The
Accounting
and Information Management Programs
Course:
Individual
Taxation-AIM 6351-OG1
Instructor: Arthur M. Agulnek
Semester: Fall,
2005
| Course Information | Technical
Requirements | Course Access | Communications |
| Student Assessment | Scholastic
Dishonesty | Course Evaluation | Course Schedule |
Instructor: Arthur M. Agulnek, CPA
Senior Lecturer of
Accounting and Information Management
Telephone: 972-883-4773 (in case of
emergency 972-867-6877 or 214-762-2371-do not call the emergency numbers
before
Office: SOM 4.222
FAX: 972-867-4245 -home fax (do not use before
E-mail:
axa022000@utdallas.edu, Art3601@comcast.net-
Web site: www.utdallas.edu/~axa022000
TA: pxz041000@utdallas.edu
Office Hours: BY
APPOINTMENT
Course Objectives
To Use Critical Thinking
Ø
To understand and apply income tax
concepts which influence decisions of individuals. The course will concentrate on tax effects in
the following areas:
1.
The Basic Tax Model-See Inside
Front Cover of Textbook
a.
Computing
Tax Liability
b.
Determining
Exemptions
2. Determining Gross Income
3. Determining Deductions
4. Tax Effects of Property Transactions
Ø
To determine the tax liability for
individual taxpayers with varying tax situations.
Ø
To apply concepts to determine the
best course of action for individual taxpayers when confronted with options
involving tax planning.
To Understand the Ethical
Considerations in Tax Practice
Ø
To appreciate the requirements and
concepts contained in the Statement on Responsibilities in Tax Practice.
Ø
To understand the ethical issues
that confronts both individual taxpayers and tax practitioners on a day-to-day
basis.
To Enhance
Communication Skills
Ø
Completion of a tax return case
study plus the online research project will improve your tax communication
skills. These all require the use of a computer based tax preparation program and
the use of a computer based tax research program (CCH or RIA Checkpoint).
Please see the appropriate due dates which are noted in the syllabus section.
To gain access to RIA Checkpoint you need to login to www.riahome.com/cploginids--this
must be done from school—if you are out of town-pls
let me know and we will make an alternate arrangement.
Ø
There will be a separate note sent
if this procedure will be changed.
To Enhance Understanding and Use of
Computers
Ø
By requiring the use of an
on-line tax research system in the preparation of short answer to a tax
question/issue.
Course Prerequisite
There is no prerequisite
for this class.
Course Approach
The course will rely heavily on
lectures, regular homework, problems and case studies.
Course Preparation and Participation
Each student must accept the
responsibility for course preparation. Thus,
for each session, every student must study the assigned chapters and prepare
the assigned questions and problems. The questions and problems will be used as
a basis for furthering tax ideas and planning opportunities. In addition, each chapter will be followed
by a brief quiz that is not graded but is for purposes of self-development.
Online Tests/Quizzes
You can
access quizzes by clicking the Online Quizzes icon and then clicking the
available quiz title links. Each quiz is timed and can only be accessed once
within the scheduled time window. Please read the on-screen instructions
carefully before you click the Begin Quiz button. After each quiz is graded and
released for reviewing, you may go back to the quizzes page and click the
“Completed” link under status column of the quiz to review your quiz results
and any feedbacks from the instructor.
Professional Linkages
Individual income taxation is an
important area for all accounting firms, including Big 4, regional and local
firms. It continues to be a way of developing key relationships with executives
and is the foundation for financial planning.
West Individual Income Taxes-2006—Hoffman, Smith, Willis,
Thomson-Southwestern Publishing
.
Textbooks and other bookstore materials
can be ordered online through MBS Direct Virtual Bookstore: http://direct.mbsbooks.com/utd.htm. They are also available in UTD Bookstore and
Off-Campus Books.
General
Comment
The instructor’s role is to provide
technical content to the classroom
environment. If you have
software or hardware problems-they need to be resolved with the Global
MBA hotline or with your other means of technical support.
In addition
to a comfortable level of computer and Internet literacy, certain minimum
technical requirements must be met to enable a successful learning experience.
Technical requirements include but not limited to:
Hardware
Software
Web
Browser Configuration
For WebCT courses to work properly, you will need one of the WebCT supported browsers listed above with JavaScript
enabled and cookies enabled. It is also important that you set the cache
settings of your browser to verify web documents “Every Time”. You should
also disable any pop-up blocker. The
methods for configuring these settings vary among browsers. Please follow this
web link provided by WebCT to tune-up your browser:http://www.webct.com/tuneup
This course
was developed using a web course tool called WebCT.
It is to be delivered entirely online. You will be notified by email about the
course access information at the start of the course. You’ll need to have a UTD
NetID and password to access the course. If you have
not set up a UTD NetID account yet, please go to the
UTD NetID page at http://netid.utdallas.edu
to initiate your account shortly
before or at the start of the semester. Your UTD NetID
is your WebCT ID. It is to be used to access all of
your UTD WebCT courses plus other UTD computing
systems e.g. your UTD email account. Please note that it’s required that your account password to be updated every
6-12 months. UTD IR will send you reminding messages to your UTD email
account towards the time when your password is getting expired. To update your
password, please login at the above NetID page. For
more information, please visit the NetID FAQs page.
The URL for
the course login page is: http://webct.utdallas.edu.
The course may be accessed at any time. You are required to meet all assignment
and exam deadlines. Participation in scheduled class activities is required.
You should login to the course site regularly (at least three times per week)
to check course updates, and discussion board messages.
You’ll access the “My WebCT” page after you login. The page lists all courses
that you have registered for. You can click the course title to access the
course Home Page which displays several icon links. Clicking each icon link
will take you to different subsidiary pages containing the course content
elements or built-in course tools. Some navigation components such as the
Navigation Bar with Course Menu on the left side, the Menu Bar and the path
link on the top, and the Action Menu on the content page can help you navigate
within the course site.
To get
started with a WebCT course, please see the Getting
started: Student WebCT Orientation link. For more information about WebCT tool usage, please see the WebCT Student Help Index. Within the course site, you can
always click HELP on the WebCT Menu Bar to find information and answers. You can
also check out the Orientation
Center to Online Learning and WebCT provided on WebCT’s
web site. For more WebCT
information and its learning resources, visit http://www.webct.com.
If you have
any problems with your UTD account or any problem with the UTD WebCT server, you may email to: assist@utdallas.edu or call the UTD
Computer Helpdesk at: 972-883-2911. If you encounter any technical difficulties
within the course site, please send an email to gmbasupport@utdallas.edu.
WebCT built-in communication tools:
There are four built-in communication tools to facilitate learning,
communication, and collaboration. A course conferencing system, the Discussion,
allows communication among all course participants. Discussion topics or groups
can be set up for topic discussions and homework assignments. You can use the
course Mail tool to
communicate privately with the instructor and any class participants. The Chat
tool can be used for real-time communication among course participates.
Please see specific information for accessing Chat tool. Finally there
is a graphic interface Whiteboard tool which allows real-time interaction
among course participants. If necessary, instructor will schedule times to use
the Chat and/or Whiteboard tools for office hours and/or class discussion
sessions. Small groups may also use the Chat tool for group discussions.
Interaction with Instructor: Instructor will communicate with
students mainly using the Discussion board. Students may send personal concerns
or questions to me using the course Email tool. Instructor will reply to
student emails or Discussion board messages within 1 working day under normal
circumstances. If I am unavailable for a period of time, I will notify you in
advance.
Emailing: Besides using the WebCT course internal email, if there is any need, students
may contact me via external regular emails. UTD provides each student with a
free email account that is to be used in all communication with university
personnel. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence
in the identity of all individuals corresponding and the security of the
transmitted information. Beginning
To access
your UTD email, please go to: http://pipeline.utdallas.edu
and login with your UTD NetID and password (same as WebCT login). The Department of Information Resources at
UTD provides a method for students to forward email from other accounts to
their UTD address and have their UTD mail sent to other accounts. Students may
go to the following URL to establish the email forwarding if necessary: http://netid.utdallas.edu. For any
assistance with UTD email account, call 972-883-2911 or email assist@utdallas.edu.
MeetingPlace TeleConference System: UTD maintains a telephone conferencing
system. All participants in the course can use the system for teleconferences
throughout the semester. Participants access a meeting by dialing either a
“972” area code number or a toll free number if outside the
Grading System
Points
1. Two Tests 200
2. Preparation of Tax Return 100
3. Short Answer – on-line research
50
4. Final Examination 150
TOTAL POINTS 500
Translation of the total point score
into a letter grade will be based on the instructor’s judgment. The letter grade will reflect each student's
performance relative to the course and standards expected of graduate students
at the
The tax return noted above (#2) will
be posted in WebCT. Please see the syllabus for the due dates of
projects.
Instructions for using a software
system for the preparation of the assigned tax returns will be posted in due course.
In addition, you will need to notify my TA upon completion of the tax returns
with your locator number-that will also be supplied with the instructions.
Proctored Final Exam Information
This course
requires a proctored final examination. An on-campus class exam session is
scheduled on (Tuesday 11/29/05 at
7:00-9:30 PM) under the supervision of the instructor. Room info will be announced later and posted
on Discussion board.
Students
who are not able to attend this exam session with instructor can arrange an
individually proctored exam with a testing service of their choice at any date
within this required exam time window: (11/28/05-12/1/05). For local students, testing service
is available at
Important, Time-
Sensitive Requirement
To
facilitate the getting to know you process, the following information,
formatted as shown below, must be sent to the instructor immediately upon
logging-in to the course through the section entitled Student
Introductions in the Discussion section within WebCT
(in the past, these introductions were scattered throughout WebCT
and all of my e-mail accounts—please follow the instructions-so all of your
classmates can get to know you as well!)
1.
Last Name; First Name; UTD Degree
Program and Expected Graduation Semester
2.
Day- time Telephone Number and FAX
Number; Day and Evening Email Addresses
3.
Collegiate Degrees Earned; Years
Earned; Name(s) of the Granting Institution(s)
4.
Number of Earned Collegiate Semester
Hours of Accounting; Where Earned (Institution)
5.
Name of Current Employer; Your
Position or Title; Months with Employer
6. A Short Statement of Your Career Objectives and How You Expect This Course to Help
Guidelines for Research Paper
1.
State
the relevant facts.
2.
UTD
has available for student’s use of the CCH on-line tax service. The use of this system or a comparable
computerized system is required. Provide
a copy of the research data obtained from the on-line service.
3.
Cite
one or more of the following items in your short answer:
a.
Code Sections
b.
Treasury Regulations
c.
IRS Revenue Rulings
d.
Court Cases
e.
Letter Rulings
4.
The
format must be as follows:
·
Facts
·
Issues
·
Conclusions
·
Rationale-an
analysis of the authorities that you used in arriving at your conclusions. You
should cite the relevant cases, rulings, etc and tie them back to your fact
pattern.
·
Any other format will not be acceptable
Recommendations-if fact pattern and
conclusion lend themselves to this.
You
must use a bulletized approach in writing the
paper.
Do
not cite IRS publications or instructions
5.
The
paper should be no more than two pages in length, typed and double-spaced.
Copies of your research must be attached.
6.
The
paper is due on October 18, 2005
7. The paper will be graded on:
a. Professionalism
b. Logical format
c.
Clarity-easy
to understand by others
d.
Creativity
e.
Appropriate
and acceptable writing style of a graduate student
f.
Writing is clear, brief,
articulate grammatical correct 20
points
Conclusions and rationale
are logical, feasible, specific
15 points
and are supported by
analysis
Conclusions are correct
and rationale cites appropriate
authorities 10 points
Case, Internal Revenue
Code and ruling citations
are correct
5 points
Total for
research paper 50points
A-E 10/4
F-J 6/4
K-P 9/3
Q-T 9/2
U-Z 7/4
For example-Chapter 9, research Problem # 2 is found on page
9-43 in the textbook. Every chapter has a series of research problems at the
back end—please make sure that you do the correct problem-based on your
“first name”.
The university has policies and discipline procedures regarding
scholastic dishonesty. Detailed information is available on Scholastic
Dishonesty web page. All students are expected to maintain a high level of
responsibility with respect to academic honesty. Students who violate university
rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including
the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the university.
Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the
university, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced.
As required by UTD academic
regulations, every student needs to do an evaluation for each enrolled course
at the end of the semester. An online instructional assessment form will be
made available for your confidential use. Please look for the course evaluation
link on the course Homepage before finishing the course. Your feedback and comments are greatly
appreciated.
Course Schedule
Week
#
|
Date
|
Topic |
Assignments |
|
1 |
8/22/05- 8/29/05 |
Introduction Chapter 1 |
None Questions and Problems –
11,12,15,17,18,22,26,39,45,51and 54 |
|
2 |
8/30/05-
9/5/05 |
Chapter 2 |
Questions and Problems – 2,9,19,22,29,44,48
and 50 |
|
3 |
9/6/05-9/12/05 |
Chapter 3 |
Questions and Problems –
2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,19,20,21, 28,39,and 42 |
|
4 |
9/13/05- 9/19/05 |