Tax and Public Policy

Elective

The Tax and Public Policy course provides students with the essential tools to assess tax policy, with a particular emphasis on economic analysis. After discussing where economic analysis fits in the complete toolbox for assessing tax policy, students will be taught the essential tools from economic analysis in some detail. Having equipped students with these tools, the course then guides them through some fundamental issues in tax policy design. A number of cases studies are using during the course.

This is an elective course. Issues of tax policy will be considered in other compulsory and elective courses on the MSc. However, this course will cover these various issues in tax policy in a coherent and more detailed manner and with a greater emphasis on economic analysis.  

The course includes the following topics:

• Tax Design and the Complete Toolbox
• Economic Tools and /Concepts (including efficiency and optimal tax theory)
• Some Fundamental Tax Policy Choices (including tax base, taxation of capital, rents)
• Corporation Tax Policy

The course is taught by Professor Michael Devereux and Professor John Vella