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1 Introduction

Widespread big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing have reconstructed the whole industrial chain of finance and taxation. The full operation of Golden Tax Project (Phase IV) strengthens tax data collection, cross-comparison, early warning and risk identification functions and reshapes standardized corporate tax management workflows. Accordingly, accounting and finance undergraduates are no longer only required to master basic tax theories, calculation and filing rules. They must master the internal logic of data-based tax governance and develop practical capabilities in intelligent tax operation, tax data analysis and compliance risk identification.

Application-oriented universities focus on cultivating front-line interdisciplinary finance and taxation talents. As a core compulsory course linking tax theories, corporate business practice and professional ethics, Tax Law directly determines graduates’ post-competency. Nevertheless, the course faces prominent bottlenecks: frequent policy updates, insufficient class hours, incomplete practical training conditions and underdeveloped digital teaching resources. Traditional lecture-centered teaching dominated by statutory interpretation and manual calculation cannot meet the competency demands of digital-intelligent tax posts.

Domestic and foreign scholars have conducted rich research on Tax Law teaching reform. Existing literature mainly discusses blended learning, SPOC mode, practical training and curriculum moral education (Li, 2021). Recent studies have preliminarily analyzed curriculum adjustment under the digital economy, yet two research gaps remain (Li et al., 2024). First, few studies systematically connect Golden Tax Project (Phase IV) data governance, corporate intelligent tax operation and OBE-oriented objective reconstruction (Nie, 2025). Second, the matching mechanism among layered competency training, digital platform simulation and whole-process formative evaluation is insufficiently explored (Zhu & Guo, 2026).

Against industrial changes and teaching dilemmas, this paper takes application-oriented talent training as the starting point. Guided by the OBE theoretical framework, it reconstructs Tax Law’s teaching objectives, modular content, interactive activities, multi-level practical projects and diversified evaluation standards and explores a complete set of digital-intelligent instructional design and implementation paths.

2 Current Problems in Tax Law Teaching

The core contradiction restricting Tax Law reform is the structural mismatch between curriculum design and digitalized industrial demands, rather than the simple addition of digital auxiliary tools. Five typical defects are summarized as follows.

2.1 Disconnection Between Teaching Content and Industrial Practice

Tax policies are revised annually, while textbooks and classroom materials lag behind updated regulations, preferential incentives and administrative rules. More importantly, mainstream teaching still focuses on manual calculation and paper filing, lacking systematic training on Fully Digitalized Electronic Invoice (FDEI) lifecycle management, one-click intelligent declaration, tax data cross-verification and automated risk early warning. The disconnection makes students unfamiliar with real corporate tax workflows. Teachers need to convert newly released policies into situational task chains to clarify how policy adjustments affect corporate invoice management, filing and compliance control (Guo, 2023).

2.2 Superficial Integration of Digital Teaching Tools

In most classrooms, digital technology only serves slide projection, online homework and simple quizzes, failing to penetrate full teaching links. Intelligent tax training platforms, tax data analysis software and financial RPA tools are rarely applied in regular teaching. Students lack immersive opportunities to complete integrated tax tasks under authentic business contexts, so digital thinking and tool operation competence cannot be effectively cultivated. Such superficial digitalization only optimizes teaching management efficiency without improving students’ higher-order judgment and decision-making abilities under complex tax scenarios (Huang, 2024).

2.3 Fragmented and Isolated Practical Training Scenarios

Tax Law features strong practicality, yet traditional practical activities are limited to single-tax calculation and separated written case analysis. They rarely cover full business chains, including invoice circulation, tax declaration, risk identification, tax bureau-enterprise communication and compliance rectification. Mastering independent calculation formulas cannot guarantee the ability to solve integrated, real-world tax issues. Practical teaching must shift from scattered single-point drills to full-process chain training to sort out business logic, document requirements and risk control nodes (Peng & Wang, 2023).

2.4 Single Evaluation System Inconsistent with Integrated Competency Training

Course assessment excessively relies on closed-book final examinations focusing on rote memorization and manual arithmetic. Whole-process learning performance, platform training results, project outputs and teamwork are excluded from evaluation. The exam-oriented model contradicts application-oriented training positioning and fails to guide continuous autonomous learning and practical problem-solving. A complete evaluation framework needs to integrate knowledge mastery, system operation, case analysis and professional judgment.

2.5 Weak Embedding of Value-Oriented Education

Tax Law contains abundant value education elements, including lawful tax payment, corporate integrity, tax equity and national fiscal governance. However, value-oriented education is delivered in empty slogan forms without situational support. Teachers should adopt digital audit records, tax credit evaluation, enterprise compliance penalty and tax incentive cases to carry out contextualized education. Value guidance can only be effectively embedded when combined with specific business judgment tasks, helping students perceive the intrinsic connection between tax governance and social equity (Farber, 2024).

3 Teaching Design Principles

3.1 Outcome-Based Reverse Curriculum Design

OBE theory centers on measurable student learning outcomes and advocates reverse design of objectives, content and assessment based on graduation requirements and post competency (Keo & Lan, 2025; Susanta, 2025). Tax Law reform breaks rigid textbook chapter logic and establishes explicit correspondence among expected outcomes, classroom tasks and evaluation rubrics. Abstract learning outcomes are thus converted into observable, trainable and assessable classroom activities and practical deliverables.

3.2 Scenario-Oriented Integrated Content Construction

Digital-intelligent reform is far more than expanding online resource libraries. Digital platforms act as core carriers for content organization and activity design. Centered on full-cycle corporate tax workflows, tax theories, policy clauses, intelligent filing and risk identification are integrated into progressive layered tasks. Digital tools serve knowledge internalization and competency cultivation instead of isolated auxiliary display media (Bian et al., 2022).

3.3 Deep Integration of Theoretical Learning and Practical Operation

Tax Law teaching narrows the gap between statutory interpretation and hands-on practice. After mastering basic legal rules, students transform fragmented knowledge through group discussion, platform simulation and comprehensive projects, forming a complete competency chain covering policy comprehension, business disposal, data screening and risk judgment. The progressive mode converts scattered knowledge points into transferable post capabilities matching application-oriented training goals.

3.4 Contextualized Embedding of Value-Oriented Education

Value education is naturally embedded into tax scenarios rather than added as supplementary explanations. Digital audit records, tax credit systems and national incentive policies help students understand the rule of law and social responsibility behind tax clauses. The integrated model avoids separation between professional teaching and value guidance, fostering compliance awareness when analyzing authentic business cases.

4 Course Teaching Design

4.1 Reconstruction of Three-Dimensional Teaching Objectives

Based on digital-intelligent tax post requirements, three interrelated dimensions of objectives are constructed: knowledge, competence and literacy (see Table 1). Knowledge objectives require students to master China’s tax system framework, major tax rules, preferential policies and Golden Tax Project (Phase IV) supervision logic. Competence objectives focus on independent tax calculation, intelligent filing, data analysis and routine risk identification. Literacy objectives cultivate lawful tax awareness, integrity, compliance, rigorous professionalism and social fiscal responsibility. The three dimensions jointly shape students’ comprehensive judgment under real tax scenarios.

Table 1 Three-dimensional Course Objectives

4.2 Modular Content Design

The curriculum abandons rigid linear arrangement by tax categories while guaranteeing complete knowledge systems (see Table 2). Digital-intelligent scenarios are embedded to connect theoretical learning, policy analysis, platform simulation and project practice, eliminating isolated knowledge chapters and forming integrated cognition of cross-tax businesses and digital documents.

Table 2 Modular Teaching Content Design

4.3 Whole-Process Blended Teaching Implementation

The blended mode includes four sequential stages: pre-class online autonomous learning, in-class scenario seminar, after-class platform training and phased project assessment (see Table 3). The core value of blended learning lies in deep learning engagement via complementary online and offline spaces. Before class, teachers release micro-lectures, policy materials and quizzes to identify weak knowledge links via platform data. In class, instructors interpret difficult clauses, guide case deduction, and organize group work. After class, students complete simulated filing and risk analysis tasks on intelligent platforms. Phased comprehensive projects test students’ ability to integrate tax theories and digital tools.

Table 3 Blended Teaching Process

4.4 Multi-Dimensional Process-Oriented Evaluation Mechanism

The evaluation system combines formative evaluation, practical competency evaluation, comprehensive final assessment and professional literacy evaluation (see Table 4). Constructive alignment theory emphasizes logical consistency among objectives, teaching activities and assessment. Weight distribution is set as: formative evaluation 40%, practical competency evaluation 30%, final assessment 20%, and professional literacy evaluation 10%. Formative evaluation tracks online learning and classroom performance. Practical evaluation focuses on platform operation and project reports. Final assessment adopts open-book case analysis to test knowledge transfer rather than mechanical memorization. Literacy evaluation judges teamwork, compliance and integrity based on long-term performance.

Table 4 Evaluation Structure

4.5 Design of Typical Continuous Teaching Tasks

Chained situational tasks are designed to avoid superficial digital demonstration. For VAT teaching, traditional separated calculation is transformed into five connected steps: business identification, Fully Digitalized Electronic Invoice (FDEI) entry, declaration filling, abnormal data cross-verification and risk judgment. Students distinguish sales types, verify invoice information, fill declaration forms and explain tax mismatch risks under complete business contexts.

For corporate income tax, comprehensive annual settlement tasks require students to adjust accounting profit to taxable income based on financial statements, asset records and R&D materials. Assessment focuses on policy basis, supporting documents and hidden risks rather than calculation accuracy only, guiding comparison of accounting-tax differences for entertainment expenses, advertising fees and R&D super-deduction.

For individual income tax, role-play tasks centered on the comprehensive annual income settlement are arranged. Students act as HR staff, taxpayers and tax consultants to complete income classification, deduction verification and policy communication, embedding value education of honest filing and information protection.

4.6 Layered Differentiated Learning Support Design

Students differ in knowledge foundation and digital proficiency, so a layered support mechanism is constructed. For underachievers, knowledge maps, concept cards and segmented operation micro-videos are provided to master basic frameworks. Advanced students receive extended tasks including policy comparison, abnormal data diagnosis and in-depth report writing to avoid repetitive mechanical drills.

Peer-assisted group learning is implemented based on pre-class quiz data. Group members undertake differentiated roles including policy retrieval, data entry and risk explanation. Teachers shift from knowledge interpreters to thinking guides, questioning students who can calculate results but cannot explain policy and risk logic.

4.7 Development Logic of Digital Teaching Resources

Digital-intelligent resources follow three principles: fine granularity, strong situational attribute and dynamic updatability. Teaching is defined as a learning-process-oriented iterative design centered on tasks, tools and feedback. Complex knowledge is split into independent micro-units supporting fragmented preview. All resources correspond to authentic business scenarios and update synchronously with tax policies and platform versions. Five standardized resource libraries are constructed: policy interpretation library, situational task library, platform operation tutorial library, tax risk warning library and value-oriented education case library to form a complete supporting system (Liu et al., 2026).

5 Implementation and Guarantee Mechanisms

5.1 Whole-Cycle Implementation Process

This reform has been piloted among the Grade 2023 and 2024 accounting and financial management undergraduates. In the preparation stage, teaching teams reorganize content and develop matched micro-lectures, cases and layered tasks. In formal teaching, online platforms support pre-class preview and whole-process tracking, while offline hours focus on policy interpretation, group discussion and hands-on simulation. At the end of the semester, comprehensive projects test students’ integrated application of tax rules and digital tools. The whole process transforms one-way knowledge indoctrination into task-driven problem-solving learning.

5.2 Faculty Digital Competency Guarantee

Teachers’ digital literacy requires integration of technological, pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge. Curriculum teams improve capabilities via digital tax training, enterprise temporary practice and university-tax communication. Industrial practitioners from tax bureaus, accounting firms and fintech enterprises are invited as part-time instructors to develop cases and score projects, forming a collaborative teaching team of full-time teachers and industrial experts.

5.3 Industry-Education Integrated Resource Development

Long-term cooperation with manufacturing enterprises, tax bureaus and intelligent tax software suppliers is established to co-develop desensitized authentic teaching cases covering invoice management, filing and risk control. Desensitization balances practical authenticity and data security, ensuring in-class knowledge can be smoothly transferred to internships and formal posts.

5.4 Closed-Loop Continuous Improvement Mechanism

Curriculum reform is dynamically optimized based on multi-dimensional feedback, including platform learning data, project results, student reflections and industrial competency standards. At the end of each teaching cycle, teachers analyze quiz scores, operation logs and feedback forms to adjust content difficulty, case design and evaluation weights, realizing iterative upgrading alongside policy and technological changes.

6 Teaching Reform Effects and Reflection

6.1 Improved Autonomous Learning Engagement

Pilot classes show significant promotion of learning engagement. The completion rate of pre-class online tasks rises from 62.1% to 94.7%, and average micro-lecture viewing duration increases by 78.2%. Platform behavioral data provides objective evidence for formative evaluation and real-time teaching adjustment.

6.2 Significant Improvement of Practical Operation Competency

The pilot teaching integrates intelligent declaration, Fully Digitalized Electronic Invoice (FDEI) processing, tax-related risk identification and case analysis into practical training tasks, guiding students to shift from isolated tax amount calculation to full-cycle business handling. Students completed tax filing, risk control and report-writing assignments on the intelligent finance and taxation training platform, and some were capable of coping with relatively complex tax business scenarios supported by the platform. Such training activities help students grasp the practical application of tax law knowledge in corporate operations and improve their abilities to screen information and make operational judgments when confronted with complicated materials.

6.3 Positive Feedback from Skill Competitions and Internships

Students from the pilot classes achieved outstanding results in university-level finance and taxation skill competitions, with several participants winning awards. Feedback from internship enterprises indicates that students who received the reformed teaching training hold obvious strengths in intelligent tax system operation and post-adaptation, enabling them to quickly adapt to the digital-intelligent tax business environments of enterprises. Feedback from both competitions and internships indirectly proves that the training content designed in this curriculum reform maintains sound alignment with future on-the-job tasks for students.

6.4 Transformations of Students’ Learning, Thinking and Behaviors

From the perspective of teaching observation, the changes brought about by digital-intelligent teaching reform are reflected not only in students’ academic performance, but more importantly in their learning behaviors and problem awareness. In traditional teaching, students tend to regard the Tax Law course as a subject centered on memorizing policies and completing calculations. Their classroom questions are often focused on how to apply formulas, how to select tax rates, and whether the calculation results are correct. After the introduction of scenario-based tasks and platform-based training, students began to pay more attention to whether business facts are complete, whether invoice information is compliant, whether there are logical inconsistencies among tax declaration data, and what kinds of risks enterprises may face in the process of tax handling. This change in the way students raise questions indicates that their understanding of the Tax Law course is shifting from “learning knowledge points” to “solving business problems”. This also suggests that curriculum reform needs to build closer connections among objectives, content, methods, and assessment in order to truly support the development of students’ comprehensive abilities.

In group project presentations, students were able to propose different approaches to the same tax-related case and attempted to explain their judgments from the perspectives of policy basis, system operation, evidence retention, and corporate compliance. Some students also actively searched for the latest tax policies, compared the differences between textbook content and current policies, and explained in their reports how policy changes affect business processing. Although the depth of students’ analysis still needs further improvement, such learning behaviors, including active verification, active explanation, and active correction, have already demonstrated the positive role of curriculum reform in cultivating autonomous learning ability and professional thinking.

6.5 Deficiencies and Corresponding Improvement Directions

Four limitations exist for follow-up optimization: first, digital case libraries require long-term regular updating; second, targeted differentiated tutoring for students with weak digital foundations needs expansion; third, desensitized shared case banks should be developed to break data confidentiality restrictions; fourth, multi-cycle longitudinal samples need to be expanded to stabilize effect evaluation conclusions.

7 Conclusion and Future Research Directions

Against digital-intelligent tax governance, systematic Tax Law reform should be carried out from objectives, content, learning activities, practical tasks and evaluation dimensions. Guided by OBE theory, this study constructs a competency-centered teaching model embedding full-cycle digital business scenarios, addressing the defects of traditional statutory and paper-based teaching and cultivating students’ integrated abilities of theoretical understanding, business disposal, digital operation and risk judgment.

Pilot teaching verifies the operability and effectiveness of the design system, providing replicable reform paths for similar application-oriented universities. Three future research directions are proposed: (1) Expand longitudinal multi-cycle teaching samples to enrich empirical evidence of reform effects (Shangguan, 2025); (2) Develop shared desensitized corporate tax case libraries closer to front-line industrial businesses; (3) Explore the application boundary of artificial intelligence and big data risk diagnosis in Tax teaching to continuously optimize curriculum systems.

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