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Home » Course Catalogue » MBA Electives » RSM2204HF – Taxation and Decision Making

RSM2204HF – Taxation and Decision Making

General Information

Instructor(s)

Applicable Major(s):
(c) = Core, (r) = Recommended

  • Financial Reporting and Analysis (c)
  • Investment Banking (r)

Target Audience

Students aspiring to be decision-makers in the Business World should take this course.  Virtually all business transactions involve a tax component and transactions can often be structured to achieve a more favourable tax treatment, while still achieving the overall objectives of the transaction.  In order to understand and compare these transactions, one has to have a general understanding of the tax rules.

Format

Online weekly synchronous sessions.

Course Mission

This course will develop a student’s ability to identify, understand, and evaluate tax-planning opportunities and will provide an overview of the income tax system and how it impacts business and investment decisions. The material will focus on tax planning concepts and the effect of taxes on decisions, rather than detailed tax rules and legal research. We begin by developing a conceptual framework for evaluating how tax rules affect financial decisions.  The framework is then applied to various types of financial decisions, including investing, savings vehicles, compensation planning, international tax issues, financial statement analysis, capital structure, and mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Course Scope

The objectives of the course are achieved through a combination of lectures, selected current readings, and the application of the concepts to problems and examples. After taking this course students are expected to be able to identify the key income tax issues associated with business and investment activities, have a conceptual understanding of the income tax implications of the issues identified, and analyze alternatives on an after-tax basis.

Evaluation and Grade Distribution

ComponentWeight
Class Participation20%
Quiz10%
Group Assignment25%
Final Exam45%

Required Resources

  • Buckwold, Kitunen, and Roman, Canadian Income Taxation: Planning and Decision Making2020-2021 edition, McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
  • Current Readings in Taxation.  These readings will be posted on Quercus.

Last Updated: 2021-01-20 @ 4:03 pm