschow@hku.hk | CCT 1015 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Demonstrate, and be able to apply, their understanding of:
A. the general concepts and principles of Hong Kong taxation on income, with a focus on the analysis of the salient statutory provisions of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap 112, LHK) and the administrative practice of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department, particularly, in regard to:
-Salaries tax;
-Profits tax;
-Property tax; and
-Personal Assessment;
B. Statutory construction: tax law is statute-driven and students will refresh their familiarity with the essential canons of statutory construction and take purposive and analytical approaches to construe potentially ambiguous words and phrases.
C. The taxation system in Mainland China and international tax, specifically with reference to the double taxation agreements to which Hong Kong is party, and tax planning opportunities that arise from the application of such agreements.
D. Case law analysis of Hong Kong and common law decisions on point and understanding how judicial interpretation affects statutory construction.
E. Practical application of tax law to corporate structuring and wealth planning scenarios. Students should be able to advise businesses and individuals in Hong Kong on their liability to tax and how to improve their tax efficiency.
CLO 2 Advise in writing, on the options and the appropriate course of action to be taken by a taxpayer in practical tax dispute and tax structuring scenarios.
CLO 3 Identify controversies and recommend policy and/or law reform changes to the above topics from both local and comparative regional perspectives.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class attendance and participation | N/A | 10% | 1 | 1 |
| Take home mid-term assessment | 11 Oct 2022 | 40% | 1, 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Take home final assessment | 20 Dec 2022 | 50% | 1, 3 | 1, 2, 3 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | Will be uploaded to Moodle |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/