Taxes and Business Strategy

Benjamin Franklin once reportedly said that “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”  Had he known about the future estate tax, he would have been able to eloquently tie these certainties together.  The estate tax is but one tax we will cover in this course.  Taxes play an integral role not only in our personal lives, but also in driving the determinants and consequences of nearly every business decision.  This course provides a conceptual framework to understand how taxes affect optimal business decisions.  Additionally, this course will provide guidance on how to determine when and whether such strategies should be utilized.  Regardless of what direction your business career takes you, understanding these forces and the strategies available will prove to be a valuable asset.  Using examples from a wide range of contexts including investments, capital structuring, compensation planning, and mergers and acquisitions, students will become familiar with the structure of tax law, learn to recognize tax planning opportunities, gain an understanding of how to balance tax efficiency with business needs, and gain experience using a knowledge of how tax works to appropriately improve business outcomes.