Teaching tax using a life cycle approach.

• Author: Rubin, Jane T.

This article describes a case approach for teaching tax concepts to college students based on an individual's life cycle. Other approaches for tax instruction are also widely used: Some rely less on completion of tax returns; some use computer-based tax computation methodologies; some include differing degrees of emphasis on computerized or other types of tax research, and others include differing degrees of emphasis on tax policy implications. The AICPA Model Tax Curriculum is also adaptable to a case-based format (although it emphasizes a business entity approach). Different methodologies are appropriate for different student populations. Consideration should be given to the abilities, ages and backgrounds of the students, as well as to the type and level of the degree program and the instructional resources available to the instructor and students.

Life Cycle Approach

In view of the call for changes In instructional methods, one method to consider for introductory undergraduate taxation is the life cycle approach. This approach consists of a set of cases sequentially based on the life of a specific individual and business, and attempts to provide a method of delivery that integrates research and planning in a logical progression of topics.

Under this method, students are active participants in the learning process, not passive recipients of information; they learn by doing. It requires that students develop research skills and be able to access multiple sources of tax information, and allows teachers to make lessons more relevant and to lend a real-world perspective to their classrooms.

Motivation to Develop a Different Approach

Traditionally, the introductory course in taxation focuses on compliance. It requires the memorization and application of tax laws to a given set of facts. Usually, topics are presented on an item-by-item basis. As the number of authoritative pronouncements has expanded, teachers have required their students to learn more factual rules and procedures to be applied in rather rigid fashion. Students are made to cram an astounding number of details into their minds.

At some point, the concepts underlying this approach need to be questioned: How many details in the tax law can be retained? Is it more important to memorize information or be able to find it? Does the traditional piecemeal treatment of each item hinder a student's ability to view a situation in its entirety over time and offer tax planning advice? Can the student assimilate changes in the tax law, relate knowledge to real-world problems and understand how taxes affect personal and business decisions?

The Life Cycle Approach

The life cycle approach has been used successfully in...