AØKA08185U Tax Policy

Volume 2020/2021
Education

MSc programme in Economics – elective course

 

The PhD Programme in Economics at the Department of Economics  - elective course with resarch module. PhD students must contact the study administration and the lecturer in order to write the research assignment.

 

Content

The teaching in this course may be changed to be taught either fully or partly online due to COVID-19. For further information, see the course room on Absalon. The time, place and type of assessment used for the exam may also be changed due to COVID-19, and any further information will be announced under the panel “Exam”.

The course gives an overview on the basic models used to analyze the efficiency implications and optimal design of tax policy. The course puts emphasis on linking formal analysis to empirical analysis and to discuss implications of theoretical and empirical findings for real world tax policy. 

Learning Outcome

After completing the course, the student is expected to be able to:

 

Knowledge:

  • Understand the concept of tax incidence including key theoretical predictions as well as common strategies for empirical measurement.

  • Understand the concept of economic efficiency including theoretical predictions as well as common strategies for empirical measurement.

  • Be able to account for the concept of tax salience as well as its implications for tax incidence and economic efficiency

  • Know key facts about commodity taxation in the real world

  • Understand the economic intuition behind theories of optimal commodity taxation as well as their implications for practical policy making

  • Be able to account for the concept of self-control problems (including how it can be modelled in economic theory) and its implications for optimal commodity taxation

  • Know key facts about income taxation in practice

  • Understand the economic intuition behind theories of optimal income taxation as well as their implications for practical policy making

  • Know key facts about firm taxation in practice

  • Understand the economic intuition behind theories of firm taxation as well as their implications for practical policy making

  • Understand the concept of internationaltax competition including key empirical facts and theoretical predictions

  • Know key institutional facts about offshore tax evasion

  • Be able to account for theories of tax evasion and important empirical findings

 

Skills:

  • Derive predictions about tax incidence in simple theoretical models of partial equilibrium and interpret them in a straightforward language

  • Derive formulas that capture the measurement of of economic efficiency in a simple theoretical framework and interpret them in a straightforward language

  • Theoretically analyze tax incidence and economic efficiency under the assumption that tax salience is limited

  • Derive expressions that characterize optimal commodity taxation in the canonical Ramsey model and interpret them in a straightforward language

  • Derive expressions that characterize optimal commodity taxation in models assuming that some agents have self-control problems and interpret them in a straightforward language

  • Derive expressions that characterize optimal income taxation at the top and at the bottom of the income distribution as well as in the presence of exogenous tags and interpret them in a straightforward language

  • Derive expressions that characterize firm responses to dividend taxation under various assumptions about the firms and interpret them in a straightforward language

  • Derive predictions about corporate taxation under internationaltax competition and interpret them in a straightforward language

 

Competencies:

  • Discuss strengths and weaknesses of theoretical models of public finance ina straightforeward language

  • Discuss strengths and weaknesses of empirical strategies employed to measure key behavioral parameters in public finance

  • Discuss concrete policy issues using terms and concepts from the theory of taxation ina straightforeward language

 

The book “B. Salanié, The Economics of Taxation, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003” serves as the main reference for most parts of the course. Research papers as well as lecture notes will complement the book.

It is strongly recommended that Micro III from the study of Economics at the Department of Economics (or equivalent) has been followed prior taking Tax Policy.
Schedule:
2 hours lectures 1 to 2 times a week from week 36 to 50 (except week 42).

Schema:
The overall schema for the Master can be seen at KUnet:
MSc in Economics => "Courses and teaching" => "Planning and overview" => "Your timetable"

Timetable and venue:
To see the time and location of lectures please press the link under "Timetable"/​​"Se skema" at the right side of this page. E means Autumn.

You can find the similar information partly in English at
https:/​​/​​skema.ku.dk/​​ku2021/​​uk/​​module.htm
-Select Department: “2200-Økonomisk Institut” (and wait for respond)
-Select Module:: “2200-E20; [Name of course]”
-Select Report Type: “List – Weekdays”
-Select Period: “Efterår/Autumn – Weeks 31-5”
Press: “ View Timetable
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 42
  • Preparation
  • 161
  • Exam
  • 3
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Collective
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment, 3,5 hours
The exam assignment is given in English and must be answered in English.
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Due to the Corona crisis, the Board of Study has decided to change the regular exams and the re-sit exams in the autumn semester to written online take-home exams. Both exams are still individual.

During the exam, it is not allowed to communicate with others about the exam assignment nor the solution at all. It is also prohibited to distribute data regarding the solutions to anyone. If this or alike actions happens, it will be regarded as cheating and plagiarism.

Please read more at
- https:/​/​kunet.ku.dk/​newsroom/​study-messages/​Pages/​Information-about-the-winter-exams-at-the-Department-of-Economics.aspx
- https:/​/​kunet.ku.dk/​newsroom/​study-messages/​Pages/​Information-on-rescheduled-PBV-winter-exams-.aspx
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Exam registration requirements

There are no requirements during the course that the student has to fulfill to be able to sit the exam.

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Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
for the written exam. The exam may be chosen for external censorship by random check.
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Exam period

The exam takes place:

17 December 2020

 

Exam information:

The exact time will be available in Digital Exam.

 

In special cases, the exam date can be changed to another day and time within the exam period.

 

For enrolled students more information about examination, rules, aids etc. is available at  Master students (UK) and Master students (DK).

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Re-exam

The written reexam takes place:

15 February 2021

 

Note: If only few students register for the written re-exam, the re-exam might change to a 20 minutes online oral examination with aids, but without preparation time.

 

If changed to oral the date and time will be informed in KUNet or by the Examination Office.

 

Reexam information:

Information about the reexam will be available in the Digital Exam  early February.

 

More information is available at  Master students (UK) and  Master students (DK).  

Criteria for exam assesment

Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the course.

 

To receive the top grade, the student must with no or only a few minor weaknesses be able to demonstrate an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant material and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes.