Dr Peter Harris, Reader in Tax Law and Director of the Centre for Tax Law at the University of Cambridge, will lead the teaching of a module on corporate taxation as part of the Masters in Corporate Law program in 2012-13.
Dr Harris, an internationally renowned expert on corporate taxation, has taught the subject at more than a dozen universities during his distinguished academic career. He is a prolific author and serves as an advisor to the International Monetary Fund on the drafting of tax laws for developing countries.
Dr. Harris, who has taught corporate law during his academic career as well as tax, says of his module "Corporate law and corporate taxation are symbiotic; it is difficult to understand one without an understanding of the other. This is no clearer than in a subject like corporate finance where one of the driving factors in the way in which a transaction is structured, and even whether it takes place, may be the corporate tax aspects. This module provides a unique opportunity for students to improve their understanding of the manner in which corporate taxation impacts the behaviour of companies."
The module will be ideally suited to students from around the world because it will be comparative in orientation, focusing primarily on the UK, the US and Germany. Topics to be covered will include the relationship between taxable income and reported profits, the taxation of corporate groups, the tax aspects of: incorporation and tax issues associated with key corporate transactions such as public offerings of shares, takeovers and share buy-backs. Those taking the corporate tax module need not have a detailed prior understanding of tax but will need to be familiar with corporate structures and financing options.
More information about the MCL can be found on the MCL website.