University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Bryan School of Business and Economics
Department of Accounting and Finance
ACC 420: Federal Tax Concepts
Syllabus for SPRING 2015, T / R 12:30 - 1:45PM in Bryan 204
Instructor Dr. Jenna Meints
Office Location Bryan 339
Office Hours* Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30AM – 10:30AM, or by appointment
Office Phone
Email
336-334-5647 jmmeints@uncg.edu
Tutoring Hours*
Last updated November 29, 2014
Prerequisite
ACC 318, Intermediate Accounting I, or equivalent, with a grade of C or better
Course Description
The goal of this course is for you to be able to recognize and to analyze issues that carry tax implications for individual taxpayers. This course will cover technical details of various tax laws.
You will utilize tax research resources. You will prepare at least one individual federal income tax return with tax software. You will present tax information to your class colleagues.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, you should be able to identify the tax reporting implications of the following issues.
1.
Filing status, standard deduction, personal exemptions, dependency exemptions, filing the return, tax rates, tax rate tables/schedules, and tax rate computation.
2.
Definition of gross income, year of inclusion, income sources, items specifically included in gross income.
3.
Items specifically excluded from Gross Income.
4.
Classification of deductible expenses, timing of expense recognition, and disallowance possibilities.
5.
Personal casualty gains and losses, personal thefts.
6.
MACRS depreciation, ACRS, amortization, and concepts relating to depreciation.
7.
Transportation expenses, moving expenses, education expenses, entertainment and meal expenses, other employee expenses, self-employed expenses, retirement plan contributions, accountability of the reimbursement plan, and the 2% floor on certain itemized deductions.
*Exceptions: (1) No office hours on Tuesday, February 17. Rescheduled to 10:45AM – 11:45AM on Wednesday, February 18. (2) No office hours on Tuesday, March 17. Rescheduled to
10:45AM – 11:45AM on Wednesday, March 18.
*Tutoring will be available in Bryan 335 for approximately eight hours each week of the semester. Specific times will be announced in class and posted to BB the first week of classes.
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 1

8.
General classification of expenses, medical expenses, taxes, interest, charitable contributions, and miscellaneous itemized deductions.
9.
Tax policy considerations, individual tax credits, specific business-related tax credits, other tax credits, and tax payments.
10.
Passive, Active, and Portfolio Income.
11.
Determination of gains or losses, basis considerations, concepts of nontaxable exchanges, like-kind exchanges, involuntary conversions, personal residence sale, and other nonrecognition provisions.
12.
Rationale behind separate reporting of capital gains and losses, capital assets, sales/exchanges, capital gains and losses tax treatment.
13.
Individual AMT.
In addition, you should be able to …
1.
…utilize tax software to complete tax returns.
2.
…utilize tax research resources.
3.
…identify tax issues in the media.
4.
…prepare and deliver an oral presentation.
Textbook and Required Course Materials
TEXTBOOK: Prentice Hall's Federal Taxation 2015 Comprehensive. Thomas R. Pope, Timothy
J. Rupert, Kenneth E. Anderson. ISBN: 0133807789. ISBN-13: 9780133807783. Edition: 28.
Pub. Date: April 2014. Publisher: Prentice Hall.
You do *not* need online access to textbook resources or TaxAct software. You need only the textbook (plus the software below). The textbook is available at multiple outlets online, including here: http://www.amazon.com/Prentice-Federal-Taxation-Comprehensive-
Edition/dp/0133807789 . It also is available on campus in the bookstore.
SOFTWARE: H&R Block Premium (Home, not Business) 2014 Edition (for all taxpayers). Or,
2015 Cengage Learning Tax Media Pack (for students). Both for filing 2013 individual income tax returns. A link to the full, more expensive 2014 Premium Edition is here: http://www.hrblock.com/tax-software/premium-tax-software/index.html
. The 2015 Tax Media
Pack (for students) is available in the UNCG Bookstore. Its identifying information follows.
2015 Tax Media Pack: RIA Checkpoint® Printed Access Card with H&R Block @Home™
CD-ROM (ISBN-10: 1285442709 | ISBN-13: 9781285442709)
INTERACTIVE CLASSROOM TOOL: i>clicker2: ISBN: 1429280476. Available online at multiple outlets, including here: http://www.amazon.com/I-Clicker-2-I-Clicker/dp/1429280476 .
Also available in the bookstore. i>clicker1 will work for this class as well.
You should bring your textbook, a calculator, your i>clicker2, and any relevant handouts from
Blackboard or Canvas with you to each class. If you miss a class, then it is your responsibility to get materials and information from another student.
Course Website https://blackboard.uncg.edu
or https://canvas.uncg.edu
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 2

Course Grading
Your final course grade will be determined as follows:
Exam 1 25% Thursday, Feb 26 – in class
Exam 2
Tax Return 1
25% Thursday, Apr 9 – in class
15% Friday, Apr 17 by 2PM
Presentation 15% As assigned i-Clicker responses to presentations 10% As assigned
Class Participation
Team Work
10% Every class, including introduction and reviews
Up to 2% extra credit added to final grade
Tax Return 2
Total Possible
Rough grading distribution
Up to 3% extra credit added to final grade
100% (105% with XC)
A / A- , 93% / 90%; B+ / B / B- , 88% / 83% / 80%; C+ / C / C- , 78% / 73% / 70%; D , 65%
Homework and In-class Exercises
There is no graded homework required for this course. That said, during some class periods we will do (ungraded) in-class exercises together that illustrate various parts of the federal income tax law. These exercises will be technical, textbook-related problem sets as well as questions that are meant to solidify your understanding of broad tax issues. The exercises will be posted to
Blackboard or Canvas ahead of each relevant class time for you to print out, if you so choose. I will not provide physical handouts in class, nor will I circulate or post the solutions to the inclass exercises after class. It is your responsibility to be present and attentive for each class and/or to contact a classmate who can provide you with the information and materials that you missed. Your exams will be based in large part on the concepts and topics covered in these exercises.
Exam Policies
You must take each exam to pass this course. Makeup exams are rarely given. Exams are multiple choice, closed book, proctored, and no notes are allowed. Each exam will list taxpayer scenarios in which you need to identify the issues that carry tax implications. For example, you will be given a description of several events in the life of a Taxpayer. You must then indicate which events carry which tax implications. For example, a tax issue that carries tax implications is the possible taxation of some social security benefits received by certain taxpayers, or the ability of a taxpayer to claim one’s daughter as a qualifying child. Other multiple choice questions will test facts, concepts, ideas, and issues that have been covered in the course textbook, media covered in class, class discussions, and all materials referenced in class.
Essentially, all material is covered on exams.
The system of individual taxation builds upon itself in complexity. Thus, Exam 1 covers all material up to that point. Exam 2 mainly focuses on material covered since Exam 1, but naturally includes the building blocks of taxation covered prior to Exam 1.
All exams should be completed on your own. If your cell phone makes any noise during an Exam, then your Exam will be collected at that time and you will leave the testing area. You will not be allowed to continue working on the Exam. Once exams have been distributed, you may not leave the classroom at any time before submitting your exam. If you leave the
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 3

classroom, then your testing time ends at that point regardless of the amount of the test that you actually have finished then.
Tax Return Project
Toward the middle of the semester, you will be given information about two taxpayer scenarios. You will be required to utilize the most recent edition of H&R Block Premium edition home software for Individuals to complete the first of these tax returns. The second return can be done for up to 3% of extra credit added directly to your final course grade. You must complete these tax returns on your own.
I expect you to navigate this software on your own. You will be prompted by the software program to answer a series of questions and input information from the scenarios that you will be given. Any prompt that you encounter through the software for which you have no information given in the scenario means that the issue being brought up by that prompt is not relevant for your taxpayer’s return. Learning new software feels awkward and uncomfortable at first. This is the classic learning curve of any new technology that you encounter in life. I encourage you to push through the initial discomfort. You may be surprised at how quickly it all starts to “make sense” if you just keep working through the software’s natural progression of questions and prompts.
I expect that you will have questions about the tax scenario itself and completing the respective tax return with the H&R Block software. It is up to you to plan in advance to meet with my teaching assistant about those questions. I suggest that you write down a list of questions that arise for you from initially reading through the problem, and then go talk with my teaching assistant about those questions during the assistant’s open tutoring hours. I suggest that you then attempt the entire tax return with H&R software. I suggest that you budget time for a second short meeting with my assistant after attempting to complete the full return with the H&R software so that you and that assistant can clear up any small issues that may arise for you with the software. You almost undoubtedly will have small technical questions.
I cannot overemphasize the fact that this is not a Night Before It Is Due project. Plan ahead. You have the information necessary to acquire the tax return software on Day One of class. There is no reason that you cannot become familiar with it before receiving the specific taxpayer information for this assignment. Keep in mind that if you wait until the last minute to bring your questions to my assistant, then you most likely will be competing with many other students for those minutes. Again, plan ahead and start the project well before it is due.
By Friday, April 17 at 2PM, you should turn in a physical copy of IRS Form 1040 pages one and two, and any relevant Schedules A-E for the required tax return. These must be produced with the most recent edition of H&R Block Premium edition home software for
Individuals. You must also e-mail me a PDF file of all Forms, Schedules, and Worksheets by the same time. You should put your completed tax return in the manila envelope (provided for you in class). Seal the envelope. Sign across the seal, such that opening the envelope would break through your signature. Slide this under my office door by the deadline. Early submissions are fine. Late returns will not be accepted. Extra credit returns are due at the same time and in the same manner as the regular tax returns.
Please note that I have gone out of my way to make my teaching assistant available to only ACC 420 students throughout the semester for approximately eight hours per week. Take advantage of this wonderful resource, especially with respect to the tax return.
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 4

Tax Topic Presentation
You will be required to make a five minute oral presentation on a tax topic of your choice. There is a detailed grading rubric for this presentation at the end of this syllabus, as well as a more detailed description of relevant deadlines and actions of which one needs to be aware. You can choose a broad or narrow topic. I highly suggest choosing a topic that has *not* been covered at all in class. The point of this assignment is for you to present a tax issue for which you have some passion, personal interest, and/or a strong opinion. This project is structured to be flexible, open-ended, individualized, creative, original, and engaging.
Each of you has the option to present a topic on your own or in a pair. If you decide to present as a pair, then each student in the pair needs to e-mail me confirmation of the partner by the beginning of class start time on January 27, 2015. Students who decide to present in pairs will be responsible for eight minutes of content, in contrast to individual presenters who will be responsible for five minutes of content. The deadlines and processes remain the same for both pairs and individuals.
Some questions that may direct your thinking include… What aspects of the tax law seem unfair to you? Who benefits and who loses from certain provisions? How have certain tax law cases been decided in the favor of a party? How do certain aspects of the tax administration system and its enforcement function (well or not)? What frustrates you and/or what seems to make sense to you about certain individual tax laws? Which human behaviors are taxed as sins and which human behaviors are rewarded as good? Who determines these societal rights and wrongs? Who defines what you can and cannot do with income? (How) Is a rent on profits in the best interest of society / a party? What tax issues and events have been highlighted in the media?
What are some recent tax-related scandals?
Participation
Your participation grade will be based on your contributions to class. Please note that attendance alone does not equal contribution. Attendance is a critical precursor to active and fruitful contributions. More than two absences from class will result in a respectively lowered participation grade. I expect you to read relevant materials before class, speak up in the majority of class sessions, participate in group discussions and activities, bring tax-related topics to share with the class, follow along and help with in-class exercises, and be an active contributor in class in every sense. Excellent participation also means that your comments are thoughtful, focused, and respectful. Points will be deducted from the base score of 100% if you miss class, are late, leave early, disappear for long periods on break, or do not follow the contribution guidelines above for any reason. Please turn off cell phones during class and limit your computer use to note taking or looking up information only when required by class activities.
The development of a supportive learning environment is fostered by respectfully listening to the ideas of others, being able to understand and appreciate a point of view which is different from your own, clearly articulating your point of view, and linking experience to readings and assignments. We will cover a great deal of information in each class. If you will not be able to attend a class, let me know as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to obtain all information/content from your classmates. In order to fully participate in and benefit from each class session, students must complete required readings and come to class prepared to discuss them.
As part of your participation grade, you should e-mail me a digital photo of yourself as an attachment to the e-mail message by the start of Class #2. Also tell me your name, your past
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 5

experience with taxes (academic, professional, and/or personal), your professional interests, and something unique about you that will help me remember who you are.
Course Feedback
Informally, I welcome constructive criticism at any time about the course, specific assignments, my role as your instructor, topical coverage, or about anything related to the classroom environment and/or federal income taxation at the individual level. Your feedback would never be held against you in my class. Likewise, it will not earn you any favorable treatment. (If you are concerned about either possibility, then you may submit anonymous feedback to me. To do so, write down (or type up) your constructive comments, put them in an envelope, and give that envelope to the Department secretary in Bryan 383 to put in my mailbox. Your name is not needed on those comments.) Formally, I will ask you for anonymous feedback after Exam 1.
Academic Integrity
You and I are expected to abide by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy as well as by the
UNCG Codes of Conduct. I respect and expect you to uphold the UNCG Honor Code that includes, among other things, that you complete your own work on your own to the best of your ability. Cheating in my class results in automatic failure of the course. I will report the incident to the Honor Court for full due processing. This ends up being a lengthy and stressful process for both the student and the instructor. Please visit the following link to remind yourself of the full
Code. http://bae.uncg.edu/assets/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf
Policy on Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities that affect their participation in the course must notify me if they wish to have accommodations in instructional or examination format. I will work with the Office of
Disabilities and the student to make appropriate accommodations.
Late Work
Late work is not accepted.
Cell Phone Policy
Cell phones are a disruption to the learning process. Students are expected to turn off their cell phones during class. Any cell phone making noise during a class session will result in ejection from the classroom and a marked absence from class for participation purposes. Any cell phone making noise during an exam will terminate that student’s exam time immediately. Regardless of completion, the student will be graded on the basis of the entire exam.
E-mail Policy
Please allow at least 24 hours for me to respond to any e-mail(s) that you send to me. I try my best to respond as soon as possible, but this does not always happen as quickly as I wish it could.
I apologize in advance for any delayed responses. Please note that I rarely have the chance to read or respond to e-mails on Mondays . If you send me an e-mail after 5PM on a Sunday and before 2PM on a Tuesday when I finish teaching at UNCG, then I most likely will respond, at the earliest, Tuesday evening or Wednesday. Graduate Grading System:
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 6

Because of the volume of e-mails that I receive throughout the semester, I highly suggest that you send me just one message with multiple questions/issues at a time, if possible, rather than a sending me a series of e-mails with one issue each in rapid succession.
Blackboard, Canvas, and Technology:
For those who are not familiar to Blackboard, please consult the following resources:
Watch "Blackboard Video Tutorials" ( http://ondemand.blackboard.com/students.htm
)
Go to "Blackboard Help for Students" (http://help.blackboard.com/student/index.htm)
UNCG Canvas Resources (http://its.uncg.edu/services/service/canvas-learningmanagement-system)
Contact 6-TECH: (336) 256-TECH (8324); 6tech@uncg.edu
Class time and environment
I will respect you and your time. In return, I expect you to do the same for me and for your fellow classmates. I expect you to read the relevant materials before class. I will cold call during classes. If you are not prepared to contribute to a class session, then I suggest that you do not attend at all. Lateness and leaving/re-entering the classroom is disruptive to everyone and should be avoided.
Student Study Program through the Student Success Center
As a student in this course, you have the opportunity to participate in the Student Study Program
(SSP), which is one of the four programs housed in the Student Success Center located in the
McIver Building. SSP is designed to offer additional academic support for students enrolled in historically challenging classes that have high drop, failure, and/or withdrawal rates.
The purpose of SSP is to offer students the opportunity to form collaborative study groups of up to 4 of their peers. Students will be matched by the program coordinator with other students in the same course and section. To sign up or to learn more about SSP, go to http://success.uncg.edu/ssp/ . If you have further questions, you may also contact the Coordinator of the Student Study Program at ssp@uncg.edu
.
Tax Presentation Deadlines
(1) You must clear your topic with me at least two weeks before your presentation. This is the most time consuming process of this project. When you identify your topic and clear it with me, you should be able to tell me what two Tax Court cases you plan to use, including an overview of each. You must also identify what media coverage you plan to use. In essence, you must do the research for your presentation before you can lock in a topic. You are encouraged to check in with me during that planning process to see if your topic will be possible before you do the extensive research leading up to your final topic selection. (For example, has someone else already claimed the topic? First come, first serve.)
Presentations lasting 45 seconds more or less than 5 minutes will automatically be docked a certain percentage based on the length of the actual presentation. Students are allowed to ask questions throughout your presentation, which count toward the five minute limit.
Afterward, there will be an additional two minute Q&A period that is allowed but ungraded. You then are required to present three i-clicker questions to the class after your presentation and any possible Q&A up to two minutes. Two questions should Exam the students on something(s) that you covered in your presentation. The other question should poll the students about their opinion
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 7

or behavior related to something in your presentation. These questions do not count as part of your presentation time, which should be around 5 minutes.
If students have two full minutes worth of questions and comments after your presentation, then that time table would be as follows: 5 minute presentation. 2 minutes Q&A. 2-3 minutes for iclicker questions = 9-10 minutes per student presentation. Again, a grading rubric explaining my expectations is at the end of this syllabus.
(2) You must e-mail me a complete version of whatever presentation files you plan to use in your class presentation by 11:59PM three nights before you are scheduled to present. This includes i-clicker questions that you plan to ask and all appropriate citations. The file *must* be submitted complete and on time for you to receive feedback from me. I will review your work the following day and then send you detailed feedback. I expect you to be able to make necessary changes to your presentation between the time of my receiving my feedback and actually conducting your presentation.
(3) You must e-mail me the final version of any electronic files that you plan to use in your presentation by 9AM on the day of your presentation. If you will not be able to process my feedback and adjust your presentation given this timetable, then you should send me your presentation files in advance of this schedule. Early work is encouraged. Files sent (or not sent) after 9AM on your presentation date will be ignored. In other words, if you send me an updated file at 12PM on the day of your presentation, then you will not be able to use such. You will use whatever final files you sent to me by the 9AM deadline. (There are reasons for this madness…)
Here is an example of how the two latter deadlines work. Say you are scheduled to present on Wednesday, April 30. Your files are due to me via e-mail by 11:59PM Sunday, April
27. I will respond to you by the end of April 29. You need to be able to update your file with any suggestions that I make in the review process before your presentation on the 30 th send me the final version of whatever electronic files you plan to use on the 30 th
. You must
by 9AM on the
30 th
. I will have them ready for you in class on the 30 th
.
Here is another example of how the two latter deadlines work. Say you are scheduled to present on Monday, April 28. Your files are due to me via e-mail by 11:59PM Friday, April 25. I will respond to you by the end of April 27. You need to be able to update your file with any suggestions that I make during the review process before your presentation on the 28 th
. You must send me the final version of whatever electronic files you plan to use on the 28 th
by 9AM on the
28 th
. I will have them ready for you in class on the 28 th
.
Please keep in mind that no late assignments are accepted in this course. Thus, if you miss even one deadline of the three deadlines for the tax presentation, then you miss out on the opportunity to present altogether and you miss out on all credit for the presentation. No exceptions. To make sure that expectations are abundantly clear to each student, I have outlined key deadlines for each presentation date in the day-to-day schedule located here.
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 8

SCHEDULE OF CLASS TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
(subject to change at instructor’s discretion)
TOPIC CHAPTER ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE
Tues Jan 13
Thurs Jan 15
Introduction to Class NA READ Syllabus
Essentials and History 1, 11 INTRO, via e-mail DUE*
READ Chapter 1 (Indiv) and…
Sections of Chap 11 as follows: 11-1 - 11-10; 11-25, 11-26, 11-27
Tues Jan 20
Thurs Jan 22
Tues Jan 27
Thurs Jan 29
Tues Feb 3
Tax Research
Income Formula
Income Formula 2
Gross Income Inclusions 3
Gross Income Exclusions
C1
2
4
READ Chapter 1 (Corp)
READ Chapter 2
Presentation partners
READ Chapter 3
READ Chapter 4
DUE *
Thurs Feb 5
Tues Feb 10
Gross Income Exclusions
Deductions and Losses
Losses and Bad Debts
4
6 READ Chapter 6
8 READ Chapter 8 as follows:
Disallowance Possibilities p. 8-6 and 8-7
Passive Losses p. 8-7 through 8-17
Bad Debts p. 8-24 through 8-29
Thurs Feb 12 Itemized Deductions
Losses and Bad Debts
7
8
READ Chapter 7
READ Chapter 8 as follows:
Casualty and Theft Losses p. 8-17 through 8-22
Tues Feb 17 Team work as assigned, no formal class
Thurs Feb 19 Team work review Exam 1 Review Questions
*Exam 1 Review Questions are due by 5:00PM on Thursday, February 19 via e-mail to
DUE * jmmeints@uncg.edu
. Prepare two multiple choice questions for each chapter of I1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7,
8, and 11. Also, prepare four multiple choice questions that represent class discussions and content outside of the textbook. This is a total of 20 questions. Provide answer choices A-D for each question. These should be your original questions that you compose based on a review of each chapter and class coverage. Anyone who misses the deadline for this assignment may not come to class for the review session. The missed review session will count as an absence.
Participation grades will be adjusted for such.
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 9

DATE
Tues Feb 24
Thurs Feb 26
Tues Mar 3
TOPIC
Exam 1 Review
Exam 1
CHAPTER ASSIGNMENT DUE
I1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, discussions/materials
I1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, discussions/materials
Thurs Mar 5
Exam 1 Closure
Employee Expenses
Depreciation
9
10
READ Chapter 9
READ Chapter 10
Tues Mar 10 and Thurs Mar 12 – no class – spring break
Tues Mar 17 Team work as assigned, no formal class
Thurs Mar 19 Team work review READ Tax Return Information
H&R Block software overview – bring laptop and software to class. You should have downloaded and installed your software before this session.
Tues Mar 24
Thurs Mar 26
Tues Mar 31
Tax credits
Property Transactions
14
5, 13
READ Chapter 14, starting on p. 14-8
READ Chapters 5, 13
Property Transactions 11, 12 READ Chapter 12,
READ Chapter 11 as follows: p. 11-15 through 11-22, and p. 11-28
Thurs Apr 2 AMT and Catch Up 14 READ p. 14-1 through 14-8
Exam 2 Review Questions DUE*
Exam 2 Review Questions are due by 5:00PM on Thursday, April 2 via e-mail to jmmeints@uncg.edu
. Prepare two multiple choice (MC) questions for each chapter of 5, 9, 10,
11, 12, and 13. Prepare four MC questions for chapter 14: two on tax credits and two on AMT.
Prepare four MC questions from class sessions and non-textbook coverage. This is a total of 20 questions. Provide answer choices A-D for each question. These should be your original questions that you compose based on a review of each chapter and class coverage. Anyone who misses the deadline for this assignment may not come to class for the review session. The missed review session will count as an absence. Participation grades will be adjusted for such.
Tues Apr 7
Thurs Apr 9
Exam 2 Review
Exam 2
5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, discussions and materials
5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, discussions and materials
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 10

DATE
Tues Apr 14
TOPIC CHAPTER ASSIGNMENT DUE
Exam 2 Closure
Presentations – Date A
(Topic due by March 31; Final File due by Saturday, April 11)
Thurs Apr 16 Presentations – Date B
(Topic due by April 2; Final File due by Monday, April 13)
Friday, April 17 by 2:00PM – Tax Return(s) DUE*
Tax Returns are due by 2:00PM on Friday, April 17, 2015. Submit the physical return by sliding your signed, sealed manila envelope with the return in it under the door of Bryan 339. Electronic files are due via e-mail by this time as well. You must submit both the electronic return and physical return on time to receive credit. No late assignments accepted. Extra credit returns are due by this deadline as well. Put your completed extra credit physical return in the manila envelope with your regular return. Do not forget to send your electronic file to me via e-mail by this due date as well.
Tues Apr 21 Tax Return Closure
Presentations – Date C
(Topic due by April 7; Final File due by Saturday, April 18)
Thurs Apr 23 Presentations – Date D
(Topic due by April 9; Final File due by Monday, April 20)
Friday, May 1 -- 3:30PM-6:30PM Presentations – Date E
(Topic due by April 17; Final File due by Tuesday, April 28)
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 11

The following presentation rubric is only representative of how presentation grades will be determined and what is expected of each student. One does not necessarily need to meet all conditions specified in each box to earn that level of credit. Again, this is only a guide for what one can expect and for what one should accomplish with one’s presentation.
The key things that matter for the presentation are (1) the creativity and (2) planning that go behind the student’s topic choice, (3) meeting all deadlines with complete files at each step, (4) quality of legal research, (5) quality and quantity of respectable authoritative research, (6) research on what is happening in the media, (7) appropriate legal citations, and (8) an appropriately MLA formatted
Works Cited.
Excellent Average Minimal
Topic Choice
(Critical)
Has personal interest in the topic. States an opinion about the tax matter.
Encourages students to think about the tax issue from multiple perspectives.
Creative and original topic. Meets all deadlines.
The topic is directly from the textbook and/or has been covered in class. The topic coverage is primarily what has been covered during class time already. Misses deadlines. Submits incomplete files.
Legal research
(40%)
Media coverage
(20%)
Includes coverage of at least two Tax
Court cases. Tax Court cases are properly cited, per Chapter 2. References slide conforms to MLA formatting.
Includes coverage of at least two recent and relevant events and activities captured by the news media. These may be journal articles, newspaper articles, radio interviews, market coverage, company publications, or similar valid and reputable media sources. Properly cites and references sources.
The topic is directly from the textbook and/or has been covered in class. Has personal interest in the topic. Meets all deadlines.
Includes coverage of one Tax Court case decision and one legal case, decision, or activity. Tax Court and
Legal sources are properly cited, per
Chapter C1. References slide conforms to MLA formatting.
Includes coverage of one recent and relevant event or activity captured by the news media. This may be from journal articles, newspaper articles, radio interviews, market coverage, company publications, or similar valid and reputable media sources. Properly cites and references sources.
References two legal sources but does not cite them appropriately nor explain their merits. Perhaps little or no legal research coverage.
References only historical events and/or no media coverage.
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 12

Excellent Good Minimal
Content (20%)
Introduction
Length
Use of Class
Time
Organization
I-Clicker
Questions
Information is complete, up to date, valid, from respectable outlets, and correct. At least 5 sources of information are referenced.
The introduction presents the overall topic and draws the audience into the presentation. The student shares why s/he chose the topic and provides an overview of the presentation.
Presentation lasts almost exactly 5 minutes.
Information is from respectable outlets. At least 4 sources of information are referenced. One or two pieces may be out of date with current practice and events.
Information is from respectable outlets. At least 3 sources of information are referenced.
The introduction is clear and coherent and relates to the topic.
The purpose of the presentation is unclear. The topic is ambiguous. There is no outline of what is to occur during the presentation time.
Presentation lasts much more than or much less than 5 minutes.
Did not use time well. Too much or too little focus on technical details.
Too much time on technical examples.
Rushed through certain parts.
Used time well. Encouraged interaction with students. Used examples appropriately and in a timely manner.
Content is well organized using headings or bulleted lists to group related material.
The content is written clearly and concisely with a logical progression of ideas. No misspellings or grammatical errors. Uses interactive presentation software
Content is logically organized for the most part. Few or no grammatical errors. Uses some sort of audio/visual materials.
Poor organization. Difficult to follow logic. Minimal or no use of audio/visual materials.
Has 3 i-clicker questions. One of these questions polls student opinion / behavior.
Has 2 or 4 i-clicker questions. Does not ask an opinion question or asks two opinion questions.
Has one or no i-clicker questions. At least one question was not appropriate or confusing.
Spring 2015 ACC 420 Syllabus for Meints, page 13