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Basic income tax is an introduction to the logic of the federal income tax. The course aims to provide an understanding of the principles behind the choice of income as a tax base and the rules, largely derived from those principles, that are used to define income. The course also provides insights into the subtle ways that the income tax can affect the way modern legal and social relationships are structured, and the ways in which Congress has attempted to deliberately affect behavior through various types of exclusions, deductions and credits. The course is also intended to offer an introduction to interpreting a complex statute. Among the topics ordinarily covered are the taxation of transfers of property by sale, by gift, by bequest, by exchange and upon divorce; the taxation of income from employment (including fringe benefits), the taxation of other receipts, including gifts, scholarships, welfare payments, tort damages, annuities and loans; and the calculation of deductions from business income, including when business and personal activities are mixed. Introductory treatments of the choice of taxable unit (including the importance of marriage and dependence), the effect of other life circumstances (including casualty, disaster and ill-health) on income tax liability, and the effect on an individual¿s income of ownership interests in corporations, partnerships and trusts are also provided. Except with the permission of the instructor, basic income tax is a prerequisite for any other tax offering at the law school, including the three hour offering in Entity Taxation, and the four-hour sequences of courses in the LLM program covering Corporate Taxation, Partnership Taxation and International Taxation. The instructor may elect to allow first year students in their second semester to enroll in the course. Evaluation: Final Examination