Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £31,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

The  Manchester Bursary  is available to UK students registered on an undergraduate degree course at Alliance MBS who have had a full financial assessment carried out by Student Finance England.

In addition, Alliance MBS will award a range of  Social Responsibility Scholarships  to UK and international/EU students.

These awards are worth £2,000 per year across three years of study.

You must achieve AAA at A-level (or equivalent qualification) and be able to demonstrate a significant contribution and commitment to social responsibility.

The School will also award a number of  International Stellar Scholarships  to international students achieving AAA at A-level (or equivalent qualification). Applicants who exceed AAA and/or have supplementary qualifications (such as EPQ) will receive additional consideration.

Additional eligibility criteria apply - please see our  scholarship pages  for full details.

Course unit details:
Principles of Taxation

Course unit fact file
Unit code BMAN11171
Credit rating 10
Unit level Level 1
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

Tax has played a fundamental role in civilised societies for thousands of years, and continues to do so in a complex, rapidly evolving, and globalised setting. This unit will arm students with the ability to understand and explain the purposes of taxation, the considerations needed for tax design, the basics of the UK tax framework, and issues concerning ethics and environmental taxation. This will form the backdrop for learning the fundamental principles of taxation as well as learning how to prepare basic computations for the main UK taxes. 

Aims

This course unit aims to provide a foundation knowledge of the principles of UK taxation and its context, as well as providing students with the skills necessary to perform computations in income tax, national insurance contributions, corporation tax, capital gains tax and VAT.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this course unit a student will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding
•    Describe and explain the general objectives of tax and the basic UK tax framework, within the current political, economic, and environmental context. 

Intellectual skills
•    Explain the principles of tax design, applying these to existing and proposed new taxes.
Practical skills
•    Perform basic tax computations involving UK income tax, national insurance contributions, corporation tax, capital gains tax and VAT.

Transferable skills and Personal qualities
•    Apply the principles of UK income tax, national insurance contributions, corporation tax, capital gains tax, VAT, and environmental tax to issues in simple scenarios including the administration of the tax system. 
•    Identify ethical issues using the ethical frameworks in place for those working in tax in the UK.
 

Syllabus

The key areas of the syllabus are:
•    UK tax Framework
•    Personal income taxation
•    Taxing employment income
•    Taxing trading income
•    National Insurance Contributions (NICs)
•    Capital gains tax
•    Corporation tax
•    Value Added Tax (VAT)
•    Ethics and tax
•    Environmental taxation

Teaching and learning methods

This course unit will include:


•    Synchronous lectures and seminars.
•    Asynchronous (pre-recorded video) lectures where appropriate.
•    Quick quizzes (MCQs on Blackboard).
•    Discussion board
•    Directed independent study

Real world, topical examples will be referred to and discussed throughout the course. Students will be expected to keep informed of tax stories and make links with the syllabus. Students should note that the final examination will include some discussion topics, and these can be drawn from discussions in the lectures and workshops.
Further details on weekly study expectations will be included on Blackboard.

Employability skills

Other
This course unit is a useful introduction to the fundamentals of the UK tax system, particularly from the perspective of an accountant. On the successful completion of this course unit, the student will have developed knowledge and skills which will be helpful when applying for jobs within the specialist field of tax.

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Other 30%
Written exam 70%

Examination 70% (Written Exam)

Coursework 30% (Group Project)

Feedback methods

Feedback during the course will be given in several ways to allows students to judge their progression. The methods will include but are not limited to the following:
•    Face to face feedback during lectures and workshops as students undertake illustrative questions.
•    The opportunity for students to ask the lecturer questions directly during lectures and workshops.
•    Using, and engagement in, the discussion board.
•    Using on-going online quizzes to obtain independent feedback on their strength of knowledge and understanding of the different taxes.
•    Students can visit the lecturer in office hours and receive verbal feedback on the work which they have attempted.

Recommended reading

To be confirmed (updated per Finance Act).

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 20
Practical classes & workshops 10
Independent study hours
Independent study 70

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Alison Zimmer Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Academic programmes that course is available to:
BSc (Hons) Accounting
BSc (Hons) Business Accounting

This course will allow students to apply for an ICAEW certificate level exemption. For academic purposes the students will need to attain a pass mark of 40%, but to attain the professional body exemption a pass mark of 50% is required. The higher pass mark requirement is reflected in the contact hours. The duration of the exam reflects the requirements set out by the professional body. Please note that accreditation is subject to change.

 

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