ACC3005 Tax Law
Questions:
Assessment Task
You are required to submit a researched essay on the following title:
Critically examine the scope and effectiveness of the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) in tackling abusive tax avoidance in the UK.
Guidance
This is an extended research question on one of the module topics.
You are expected to carry out independent research to complete it.
Start with the sources below:
Tiley’s Revenue Law
Freedman, 'Designing a General Anti-Abuse Rule: Striking a Balance ' (2014) IBFD Asia- Pacific Tax Bulletin 165
GAAR Study: A Study to Consider whether a General Anti-Avoidance Rule should be introduced into the UK Tax System”
1.You are required to conduct research and demonstrate that you have drawn on legal and academic sources. In otherwords your analysis must be supported by argument evidenced by law and academic research or discourse from academic journals.
2.You will be marked down if you refer to non-legal or non-academic sources in your submission. Accordingly:
a.Law textbooks available in the library via Kortext and law journal articles from Westlaw, Practical Law and Lexis Library are appropriate sources you should use; and
b.Government resources from HM Treasury, House of Commons website or commentary from reputable organisations like the IFS, NIESR, IDS Sussex etc are appropriate sources to consult BUT not Wikipedia!
3.Journals may be accessed in Lexis Library and/or Westlaw UK/Practical Law. One particularly useful journal is called ‘British Tax Review’ which can be accessed via Westlaw UK
4.Reference the sources you rely on using the OSCOLA referencing convention.
5.You are advised to plan a systematic approach to your research and keep notes of what you discover to refer to and reference it when you write up your essay.
6.Poor structure, composition or grammar will affect the quality of your submission and may even prevent the marker understanding your analysis. Therefore, you should proofread your essay before you submit it for marking and make sure you have written what you intend to say.
Word limit: maximum 2500 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography)
You may exceed this word limit by 10% that is by an extra 250 words making a total of no more than 2750 words.
Footnotes must only be used to provide citations for authorities and for referencing texts and articles. Text included in footnotes in breach of this restriction will be added to the overall word count for the purposes of determining whether the upper limit of 2,750 words has been broken.
Font: Arial, text size 12, line spacing 1.5
Each page should be numbered
Referencing is required. You are required to use OSCOLA style citation for consistency.
Assessment criteria
1.You should read the assessment criteria that will be used to grade your assessment submission before you begin. If you scroll down to the end of this document you can find it.
2.Before you begin you should read the grading criteria that will be used to grade your assessment. Below and if you scroll down to the bottom.
100
92
85
‘
Upper First’ Category: Work graded in this range demonstrates…
• achievement beyond the attainment of intended learning outcomes
• an outstanding level of independent research and reading
• deep reflection on the topic or question at hand
• outstanding critical reflection on the material covered; work may extend existing debates, show originality and/or appropriate application of the topic to other contexts
• quality of writing and presentation which is potentially publishable
• achieved all qualities for regular first
78
75
72
First Class Category: Work graded in this range demonstrates…
• exemplary attainment of learning outcomes
• a detailed answer to the question including extensive evaluation of material
• very good understanding of the topic
• clear evidence of wider reading; beyond essential reading and lectures (e.g., might cross theoretical and discipline boundaries)
• inclusion of creative and/or original elements and/or consideration of wider issues and/or real-world applications
• an analytical approach
• presentation of valid arguments which are clear, well-organised, purposeful and logical
• that all ideas are supported with many highly appropriate, mainly primary sources
• precise use of legal concepts and terminology
• presentation in appropriate formatting including correct referencing style
3.Please ensure you analyse, you include a minimum of 15 references, reference CORRECTLY using OSCOLA and write up a clear and concise conclusion which is presented clearly in the body of the essay. The aim of this essay is to “critically examine” therefore constant evaluation and analysis is crucial throughout.
The relative weighting of available marks between the three criteria are:
|
Criterion
|
Total
|
|
Criterion 1: Structure
|
20%
|
|
Criterion 2: Content and synthesis
|
60%
|
|
Criterion 3: Presentation
|
20%
|
|
Total:
|
100%
|
