Taxation & Estate Planning

A Dissenting View on Lantz

Posted on June 09, 2010
Following up on yesterday's post, 7th Cir. Reverses Tax Court, Upholds 2-Year Deadline on Innocent Spouse Claims: A. Lavar Taylor, Adjunct Professor at Chapman and Director of the Center for the Fair Administration of Taxes ("CFAT"), passed along this amicus brief he filed in support of the taxpayer's position: Amicus...

Above the Law Reviews Dan Shaviro's Novel

Posted on June 09, 2010
I previously blogged (here and here) the new novel by Tax Prof Daniel N. Shaviro (NYU), Getting It (iUniverse, 2010). Above the Law today hsa a review of the book along with an interview with Dan. Here is the opening: If you?re the type who is convinced that the people...

Charitable Giving Fell 3.6% in 2009

Posted on June 09, 2010
Giving USA Foundation and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University today announced today that charitable contributions fell 3.6% (3.2% inflation-adjusted) in 2009, to $303.75 billion. Donors Individual giving fell 0.4% (0.0% inflation-adjusted), to $227...

NY Times: Should Student Loans be Dischargeable in Bankruptcy?

Posted on June 09, 2010
New York Times, Student Debt and a Push for Fairness: If you run up big credit card bills buying a new home theater system and can?t pay it off after a few years, bankruptcy judges can get rid of the debt. They may even erase loans from a casino. But...

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BP Indirectly Funded Rahm Emanuel's Rent-Free (and Tax-Free) Use of Capitol Hill Townhouse

Posted on June 08, 2010
Following up on my prior posts: The Next Obama Tax Kerfuffle: Rahm Emanuel's Rent-Free Use of Capitol Hill Townhouse (Feb. 19, 2009) More on Tax Consequences of Rahm Emanuel's Rent-Free Use of D.C. Home (Feb. 24, 2009) L.A. Times, The Ties That Bind. Remember Rahm Emanuel's Rent-Free D...

International Academy for Comparative Law 18th Congress

Posted on June 08, 2010
From Karen Brown (George Washington): The International Academy for Comparative Law, based in Paris and affiliated with the American Comparative Law Society (ACLS) as well as similar societies in other countries, is holding its 18th Congress in Washington, D...

Shaviro: Rethinking Foreign Tax Creditability

Posted on June 08, 2010
Daniel N. Shaviro (NYU) has posted Rethinking Foreign Tax Creditability on SSRN. Here is the abstract: International tax policy experts often mistakenly conflate two distinct margins: (1) the overall tax burden on outbound investment, and (2) the marginal reimbursement rate (MRR) for foreign taxes paid, which is 100 percent under...

Undocumented Immigrants and Taxation

Posted on June 08, 2010
Truthout, "The Price That We Pay" -- Undocumented Immigrants and Taxation: A poll conducted in 2006 by ABC News and The Washington Post found that a third of all Americans said their biggest objection to undocumented immigrants is their use of "more public services than they pay for in taxes...

More on Do Property Tax Caps Work?

Posted on June 08, 2010
Following up on my post, Do Property Tax Caps Work? (May 25, 2010): the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities today released Property Tax Cap Wouldn?t Improve New Jersey Policies: A report released by the Manhattan Institute argues that a property tax cap has reduced property taxes and school spending...

Suspected Grenade Found in Mailroom of IRS Office in Atlanta; Building Evacuated

Posted on June 08, 2010
Associated Press Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Tax Blog Fox News New York Post (Hat Tip: Russ Madison.) Update: X-rays of the suspicious package revealed that it was "a glass decorative object," not a grenade.

Mann: A Greener Tax Policy

Posted on June 08, 2010
Roberta F. Mann (Oregon) has published Back to the Future: Recommendations and Predictions for Greener Tax Policy, 88 Or. L. Rev. 355 (2009). Here is the abstract: For the last ten years, I have been considering how the tax system affects the sustainability of our planet and our economy...

Levy & Hofheimer: Bankrupt Partnerships and Disregarded Entities

Posted on June 08, 2010
David F. Levy & Matthew J. Hofheimer (both of Skadden, Chicago) have published Bankrupt Partnerships and Disregarded Entities, 127 Tax Notes 1103 (June 7, 2010). Here is the abstract: This report analyzes the development of the tax rules applicable to bankrupt partnerships and disregarded entities, and it discusses how in...

7th Cir. Reverses Tax Court, Upholds 2-Year Deadline on Innocent Spouse Claims

Posted on June 08, 2010
The Seventh Circuit today, in a unanimous opinion written by Judge Posner, reversed a divided (11-5) Tax Court (132 T.C. No. 8 (Apr. 7, 2009)) and upheld the requirement in Reg § 1.6015-5(b)(1) that claims for innocent spouse relief (Form 8857) be made with two years of the IRS's commencement...

Back in San Diego

Posted on June 07, 2010
I am back in San Diego for my seventh summer teaching Tax I at the University of San Diego School of Law, my second as the Herzog Summer Visiting Professor in Taxation. San Diego is truly America's Finest City. But what is even more enjoyable is renewing acquaintances with the...

2010 OECD International Tax Conference

Posted on June 07, 2010
The 2010 OECD International Tax Conference: OECD-U.S. Business Dialogue on International Tax kicks off today in Washington, D.C. For the program, see here.

Johnston: Undertaxed Freedom Day 2010: June 12

Posted on June 07, 2010
David Cay Johnston has published Undertaxed Freedom Day 2010: June 12, 127 Tax Notes 1161 (June 7, 2010) In this article, Johnston examines the meaning of Undertaxed Freedom Day, when individual income taxes equal interest on the federal debt; it arrives only one day later this year despite a 15%...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on June 07, 2010
Saturday: The Tax Man Takes Aim at Olympians Deficit Reduction Commission Seeks Increase in its Budget IRS Holds Open House Today Expanding the State Tax Base to Include Services Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads WSJ: Gay Couples Get Equal Tax Treatment Australian Taxman Names Three Top Targets Lucas: The...

Pat Cain's Role in the IRS Ruling on California Gay/Lesbian Couples

Posted on June 07, 2010
Following up my recent posts: IRS California Registered Domestic Partners Can Split Income and Tax Withholding 50/50 Without Adverse Gift Tax Consequences (June 2, 2010) WSJ: Gay Couples Get Equal Tax Treatment (June 6, 2010) Don Read, the tax lawyer for the California gay couple that obtained the IRS ruling,...

U.S. News Considers Changes to its College Rankings Methodology

Posted on June 07, 2010
Robert Morse reports that U.S. News is considering five changes to its college rankings methodology: We may add high school counselors' rankings of colleges as part of the academic reputation component, which is now 25% of the America's Best Colleges rankings...

Laffer: The Coming Tax Hikes Will Cause an Economic Collapse in 2011

Posted on June 07, 2010
Wall Street Journal op-ed, Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse, by Arthur B. Laffer: Today's corporate profits reflect an income shift into 2010. These profits will tumble next year, preceded most likely by the stock market. [I]f people know tax rates will be higher next year than they are...

Freedman Presents The Relationship Between Corporate Taxpayers and Revenue Authorities Today at Hebrew University

Posted on June 07, 2010
Judith Freedman (University of Oxford, Faculty of Law) presents Analyzing the Enhanced Relationship Between Corporate Taxpayers and Revenue Authorities: A U.K. Case Study at Hebrew University Law School today as part of its Tax Law & Policy Colloquium...

Mehrotra: The U.S. Treasury, WWI, and the Modern Fiscal State

Posted on June 07, 2010
Ajay K. Mehrotra (Indiana-Bloomington) has published Lawyers, Guns & Public Monies: The U.S. Treasury, World War One, and the Administration of the Modern Fiscal State, 28 Law & Hist. Rev. 173 (2010). Here is the abstract: The First World War was a pivotal event for American political and economic development,...

Lucas: The Taxation of Emissions Permits Issued Under a Cap-and-Trade Program

Posted on June 06, 2010
Gary Lucas, Jr. (Texas-Wesleyan) has posted The Taxation of Emissions Permits Distributed for Free as Part of a Carbon Cap-and-Trade Program, 1 Geo. Wash. J. Energy & Envtl. L. ___ (2010). Here is the abstract: The Obama administration has proposed a cap-and-trade program to regulate carbon emissions...

Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

Posted on June 06, 2010
There is quite a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a new #1 paper and new papers debuting on the list at #3, #4, and #5 (which I highly recommend): 1. [495 Downloads] Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Where?, by...

WSJ: Gay Couples Get Equal Tax Treatment

Posted on June 06, 2010
Following up on Wednesday's post, IRS: California Registered Domestic Partners Can Split Income and Tax Withholding 50/50 Without Adverse Gift Tax Consequences: Weekend Wall Street Journal, Gay Couples Get Equal Tax Treatment, by Laura Meckler: The IRS has ruled that same-sex couples must be treated the same as heterosexual couples...

Australian Taxman Names Three Top Targets

Posted on June 06, 2010
The Herald Sun, Taxman Names Top 3 Targets: The tax office will pay close attention to their claims for using cars and travel expenses as well as deductions for home office, mobile phone and internet expenses. Last year 178,000 plumbers, concreters, electricians, sales and marketing managers, university lecturers and truck...

IRS Holds Open House Today

Posted on June 05, 2010
The IRS holds a nationwide open house today to help taxpayers solve tax problems and respond to notices from the IRS: Approximately 200 IRS offices, at least one in every state, will be open June 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. IRS staff will be available on...

Expanding the State Tax Base to Include Services

Posted on June 05, 2010
Timothy R. Hurley (Salisbury University) has published Curing the Structural Defect in State Tax Systems: Expanding the Tax Base to Include Services, 61 Mercer L. Rev. 491 (2010). Here is the Conclusion: The majority of states enacted a sales tax between the 1930s and 1950s...

The Tax Man Takes Aim at Olympians

Posted on June 05, 2010
The Globe and Mail, The Tax Man Takes Aim at Olympians: Canadian medalists from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics began receiving their podium bonuses recently, but the cheques came with a letter informing the athletes they are responsible for paying tax on the one-time payments...

Deficit Reduction Commission Seeks Increase in its Budget

Posted on June 05, 2010
Eric Kroh, Fiscal Commission Bemoans Lack of Resources, 2010 TNT 106-2 (June 3, 2010): Saddled with a tight deadline and great expectations, members of President Obama's deficit reduction commission say they may not have the resources necessary to meet their task...

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