Precedent in Tax Law: A Case Study in Empirical Method

How important is case law in establishing precedent to guide taxpayers and the revenue authority? On 17 April 2023, Associate Professor Michael Blackwell discussed this question in a seminar hosted by the Tax Law and Policy Research Program, Melbourne Centre for Commercial Law. Using a data science approach, Associate Professor Blackwell presented some preliminary findings on his research into precedent in tax law.

View the seminar recording

About the speakers

Associate Professor Michael Blackwell joined LSE Law School in 2013 and is an Associate Professor specialising in Tax Law. Michael is also an affiliate of LSE’s Data Science Institute. Michael is a non-practising solicitor and barrister of Lincoln’s Inn. Michael practiced tax law as a solicitor at Linklaters, where he also trained.

Seminar Chair

Professor Miranda Stewart is Director of the Melbourne Centre for Commercial Law and of Taxation Studies at the Melbourne Law School and honorary Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University. Miranda was awarded the ATTA Medal in 2023 by the Australasian Tax Teachers Association for services to tax policy. She is an author and editor of several books, including Tax and Government in the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press, 2022), Death and Taxes (with Michael Flynn) and Tax, Social Policy and Gender. Miranda is Vice-Chair of the Permanent Scientific Committee of the International Fiscal Association.