An International Meeting of the American Accounting Association 2005 Annual Meeting August 7–10, 2005 San Francisco, California Come to the City by the Bay!

Effective Learning Strategies Forum
Monday, August 8, 2005

Session 14
IRC and the Legislative Process – A Project for Tax Courses

Presenters:
Anne Leah Jones, University of Massachusetts Boston
Julia Brennan, University of Massachusetts Boston

Description:
For this project, a federal income tax class holds hearings on the viability of tax provisions currently under consideration by Congress. Two student groups are assigned to each tax issue with one group being for having an expiring tax provision continue as law and the other group being against having the provision continue as law. Each group makes an oral presentation and turns in a written assignment conveying the details of the tax issue, identifying constituencies affected by the legislation, and providing a persuasive argument as to why the pending legislation should or should not continue to be law. The oral presentations are made in a debate format. After both sides have made their arguments, the class may ask questions and the group being questioned may provide a rebuttal. The class then votes on whether to allow the provision under discussion to expire. Students become aware of current issues in taxation, gain an appreciation for the process that establishes U.S. tax law, obtain valuable experience researching a single tax issue in depth, and have an opportunity to improve their written and oral communication skills. Participants will become acquainted with an innovative classroom tax project and will have an opportunity to discuss how students reacted to the assignment.

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