AF439

Advanced Issues in Contemporary Taxation

Course Outline
1. TRIMESTER/YEAR: 2, 2021

2. MODE OF DELIVERY/LOCATION: Face to Face at Laucala and Blended at all

other Campuses.

3. PRE-REQUISITES: Admission into post Graduate Program

4. COURSE CO-ORDINATOR: Fazrul Rahman

5. TEACHING TEAM

Name: Fazrul Rahman (Coordinator)

Office: S250 [014 –S250] (FBE Building)
Phone: 9907076
Email: [email protected]; [email protected] (preferred contact)
Consultation Hours: Friday 5-6pm

6. LECTURE TIMES & VENUE: Tuesday and Thursday 5-8pm, School of

Accounting, Finance and Economics, Postgraduate Lecture Theatre
7. EMERGENCY CONTACT

Name: Seruwaia Lupe

Phone: 323 32517
Email: [email protected]

8. COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Course Advanced Issues in Contemporary Taxation AF439 aims to assist you
to formulate an appreciation of taxation at an advanced level. The course will use
case studies based on actual schemes that have eventuated and recent
developments, rather than being based purely on texts, which can become outdated
quickly. Some case studies that will be used during the semester will be constructed
based on current and potential new developments in this area including transfer

AF439 Course Outline – Trimester 2/2021 Page 1

pricing, tax avoidance and the Capital Gains Tax. The course will draw on various
materials, which address current issues and controversies surrounding the subject
and focus primarily on the Income Tax Act of Fiji and other primary legislation. The
subject does not intend to make you into legal experts like lawyers. However, it
intends to give you a basic knowledge of the tax system operating in the USP
region, and of the legal framework for taxation. It should provide you with a
foundation for further studies in taxation, and enable you to be familiar with various
forms of taxation like, Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Customs
and Excise Tax, Corporate and partnerships tax and individual taxation.

9. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
evaluate and demonstrate knowledge of the different aspects of taxation
L1 in Fiji based
on Fiji’s tax legislation.
explain the importance of the different aspects of taxation in Fiji based on
L2 Fiji’s tax
legislation.
critically examine and analyse the various possible ways of taxing
L3 different entities
including individuals, partnerships, corporations and trusts.
L4 critically examine the Value Added Tax Act and Capital Gains Taxes.
evaluate the politics, economical and social impacts, of different tax
L5 arrangements,
including tax avoidance, transfer pricing and anti-avoidance strategies.
critically evaluate the impact that tax laws have had on development of
L6 accounting
practice and standards.
L7 critically evaluate arguments in favour and against taxation and its impact

10. USP GRADUATE OUTCOMES

The USP graduate outcomes are as follows:
GO1 Pacific Consciousness: Engage innovatively with the diverse cultural
heritages of Pacific Communities to support sustainable development in a
global environment.
GO2 Communication & ICT Literacy: Articulate ideas in written and oral modes
across a range of contexts, including the professional and scholarly, using ICT
tools where suitable.
GO3 Creativity: Expand the boundaries of current knowledge, theories and
practices at the forefront of a discipline.
GO4 Critical Thinking: Engage critically with scholarly and professional issues,
demonstrating the capacity to solve problems and manage uncertainty.
GO5 Ethics: Demonstrate the ethical standards of the professional code of practice
in their discipline, recognising the implications of their decisions.

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GO6 Professionalism: Apply the knowledge, skills and standards expected of a
professional in the discipline, demonstrating the capacity for leadership and
continual improvement
GO7 Autonomy: Demonstrate autonomy, initiative and responsibility in scholarly,
professional, social and personal decision-making.
GO8 Research and Scholarships: Demonstrate increasing levels of knowledge of
a field and the associated skills and methods of research for the advancement
of scholarship and/or professional practice.
GO9 Collaboration: Demonstrate consultative and collaborative approaches to
scholarly enquiry and/or professional practice.
11. COURSE CONTENT
Week Content Description
1 Tax Administration This module provides an update on tax administration
[17 May 2021] models across the globe as well as policy and
administration reforms including future initiatives.
2 Personal Income Taxation This module discusses tax regimes for individual
[24 May 2021] taxpayers, partnerships and trusts.
3 Corporate Income Tax This module discusses corporate income tax system by
[31 May 2021] focusing on design issues, definition of income,
deductions, tax rates and related matters.
4 International Taxation This module present global and domestic taxation
[7 June 2021] challenges and policy responses in the area of
international tax. It will focusses on tax treaties, thin
capitalization rules and related matters.
5 International Taxation This module focusses on transfer pricing by referring to
[14 June 2021] international models and domestic law response as
well as major case laws.
6 Mid Semester Test
[21 June 2021]
7 Value Added Tax This module focusses on the Value Added Tax regimes
[28 June 2021] by referring to laws and practice. General references
will be made to the current Fiji’s VAT Bill 2020.
8 Capital Gains Tax, Fringe This module focusses on Capital Gains Tax and Fringe
[5 July 2021] Benefits Tax Benefits Tax regimes and its connection with the
income tax regime.
9 Special Tax Regimes This module focusses on Presumptive Income Tax,
[12 July 2021] Mining Tax and Non Resident International Shipping
Tax regimes
10 Anti-Avoidance This module explores modern approaches towards
[19 July 2021] addressing tax avoidance schemes. Tax avoidance,
evasion and general compliance matters will be
discussed.
Due Date to Submit 15% Group Assignment
11 Revision to Final Exam This week will be about preparing for the final exam.
[26 July 2021]
12 Study Week
[2 Aug 2021]
13 Final Exam Week [Date of Exam : TBA]
[9 Aug 2021] Exam will account for 50% of the overall course weighting. Exam will be marked out of 100%
and 40% minimum pass in the exam is required to pass the course.

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12. PRESCRIBED TEXT AND OTHER RESOURCES

Textbook:

This Course will be taught by way of lectures and references to the Income Tax Act
2015 and the Tax Administration Act. Other tax laws and Regulations will be referred
to. Emphasis will be made to the Standard Interpretation Guidelines issued by
FRCS.
Supplementary Reading Materials

The moodle page has sufficient readings and activities that will help you to
understand tax concepts. However, as post graduate students you can supplement
your readings with any relevant journal articles.

13. ALIGNMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES, ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENT

The following table demonstrates the alignment of the course learning outcomes to
appropriate activities and assessments and the links to programme and USP
graduate outcomes.
Course Associated Assessment Programme USP Graduate Outcomes
Learning Teaching and Outcomes
Outcome Learning
Activities
CLO 1 Lecture, tutorial MST & P1, P5 Critical thinking
tutorial
participation,
Quiz 1
CLO 2 Lecture, MST & P2,P5 ethics
tutorial tutorial
participation,
Quiz 1
CLO 3 Lecture , MST & P4, P5 Critical thinking
tutorial Tutorial
participation,
Quiz 1
CLO 4 Lecture, tutorial MST & P5, P7 Professionalism
tutorial
participation,
Quiz 1
CLO 5 Lecture, Quiz 2 Final P5, P7 Critical thinking, Teamwork
tutorial, group Exam
work
Assignment
CLO 6 Lecture, tutorial Quiz 2 & final P5, P1, P3 Critical thinking
Exam
CLO 7 Lecture, tutorial Final Exam, P5,P7 Critical thinking, Ethics
Quiz 2
Assignment

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14. ASSESSMENT

14.1 ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO

No. Assessment Description Due Date Weight

1 Tutorial Class contribution, separate TBA 5%

assessments on Quiz Type Questions
2 Group Essay on advanced taxation topics to 19 July, 2021 15%
Assignment be done in a group with up to 5
students. Topics will be uploaded
before Week 2 lecture. These will
cover advance topics on taxation of
Trusts, Dividend Taxation, Transfer
Pricing, Tax Base Erosion and Profit
Shifting, Digital Economy Taxation
and others.
3 Mid Multiple choice question, essay and 24 June, 2021 30%
Semester case study. Week1 to Week 5
Test materials will be covered in the test.
4 Final Exam Multiple choice question, essay and TBA 50%
case study. 40% minimum pass rate
in final exam to attain an overall pass

14.2 PASSING THE UNIT

In order to be awarded a pass in this unit, students must:

In order to be awarded a pass in this unit, students must:

Achieve an overall mark of at least 50% in the course.
Score at least 40 out of 100 for the final exam (equal to the min 20% for the
course)
You DO NOT need to obtain a minimum mark in the coursework element,
including the test(s).
students will not be exempted from MST or Final exam due to work
commitments. If students are not sure they must withdraw from the course.

14.3 GRADE DISTRIBUTION

A+ A B+ B C+ C D E
85-100 78-84 71-77 64-70 57-63 50-56 40-49 0-39

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14.4 ASSESSMENT POLICIES AND REGULATIONS
For detailed regulations, please refer to the USP Handbook and Calendar.

Plagiarism, copying materials from other sources without proper referencing and
acknowledge of the source is a serious offence and will be dealt with severely. In
the Regulations Governing Academic Misconduct section of the USP
Handbook & Calendar plagiarism is defined as “the copying of another person’s
creative work and using it as one’s own – without explicitly giving credit to the
original creator. Work copied without acknowledgement from a book, from
another student’s work, from the internet or from any other source”. If lecturer is
satisfied that plagiarism has occurred, they will report the matter to the Head of
School. They can reduce marks appropriately. If the matter is seen as serious
enough it can be taken to the Student Disciplinary Committee by the Head of
School.

15. IMPORTANT DATES

Weighting
Activity Session (%)
Tutorial In class 5%
MST 24/06/2021 30%
Assignment 19/07/2021 15%

16. ADDITIONAL COURSE ATTENDANCE

16.1 TUTORIALS OR WORKSHOPS

There is a workshop component of the course which will assist you in your
learning. This will be composed as part of the three hour lecture sessions.. To
pass any course where tutorials are required, you must attend at least
60% of these to be eligible to pass the course. Students who do not meet
the 60% minimum requirement will fail the course under [Clause 1.3 (e) of the
Assessment Regulations outlined on Page 445 of the USP 2017 Calendar.]

Your first point of contact will be with your Lecturer in the workshop sessions.
Further clarification can be sought from the lecturer/tutors during their
consultation hours. The workshop will focus on enhancing your knowledge on
the topic and concepts learnt in the lectures.

Workshops will commence in the second lecture session of the semester, and
address issues addressed in the lectures and assigned readings for the
previous week. You will be required to undertake a number of tasks in
preparation for the sessions. You will be advised of these tasks through the
course Moodle page. You must attempt workshop tasks and participate in
tutorial discussions on the topics covered.

16.2 GROUP ASSIGNMENT

You will be required to do a group assignment. The assignment will be posted
on the Moodle with all the details. The assignment will require an essay to be
written on a taxation topic.

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 Each group will consist of four- five students. You must submit a hard and a soft
copy of the assignment per group. Marks will be equally allocated to each
member and some form of evidence are to be provided, if requested (in the
event of complaints from other group members of some not participating), to
show member contributions.

17. STUDENT SUPPORT

17.1 ONLINE HELP & e-Learning INFORMATION

Website URL Details

FRCS stance on
http://www.frcs.org.fj Income Tax Act
2015

17.2 FACULTY STUDENT LEARNING SUPPORT (SLS) SERVICES

Please visit the teaching staff during their assigned consultation times. They
will be able to assist you in understanding the course content.

The School also provides SLS through the following staff, who coordinates
peer mentoring for many courses at Laucala Campus. SLS also conducts
workshops and provides assistance with general study skills such as listening,
speaking, writing and referencing. Please visit their website for more details
http://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=8434.

Name Ms. Roshila Singh Ms. Pauline Ryland

Office 091(CELT Building) Room 014 091(CELT Building) Room 015

Email [email protected] [email protected]

Phone 323 2184 323 2146

You can also provide feedback and suggestions about the course through the
Accounting and Finance Student Association (AFSA). Information about AFSA is
available at http://www.afm.fbe.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=8040.

18. EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

18.1 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Students are expected to:

Visit moodle regularly for class news and notices
Attend all lectures, tutorials, and tests unless hampered by illness in which
case you must inform your course coordinator.
Arrange with the team members to work in their own times on the assignment.

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 Facilitate the course coordinator with any proof that he/she was sick and
unable to attend classes or assessment at the earliest possible time to
avoid getting a zero mark for the missed assessment.

18.2 STUDENT WORKLOAD

TYPE Hours Comments

Lectures 30 10 x 3 hours of lectures per week
Self-Directed Learning 48 4 x 12 Read Act and review lectures and do tutorial
(During semester) questions.
MST 12 2 hours of test plus two hours per day during the
revision break (5 x2)
Final Exam 15 3 hours plus three hours per day during the study
break(4 x3)
Total 105

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