Abstract:

Education in the accounting profession in the Faculty of Management at the University of Gdansk is carried out in two stages, which is in line with the Bologna system introduced in the academic year 2005/2006. The first level of education includes a three-year undergraduate program to obtain a bachelor's degree. In turn, each graduate of first-cycle studies may continue education at two-year master’s degree.

One of the most important areas of knowledge in the accounting profession is tax law, because the accountant must demonstrate skills in the field of tax settlement of a company. Such competence is absolutely required by future employers.

These issues are both difficult and often ambiguous, and the correct interpretation of tax laws causes many practical problems in every country, not only in Poland. In practice, accountants, tax advisors and lawyers in ambiguous and difficult situations use previous verdicts, which must be considered in the context of Polish tax law:
1. rulings of administrative courts that issue judgments in disputes between a taxpayer and a tax authority, and
2. so called, “individual interpretations of tax regulations” granted by tax authorities in cases reported by taxpayers.

The previous verdicts demonstrate the analogous problems of other taxpayers as well as the decisions reached by the tax authorities. Having a legal precedent allows the accountant to build his own case for solving the current problem.

Of course, in Poland, as in many EU countries, there is a rule that a judgment / ruling in an individual case does not bind the authority deciding in another case, because the circumstances of these cases are different. Nevertheless, in practice it has been assumed that the use of legal precedent is a perfect complement to tax regulations. There is a high probability that if the accountant finds many cases in which tax authorities have reached the same verdict. Therefore, according to the author, it is necessary to introduce the concept of using legal precedent.

The paper presents mixed-method approach employed by the author to teach the basics of tax law to students specializing in accounting in the Faculty of Management at the University of Gdansk. Based on selected examples, the advantages and disadvantages of such a method will be presented. The results of the survey conducted to assess the effectiveness of this mixed-method approach to students in the summer semester 2018-2019 will be discussed.

Keywords:

Tax law, legal precedent, accountants.