Fiscal competence

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4017487FEW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Department

Tax Law

Educational team

Miguel De Jonckheere (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

24 contact hours Lecture
6 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

The course aims to give a detailed description of the basic principles of tax law that limit the scope of tax jurisdiction, as well as the competance rules that distribute tax competences among the various authorities.

Specifically, this course deals in depth with basic principles of tax law that determine the limits of tax competance (principle of equality, legality principle, non-retroactivity principle).

On the other hand, based on the definition of the fiscal powers that Regions and and decentralized administrations have, both the existing and the possible forms of 'local' taxes are studied. Based on the fiscal autonomy of these governments, the limits of fiscal competence are mainly analyzed. The legal relationships between the different levels of authority, the general and constitutional principles specific to tax law, the legal restrictions and specificities with regard to the valuation and the recovery procedure are central to this. Specifically for the Regions, the scope of their normative powers with regard to the transferred taxes is also discussed and a number of 'own' regional taxes are discussed.

Course material

Handbook (Required) : Lokale en regionale belastingen, Miguel De Jonckheere, Thomas De Jonckheere, Die Keure, 2000000008790, 2023
Digital course material (Required) : Een reis doorheen de fiscale basisbegrippen, M De Jonckheere, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : Powerpointprestentaties, M De Jonckheere
Digital course material (Required) : Lesopnames fiscale bevoegdheid, M De Jonckheere, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : Lokale en regionale belastingen, Deel 2: de regionale belastingbevoegdheid, M De Jonckheere, Canvas

Additional info

In the section 'local and regional taxes' the limits of fiscal jurisdiction are studies. Actual local and regional taxes are discussed rather as an illustration. The course is built around the PowerPoint presentations and should be studied from that structure.

In the section 'basic tax principles' the lessons taught are on the topics 'non-retroactivity' and 'one-year principle'.

The other chapters of the book 'a journey through the basic tax principles' must be presented by groups of students (4), after updating. The students should watch these films and must record per film two interesting elements and forward them to the teacher.

Students also have to critically analyse a local tax regulation of their choice in the light of basic tax principles and write a paper about it of maximum 4 pages.

Learning Outcomes

General competances

The main learning result is the acquisition and deepening of the knowledge in the tax discipline concerned and the application in practice of this knowledge. In addition, the course specifically aims to instill the independent critical reflex in order to question the practice of the tax legislators on the basis of basic tax principles, constitutional provisions and a critical reflection on existing legal texts.

In concrete terms, students are expected to:

have a thorough knowledge of the foundations, the structure, competence and limitations of local and regional taxes.
have a thorough knowledge of selected constitution based and improper regional taxes
have a thorough knowledge of the basic tax principles and their interpretation in current case law.
be skilled in detecting, using and in-depth and critical analysis of sources and texts in the matter concerned
be able to critically reflect on fiscal limits in specific cases
be able to critically analyse complex problems in the field and be able to reflect on jurisdictional provisions and on the broader perspective
be able to describe, explain and critically analyse the evolution of the regulations
be able to communicate in writing and orally about subjects and issues from the knowledge domain on the basis of self-study and using the legal scientific research methodology with a correct language use.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 70% of the final mark.
LEC Presentation determines 30% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Oral exam with a relative weight of 70 which comprises 70% of the final mark.

Within the LEC Presentation category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Presentation basic principles with a relative weight of 30 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Oral examination. The student can prepare the exam questions in writing for 15 minutes (preparation must be submitted). The exam is recorded (with the consent of the student).

For the fiscal basic principles section, the chapters regarding the non-retroactivity principle and the discal one-year principle from part of the examination material. For this part, the preparation, updating, summary and presentation of the chapter discussed by the student are also taken into account.

If the student was not involved in a presentation, the student must select an additional chapter of his choice, which also counts as exam material.

During the exam, the student will be asked to explain one of the striking elements that he has indicated in the films.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context