WILLIAM MITCHELL
COLLEGE OF LAW
SYLLABUS – REVISED 5-24-2010
COURSE: TAXATION - INCOME TAX (Course
Number 2600; Section Number 2) An overview of the fundamentals of federal
income taxation, including gross income, exclusions, basis, divorce, assignment
of income, deductions, passive loss and interest expense limitation rules,
capital gains/losses and deferral.
PROFESSOR: Jeffrey
R. Peterson, Adjunct Professor
SEMESTER: Summer
2010
REQUIRED: Fundamentals of Federal
Income Taxation, Foundation Press
15th
Edition (2009)
Freeland
ISBN-13:
9781599417004 / ISBN: 1599417006
Selected IRC Statutes
(2010 Ed)(Set:Txt/Tax Map) Lathrope ISBN: 0314907009 (or most current edition)
Rev. Proc. 2009-50 www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-09-50.pdf
WEEK READING AND
PROBLEM ASSIGNMENTS
#1 – May 24 - 27 Chapter
1, Orientation 2-45 (43)
Chapter 18, Deductions for Individuals Pages 548-586 (38)
(NO CLASS MONDAY MAY 31 – MEMORIAL DAY)
#2 – June 1 - 3 Chapter
28, Procedures & Professional Responsibility
Pages
964-1000 (36)
Review Basic Tax Formula Posted on Black Board
#3 – June 7-10 Chapter
2, Gross Income Pages 46-67 (21)
Chapter 3, Gifts, etc. Pages 67-89 (22)
Chapter 6, Property Basis/Gain: Pages 115-153 (38)
CLOSED BOOK
QUIZ -
6-10-2010 (See Syllabus Pg. 4)
#4 – June 14- 17 Chapter
4, Employee Benefits: Pages 89-105 (16)
Chapter 5, Awards: Pages 105-115 (10)
Chapter 7, Life Insurance:
Pages 153-163 (10)
Chapter 8, Discharge of Debt: Pages 163-182 (19)
#5 – June 21-24 Chapter
9, Damages: Pages 183-196 (13)
Chapter 10, Divorce: Pages
196-227 (31)v
re-read Chapter 6: Pages 122-127 (5) Farid-Es-Sultaneh
MULTIPLE CHOICE OPEN BOOK TEST - 6-24-2010
#6 – June 28- July 1 Chapter
11, Other Exclusions: Pages 227-248 (21)
Chapter 12, Assignment of Income: Pages 249-284 (35)
Chapter 14, Business Deductions: Pages 318-341 (23)
(NO CLASS MONDAY JULY 5 – INDEPENDNECE DAY)
#7 – July 6-8 Continuation of Chapter 14, Business Deductions:
Chapter 14 Phase Two - Pages 341-395 (54):
Chapter 14 Phase Three - Pages 395-447 (52)
Chapter 15, Non-Business
Deductions: Pages 447-479 (32)
Chapter 17, Restrictions on
Deductions Pages 513-547 (34)
#8 – July 12 -13 Last Class – IN CLASS EXAM - Closed Book Essay
This exam may cover any material in the readings or that
was presented.
NOTE: Assigned readings
for Chapter 12 and beyond may be augmented or deleted depending on the progress
of the class. Lectures will fall behind the assignments.
PROF. PETERSON CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jeffrey R. Peterson
President
Commercial Partners Exchange Company, LLC
200 South Sixth
Street #1300
Minneapolis, MN 55402-1439
e-mail: jeffp@cptitle.com (preferred method of communication)
Skype Name: JeffreyRPeterson
(video web conference)
tel: (612) 643-1031
(emergencies only)
mobile: (612) 703-4031
(extreme emergencies only)
Web: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffpeterson1031
GRADING: This is an approximate estimate
of the point breakdown.
In Class Closed Book
Diagram Quiz (Week 3, 6-10) 15% 60 points
Multiple Choice Test: Open Book (Week 5, 6-24) 30% 120
points
Class
Participation: Brief Cases & Answer
Questions 30% 120 points
Exam: Closed Book Essay & Short Answer (Last Class) 25% 100
Points
100% 400
COURSE OBJECTIVE
Students will be expected to acquire a general knowledge of
the assigned Internal Revenue Code provisions, and the judicial and
administrative materials interpreting the Code.
CASES, READING ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS PARTICIPATION:
All of the assigned cases must be ready to brief no later
than the beginning of the first class session for the week that
they are assigned. The problems contained within these chapters should be completed by
students as part of the assigned reading. Prior to reading an assigned chapter, it
is recommended that students read the corresponding code sections or tax
regulations set out in the section headers. Professor Peterson will call on students to provide
case briefs and answer questions about the cases and the assigned problems. Class participation grades will be based on
each student’s preparedness and performance when called upon to brief a case or
answer questions regarding assigned problems and possible unscheduled quizzes. Class participation
evaluation will not include unsolicited or spontaneous comments
or questions. Class participation will
be graded on a curve. Students are encouraged to participate
early and often.
ATTENDANCE
POLICY:
Students are expected to attend all
scheduled meetings of this course. An
attendance roster will be circulated at each class meeting. It is the student’s responsibility to sign
the roster before the end of class.
Absences may adversely impact the class participation grade. Excessive absences shall be reported to the
Dean of Student Affairs. A student may receive a grade of “F” for extreme
absenteeism.
LECTURES
Classes will consist of lecture and powerpoint
presentations by the instructor and discussion of the cases and hypothetical
questions contained in the assigned readings.
The powerpoint slides will not be provided to students. Students are encouraged to take notes. Students are encouraged to brief cases,
answer questions and to participate in class discussions.
IN CLASS CLOSED BOOK “DIAGRAM QUIZ”
Students will be asked to draw a diagram from memory of,
and annotate: (1) the procedural process of a tax controversy from the filing
of the tax return to review by the United States Supreme Court; and (2) the US
income tax formula showing how income tax is calculated. This quiz is graded on a curve. Examples of prior typical quiz answers will
be provided on Blackboard.
OPEN BOOK MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Students will be given fact patterns
and then asked specific questions related primarily to the materials covered
thus far in the class. This will be a
timed open book test administered electronically online via Blackboard. Make sure your computer is functional with Blackboard. This test is graded on a curve. The test will end at 8:20 PM.
Students who do not
take the test on Blackboard may receive lower grades.
