Taxation & Estate Planning

House Health Care Bill Includes 3.8% Medicare Tax on Investment Income

Posted on March 18, 2010
Following up on my prior posts (President Obama's Health Care Tax Increases, WSJ: Obama's 'Sneaky' New Tax on Investments, ObamaCare's Worst Tax Hike: For the First Time, Payroll Levies Will Hit Investment Income): the House Health Care bill unveiled today includes a 3...

WSJ: ObamaCare's Worst Tax Hike

Posted on March 17, 2010
Wall Street Journal editorial, ObamaCare's Worst Tax Hike: For the First Time, Payroll Levies Will Hit Investment Income: The forced march to pass ObamaCare continues, and all that matters now is raw politics. But opponents should go down swinging, and that means exposing such policy debacles as President Obama's 11th-hour...

Ways & Means Chair Favors Retroactive Return of Estate Tax ($3.5m Exemption, 45% Rate), TP Choice of Applying 2009 or 2010 Law

Posted on March 17, 2010
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Sander Levin announced to reporters yesterday that he hopes to begin work on an estate tax bill in the coming weeks that would adopt 2009's $3.5 million exemption and 45% top rate, retroactive to January 1, 2010. But he said the committee is exploring...

Dexter: Rethinking 'Insurance' After AIG

Posted on March 17, 2010
Bobby L. Dexter (Chapman) has published Rethinking "Insurance," Especially After AIG, 87 Denv. U. L. Rev. 59 (2009). Here is the Conclusion: In light of general judicial rejection and scholarly criticism, the Service officially abandoned its economic family theory in the captive insurance company arena in 2001...

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Hoyt Holds Roth IRA Conversion Webinar Today

Posted on March 17, 2010
Christopher R. Hoyt (Missouri-Kansas City) is participating in a live webinar today at 2:00 p.m. EST on Roth IRA Conversions -- The Critical Issues: For the first time since the 1998 introduction of the Roth IRA, the playing field has opened up and the restrictions once limiting Roth IRA conversions...

Cincinnati Seeks to Hire Visiting Clinical Professor

Posted on March 17, 2010
The University of CIncinnati College of Law is seeking to hire a Visiting Professor of Clinical Law to direct our Domestic Violence and Civil Protection Order Clinic for the 2010-11 academic year. From the position announcement: Clinic students represent those who have experienced domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault in...

Alstott Presents Why the EITC Doesn't Make Work Pay Today at Penn

Posted on March 17, 2010
Anne Alstott (Harvard) presents Why the EITC Doesn't Make Work Pay, 73 Law & Contemp. Probs. ___ (2010), at Pennsylvania today as part of its Center for Tax Law and Policy Seminar Series hosted by Chris William Sanchirico and Reed Shuldiner. Here is the abstract: Since 1975, the earned income...

Holcomb & Smith: The Post-Cuno Litigation Landscape

Posted on March 17, 2010
Morgan L. Holcomb (Hamline) & Nicholas Allen Smith (J.D. 2009, Minnesota) have published The Post-Cuno Litigation Landscape, 58 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 1157 (2008). Here is the part of the Introduction: [T]here is a sustained and vigorous debate about whether [state tax incentive programs] work...

Your New Facebook Friend: The IRS

Posted on March 17, 2010
Electronic Frontier Foundation, EFF Posts Documents Detailing Law Enforcement Collection of Data From Social Media Sites: EFF has posted documents shedding light on how law enforcement agencies use social networking sites to gather information in investigations...

Drennan: Strict Liability and Tax Penalties

Posted on March 17, 2010
William A. Drennan (Southern Illinois) has published Strict Liability and Tax Penalties, 62 Okla. L. Rev. 1 (2009). Here is the abstract: Taxpayers who fail to pay their fair share cause each honest taxpayer to pay over $2,000 extra in federal income taxes every year...

The Dirty Dozen Tax Policy Scams

Posted on March 17, 2010
Following up on yesterday's post, IRS Releases 'Dirty Dozen' Tax Scams: Joe Kristan blogs the Dirty Dozen Tax Policy Scams: [T]here?s one key difference between tax policy scams and the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams. You can go to jail if you use a Dirty Dozen Tax Scam, but if you...

Heritage Foundation Hosts Panel Discussion Today on The Wyden-Gregg Tax Reform Bill

Posted on March 16, 2010
The Heritage Foundation hosts a luncheon panel discussion today in Washington, D.C. on Is Wyden-Gregg the First Step to Fundamental Tax Reform?, with these speakers: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) Rosanne Altshuler (Co-director, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center) J...

Law School Names Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusiveness

Posted on March 16, 2010
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law has named Catherine E. Smith Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusiveness. From the Denver press release: During the course of the next year, the newly-appointed Assoc. Dean Smith will work with Dean Katz on several initiatives, particularly those involving (1) pipeline projects...

Philipps: Income Splitting and Gender Equality

Posted on March 16, 2010
Lisa Philipps (York University, Osgoode Hall Law School) has posted Income Splitting and Gender Equality: The Case for Incentivizing Intra-Household Wealth Transfers on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In all countries that use the individual as the basic unit of taxation, tax policy makers must contend with the problem of...

'The Long Arm of the Law Should Not Extend to the Middle Finger'

Posted on March 16, 2010
Early nominee for legal headline of the year: "The Long Arm of the Law Should Not Extend to the Middle Finger," based on the article by Ira P. Robbins (American), Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law, 41 UC Davis L. Rev. 1403 (2008). Here is the abstract: The...

TIGTA: IRS on Track to Meet Goal of Answering 71% of Taxpayer Phone Calls After a 12-Minute Wait

Posted on March 16, 2010
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today released The Internal Revenue Service Is Taking Several Actions to Improve Its Toll-Free Telephone Performance for the 2010 Filing Season (2010-40-031): The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) today publicly released its review of the IRS's plans to improve taxpayer access...

Nina Olson to Testify at House Hearing Today

Posted on March 16, 2010
The Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing at 2:00 p.m. today (webcast here) on The National Taxpayer Advocate?s 2009 Report on the Most Serious Problems Encountered by Taxpayers: The Taxpayer Advocate will highlight key issues and recommendations from her December 2009 Report to...

IRS Releases 'Dirty Dozen' Tax Scams

Posted on March 16, 2010
The IRS today released (IR-2010-32) its 2010 ?dirty dozen? list of tax scams: Return Preparer Fraud Hiding Income Offshore Phishing Filing False or Misleading Forms Nontaxable Social Security Benefits with Exaggerated Withholding Credit Abuse of Charitable Organizations and Deductions Frivolous Arguments Abusive Retirement Plans Disguised Corporate Ownership Zero Wages Misuse...

Rapoport: Where Have All the (Legal) Stories Gone?

Posted on March 16, 2010
Nancy B. Rapoport (UNLV) has posted Where Have All the (Legal) Stories Gone? (My answer: here.) Here is the abstract: This essay examines whether law schools are doing a good job of teaching the art of storytelling to law students. From the article: Every lawyer who wants to explain to...

Cantley Posts Tax Papers on SSRN

Posted on March 16, 2010
Beckett Cantley (Thomas Jefferson) has posted several of his tax papers on SSRN: The U.B.S. Case: The U.S. Attack on Swiss Banking Sovereignty Congress Giveth and Congress Taketh Away: The Slow Death of the SESOP, 20 Akron Tax J. 59 (2005) The New Tax Information Exchange Agreement: A Potent Weapon...

Crowdsourcing Helps Diagnose Hospitalized Harvard Law Prof

Posted on March 16, 2010
My colleague Tim Armstrong has a fascinating account of how crowdsourcing helped diagnose hospitalized Harvard Law Prof Jonathan Zittrain's mystery ailment.

Law Prof Hitler Is Forced to Teach on Fridays

Posted on March 15, 2010

IRS to Start Tracking Online Merchants' Sales in 2011

Posted on March 15, 2010
Beginning on January 1, 2011, merchants receiving over $20,000 in credit card, PayPal, and other forms of third-party payment transactions in a year must report the gross amount of the payments to the IRS on new Form 1099-K: IR 2009-106, IRS Issues Proposed Regulations on Reporting Requirement for Payment Card...

Michael Graetz: Call Your IP Lawyer

Posted on March 15, 2010
Compare these book covers: Michael J. Graetz, 100 Million Unnecessary Returns: A Simple, Fair, and Competitive Tax Plan for the United States (Yale University Press, Jan. 21, 2008) (left) Ken Hoagland, The FairTax Solution: Financial Justice for All Americans (Sentinell, Mar...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on March 15, 2010
Saturday: TIGTA Is Investigating 70 Jokes/Inappropriate Statements About the Attack on the Austin IRS Office Amar & Johnson: U.S. News Should Include Diversity in its Law School Rankings Corporate Mobility in the European Union and Exit Taxes Roe: Delaware's Shrinking Half-Life Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads A Colorful Anti-Lawyer...

Lederman: Using Information Reporting to Reduce the Tax Gap

Posted on March 15, 2010
Leandra Lederman (Indiana-Bloomington) has published Reducing Information Gaps to Reduce the Tax Gap: When Is Information Reporting Warranted?, 78 Fordham L. Rev. 1733 (2010). Here is the abstract: A core problem for enforcement of tax laws is asymmetric information...

Wegner: The Recession, Practical Legal Education and the New Job Market

Posted on March 15, 2010
Judith W. Wegner (North Carolina) has posted More Complicated than We Think: A Response to Rethinking Legal Education in Hard Times: The Recession, Practical Legal Education and the New Job Market, 59 J. Legal Educ. ___ (2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article is part of an upcoming...

NYS Tax Amnesty Program Ends Today

Posted on March 15, 2010
The New York State tax amnesty program ends today. The program forgives up to 80% of a delinquent New York State taxpayer's penalties and interest. (Hat Tip: Amitai Barth.)

Ryan: Human Capital and Transfer Taxation

Posted on March 15, 2010
Kerry A. Ryan (Saint Louis) has published Human Capital and Transfer Taxation, 62 Okla. L. Rev. 223 (2010). Here is the abstract: This article addresses the question of whether education and healthcare transfers should be included in the federal gift tax base...

March 15: Where Will Tax Profs Be Next Year?

Posted on March 15, 2010
Today is March 15, the AALS deadline for faculty to accept a lateral offer and for law schools to make visiting offers, for the 2010-11 academic year: Statement of Good Practices for the Recruitment of and Resignation by Full-Time Faculty Members The Association of American Law Schools recognizes that the...

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