Ohio State University
Fisher College of Business
AMIS 7784
Tax Research
Spring 2013
Web site for course
Dr. Raabe
http://fisher.osu.edu/~raabe_12/amis_646.htm
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Case studies requiring an in-depth examination of the tax aspects of
situations frequently encountered by businesses and individuals. Prereq:
AMIS 7400 or equivalent
MATERIALS
Required
Reference
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Raabe, Whittenburg, Sanders, Federal Tax Research,
9th ed (2012), ISBN 1-111-22164-2
Primary law sources, internet sites, and commercial
research material, located in university and law
school libraries in traditional formats, and in
electronic formats on the OSU library site.
This course is designed to:
Develop knowledge about the various sources of federal tax law.
Apply a systematic tax research methodology in solving complex
taxpayer-oriented tax problems.
Develop critical thinking skills in analyzing various tax law sources,
allowing construction of alternative solutions to tax problems in a
manner that will help to attain taxpayer financial and tax planning
goals.
Strengthen speaking and writing skills, as needed by practicing tax
professionals.
Strengthen professional communication skills through collegial
discussion and teamwork.
Students are assumed to be interested in becoming business advisors, with
an emphasis on financial and accounting subject matters. Previous tax
education is assumed to entail only one previous course, focused on
individual taxation or tax planning. The course will not convey any specific
technical tax concepts that have not already been addressed in other OSU
tax courses. The concepts and work habits acquired, though, will form a
solid foundation for further study and practice.
PROCEDURES
There are a number of scheduled tutorials as to content, but most of the course is carried
out in a laboratory format. Students work in assignment groups of two. Most of the work
uses documents found through online resources. Groups should sit together during class
time, and at least one member should connect a laptop to the internet before class starts.
Assignments are detailed below. Because of our limited class time, it is imperative that
you do the assigned reading BEFORE the class meeting. In this way, our time can be
directed toward the material that you have found to be the most difficult.
Regular class attendance will improve your chances of meeting the course objectives.
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. According to University Rule 3335-31-02, all
suspected cases of academic misconduct will be reported to the Committee on Academic
Misconduct.
DISABILITY SERVICES
The Office of Disability Services verifies students with specific disabilities and develops
strategies to meet the needs of those students. Students requiring accommodations based
on identified disabilities should contact the instructor at the beginning of the quarter to
discuss his or her individual needs. All students with a specific disability are encouraged
to contact the Office of Disability Services to explore the potential accommodations
available to them.
GRADES
Some assignments can be completed electronically. Send those to raabe.12@osu.edu by
11pm of the indicated due date.
Major assignments Ground rules: open book, work in teams, half of the points on
content, half on format-spelling-professionalism.
Assignment 1, 10 points
Assignment 2, 15 points
Assignment 3, 25 points
Assignment 4, 25 points
Worksheets Ground rules: open book, work in teams, all points on content. 5 course
points each. Submit by 11pm of due date.
The grading scale for the course is likely to be as follows. Pluses and minuses may be used
as well.
90A, 80B, 70C, 60D
ASSIGNMENTS
The course schedule is as follows.
Date
Read Text Chapter before Class
In-Class Materials
Graded Items
3/4,6
3/18,20
3/25,27
4/1,3
1, Tax Practice
2, Tax Research Methodology
11, Communicating Tax Research
3, Legislative Sources
Slides
Slides
Slides
Slides
4/8,10
4/15,17
4/22,24
4, Administrative Sources
5, Judicial Sources
6, Tax Services
Slides
Slides
Slides
4/8 Submit Assignment 1
4/15 Submit Assignment 2
4/22 Submit Assignment 3
6/4
8, Citators
Final Exam
Schedule
Submit Assignment 4
WILLIAM A RAABE, PhD, CPA, graduated from the University of Illinois. His family moved to Columbus in June 2001. He was the
Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Taxation at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Capital University's (OH) only Distinguished
Professor. Bill also taught at Arizona State University, Samford University (AL), and the Capital University Law School. He has been active in the
tax education functions of the major accounting firms, and he created nationally marketed software for estate and gift planners.
His scholarly articles appear in journals for both academics and tax advisors. His books include undergraduate and graduate texts, as well as
several professional reference works, the latest of which is published by CCH: Schedule M-3: Book-Tax Differences. Bill testified as to tax matters
before legislative committees in two different states, and in the courtroom as an expert witness. He is a faculty advisor to the OSU teams in the
Deloitte Tax Case Competition and the PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax Policy Competition (“xTax”), and he founded and coordinates the Fisher/OSU
Tax Clinic.
Bill’s teaching and research interests include:
federal, state and local, and international taxation
financial and retirement planning
charitable gift techniques
taxation and management of exempt organizations
electronic learning theory and applications
Office hours
MW 11:30 - 12:30 pm and by appointment
Contacts
raabe.12@osu.edu 430 Fisher Hall 614.292.4023
Dr Raabe’s Web Site
http://fisher.osu.edu/~raabe_12
Dr Raabe Online
BillRaabeTax on Twitter and Youtube