Committee on Federal Taxation.

Abstract The article highlights the report of the Committee on Federal Taxation of the American Accounting Association. The charge to this committee is to determine and report on the content of taxation courses at the undergraduate level, to identify the instructional systems utilized in tax education, and to make recommendations as to the objective, scope, and content of the tax curricula at the undergraduate level. The teaching of basic tax concepts is deemed to be the primary objective of undergraduate tax courses by 27% of those responding to the questionnaire. Narrowly defined, the preceding discussion relates the content and instructional systems common to existing tax courses. Fortunately, the questionnaire sought information which elaborates upon many closely related facets of existing undergraduate tax education. After considerable discussion, the Committee reached the conclusion that the undergraduate tax curricula should consist of two courses: a first course, undifferentiated between accounting and non-accounting majors, which would be required of all business students and a second course which would be required of accounting majors. The first course envisioned would be available as an elective to students majoring in the liberal arts and other disciplines who had completed at least one course in financial accounting; the second course would be available as an elective to all students completing the first tax course but would be required of accounting majors.