Introduction to the language of tax

Do you find yourself stuck when reading a legal text on tax law due to the language used? Are you confused or feel lost when listening to native English speakers discuss a tax issue due to the complexity of the terminology?

This course is intended for anyone either studying or working in some capacity in the field of tax law (and particularly for non-native English speakers). It introduces students (or provides a good review for those already with some knowledge) to key vocabulary, concepts, collocations and prepositions in the area of tax law. It can also be a good introduction to the world of tax law for those with no background  in that field whatsoever.

The focus of the course is on key terminology, collocations, prepositions and reading/listening comprehension based on current global tax issues.  By the end of the course, you should have the basics of the language of tax law to be able to understand and communicate with others smoothly and accurately.

You will learn key terminology related to both personal taxation; corporate taxation; VAT or GST terminology; audit terminology, etc. You will perfect your reading comprehension skills based on a VAT related reading based on the UK Tax Code. Similarly, you will also perfect your listening / video comprehension skills based on two videos dealing with current global controversial tax issues: the first one relating to Amazon’s corporate taxation issues and the second related to Apple’s corporate taxation battle with the European Union.

This mini course is not intended to go in-depth into any of the above mentioned tax related areas and issues, but rather, provide you with the very basics to be able to speak, read and understand content related to basic tax.

The approach is rather practical with an introductory session of approx. 80 minutes accompanied by a pdf script of everything said in the video along with key exercises in order to put the theory into practice. All the materials mentioned in the video are attached as resources in each of the 5 Lectures.

Feel also free to leave your comments and thoughts related to the tax issues raised in the course, particularly in the two video comprehension excercises on the course forum.