Study

706 Current Policy Debates in Taxation and Public Finance

This seminar is an introduction to key concepts and issues in tax policy and public finance, including debates about choice of the tax base, optimal tax design, tax fairness, international tax issues, and income and wealth inequality. We will read a wide variety of materials designed to introduce legal, political, and economic considerations involved in the formulation and implementation of tax policy. This course is a graduate-level, reading-and-writing-intensive seminar. The seminar will culminate in the submission of a substantial research paper on a topic of your choosing relating to tax policy. Completion of this course will automatically satisfy the JD Substantial Research and Writing.

Enrollment Pre-/Co- Requisite Information

Prior or concurrent enrollment in Law 255 Federal Income Taxation

Course Areas of Practice
  • Administrative and Regulatory Law
  • Business and Corporate Law
Evaluation Methods
  • Reflective Writing
  • Research paper, 25+ pages
  • Class participation
Degree Requirements
JD SRWP
JD elective
LLM-LE (JD) elective
IntlLLM NVE Cert
IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
IntlLLM Business Cert
IntllLLM IP Cert
PIPS elective
Course Type
  • Seminar
Learning Outcomes
  • Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law

Fall 2025

2025
Course Number Course Credits Evaluation Method Instructor

706.01 3
  • Reflective Writing
  • Research paper, 25+ pages
  • Class participation
 Shu-yi Oei

This seminar is an introduction to key concepts and issues in tax policy and public finance, including debates about choice of the tax base, optimal tax design, tax fairness, international tax issues, and income and wealth inequality. We will read a wide variety of materials designed to introduce legal, political, and economic considerations involved in the formulation and implementation of tax policy. This course is a graduate-level, reading-and-writing-intensive seminar. The seminar will culminate in the submission of a substantial research paper on a topic of your choosing relating to tax policy. Completion of this course will automatically satisfy the JD Substantial Research and Writing.

Grading Basis: Graded

Degree Requirements
Pre/Co-requisites

Prior or concurrent enrollment in Law 255 Federal Income Taxation

In this section

*Please note that this information is for planning purposes only, and should not be relied upon for the schedule for a given semester. Faculty leaves and sabbaticals, as well as other curriculum considerations, will sometimes affect when a course may be offered.