Direct and Indirect taxes

Duration

60h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Marc Bourgeois

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course on "direct and indirect taxation" aims at providing a general introduction - with some parts studied more in depth - of the legal system governing the main taxes in force in Belgium's tax system. It offers a useful addition to the course on general tax theory. Income tax will be the object of a particular focus. After a general presentation of the common principles of income taxes (the concept of "income", connecting factors, etc.), the course gives a more detailed description of the rules governing the scope and calculation of income tax for natural persons. An income tax filing form is also briefly presented. The corporate tax system is then presented in a more summarised way, partially building on the theory of profit already mentioned when looking into the legal framework for taxes on natural persons. VAT is also studied, first as a concept and then looking at its most essential rules, mainly through presentations given by scientific experts from the Tax Institute. Finally, the course concludes with a brief and general presentation of registration fees.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The course's goal is to make students aware of the importance of tax law in all legal professions in the broader sense. It also aims at getting students interested in an especially technical and complex subject. After completing this course, students will be able to solve the basic technical questions that are raised by the ordinary implementation of this branch of law (including the traditional formalities that must be completed: tax form, etc.). However, they will not yet be able to tackle the more advanced questions, for which additional training (advanced master in tax law) is highly recommended. In this respect, the course is somewhat basic, even though the tax on natural persons is studied more in depth than other branches of the subject.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

In order to follow the course on direct and indirect taxation, students must have completed the course on general tax theory. They also must have completed (or follow in parallel) the courses on company law and accounting law.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

This course mainly consists in traditional lecture classes. However, before certain classes, students are given a number of documents and asked to read them. These classes are more interactive, with questions to students and exchanged regarding practical cases that call upon the theoretical knowledge acquired by reading the documents. Each lecture class is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation made available to students before class. Practical written assignments are given, along with problem-solving models. In addition, teaching assistants hold two classes with case studies that are solved interactively with students.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Face-to-face

Recommended or required readings

All lecture classes are accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, which is made available to students before each class. They are also given a course book for the chapters on company tax and on registration fees. A short introductory course book is also given on VAT. As for the chapter on personal income tax, students are asked to compile their own documentation based on a collection of references to case law and doctrine that is provided to them, ranked by importance (1 to 4 stars). Students are also given a tax declaration form, as well as a collection of practical assignments.

Assessment methods and criteria

First session: open-book written exam (practical exercises in the form of true/false exercices or practical cases calling upon the knowledge taught in class and the concepts learned in the course on general tax theory).
Second session: open-book oral exam (practical exercises in the form of cases or judgments to comment, calling upon the knowledge taught in class and the concepts learned in the course on general tax theory).

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Any change in the class schedule or content will be discussed beforehand with the students' representatives.

Contacts

Teacher:
Marc Bourgeois: marc.bourgeois@uliege.be
Assistants:
Amandine Baltus :amandine.baltus@uliege.be
Antoine Vermeire :antoine.vermeire@uliege.be
Céline Verscheure : celine.verscheure@uliege.be

Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session

Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning

Since the beginning of the health and containment crisis, the course could no longer be held face-to-face. The learning method has therefore had to be adapted. 
It breaks down as follows: 
- Prior to the "Easter" rest period, the end of the part of the course dealing with "personal income tax" was taught by means of podcasts sent twice a week. These podcasts were recorded in the room normally reserved for face-to-face lessons and were based on the powerpoint slides previously transmitted to the students;
- A syllabus covering all the subject matter to be studied in relation to corporation tax was communicated to the students during the Easter holiday period. Students were asked to read this syllabus by the end of the first week of the school year after Easter. A reading note accompanies this syllabus: it indicates which points (from the syllabus) are included in the subject to be studied for the exam and which are excluded. During the second week after the end of the Easter break, a short podcast will be offered to students in relation to corporate tax; it will only contain practical "applications" of the concepts and rules set out in the syllabus, so as to allow a good understanding of them;
- A syllabus covering all the subject matter to be studied in relation to VAT has been communicated to students during the Easter holiday period. Students are asked to read this syllabus by the end of the first week after Easter. The table of contents of this syllabus indicates which points (of the syllabus) are included in the subject to be studied for the exam and which are excluded. The second week after the end of the Easter break, a very short podcast will be offered to students in relation to VAT; it will only contain practical "applications" of the concepts and rules set out in the syllabus, so as to allow a good understanding of them ;
- A "commented powerpoint" of short duration will be made available to students during the week of the beginning of the school year after Easter. It contains a very synthetic presentation of the basic principles of registration and inheritance taxes. This commented PPT is made available to students for information purposes. It will not be part of the subject to be seen for the examination, and this on an exceptional basis.
- Casus, with elements of resolution, are made available to students at the end of the school week (after the Easter holidays), in the form of a pdf document;
- Every Wednesday of the first two weeks after the beginning of the school year, at 1.00 pm, the teacher and his assistant organise a "videoconference" meeting on "Webex", in order to answer questions about the course and to clarify certain practical details in relation to the course and the exams. In addition, during the third week there will be a training session with the students on how to conduct the exams.  

Assessment subjects

The subject matter subject to evaluation is as follows:
As far as personal income tax is concerned, the subject to be studied includes everything that has been taught orally in the classroom, as well as everything that has been taught by means of podcasts, always with powerpoint support;
As far as corporate tax is concerned, the subject to be studied is included in the syllabus submitted during the Easter holiday period. Attention: a reading note, which accompanies this syllabus, indicates which points (from the syllabus) are included in the subject to be studied for the exam and which, on the contrary, are excluded. A short podcast, in several parts, contains only practical "applications" of the concepts and rules set out in the syllabus, so as to allow a good understanding of them, and this without adding material to the syllabus;
With regard to VAT, the subject to be studied is included in the syllabus submitted during the Easter holiday period. Attention: the table of contents of this syllabus indicates the points (of the syllabus) which are included in the subject to be studied for the exam and those which, on the contrary, are excluded from it. A short podcast, in several parts if necessary, contains only practical "applications" of the concepts and rules set out in the syllabus, so as to allow a good understanding of them, and this without adding material to the syllabus;
Practical cases, with elements of resolution, are made available to the students at the end of the school week (after the Easter holidays), in the form of a pdf document; they allow students to understand the concepts taught during the course, in a practical way. They do not add subject matter, but contribute to forging a mode of reasoning based on the concepts and rules taught previously.
They are not part of the subject matter for the exam :
- The subject of pensions in personal income tax; - Items from the ISOC syllabus that are deleted (see reading note, highlighted in red); Points from the VAT syllabus that are deleted (see table of contents of the syllabus, highlighted in red). - Registration and inheritance taxes. 

Assessment methods

The examination takes place in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ) organized in a digital way (e-campus). As originally planned, the examination is "open book".
The MCQ exam consists of two parts:
1/ Firstly, 30 short questions, with four proposals, of which only one is correct. This part of the exam tests the theoretical knowledge of the course. The MCQ does not contain a penalty system (+1/-1), nor a weighting system. The time limit for answering is for all 30 questions; there is no specific time limit for each question. However, it is not possible to go back on questions that have already been answered.
2/ Next, 10 questions of a longer and more practical type, including a concrete situation and, if necessary, modulations such as "all the proposals are correct" or "no proposal is correct". A longer period of time is allowed to deal with this second part, proportionally (per question), compared to the first part. Here again, the time limit for answering is for all 10 questions; there is no specific timeframe for each of the questions. On the other hand, it is not possible to go back on questions that have already been answered.
The entire test, which is divided into two parts, cannot last more than two hours.
A training session will be organized during the week of May 4-8.

Contacts

Teacher:
Marc Bourgeois: marc.bourgeois@uliege.be
Assistant :
Céline Verscheure : celine.verscheure@uliege.be
 
Preferably, contacts are systematically made through Céline Verscheure. 

Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session

Assessment subjects

The material to be studied for the second examination session corresponds in all respects to the material that was to be seen for the first examination session. 

Assessment methods

The second term examination for the General Tax Theory course is an ORAL EXAMINATION. 
  The exam is administered through the Lifesize platform.
It is a maximum of 15 minutes in length.
The exam is preceded by 15 minutes of preparation time.
The preparation can be done in an open book format.
The exam in front of the teacher is an open book exam. 

Contacts

Assistante : Céline Verscheure
 
Celine.Verscheure@uliege.be

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