Taxation & Estate Planning

The Ten Most Important Tax Developments, 2000-2009

Posted on December 10, 2009
Inspired by Brian Leiter's poll of the most important developments in legal academia over the last decade "in terms of their importance or impact, whether good or ill" -- please send me your nominees for the most important tax developments of the 2000-2009 decade...

FBA Tax Section Student Writing Competition

Posted on December 10, 2009
The Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation invites law students to participate in its annual annual tax writing competition: All full-time law students currently seeking a juris doctor or master of laws at an accredited law school are eligible to enter the competition...

Obama Proposes $12,000 "Cash for Caulkers" Program

Posted on December 10, 2009
President Obama has proposed a $12,000 "Cash for Caulkers" program, modeled after the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Although the details are sketchy, the outline calls for a 50% rebate on up to $24,000 of purchases by homeowners of energy-efficient appliances and insulation...

Lokken: Taxation of Credit Derivatives

Posted on December 10, 2009
Lawrence Lokken (Florida) has posted Taxation of Credit Derivatives on SSRN. Here is the abstract: One arguably good thing about the current financial crisis is that it has broadened public understanding of the global financial system. Few people had heard of credit default swaps two years ago, but these instruments...

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Manning & Hesch Post Tax Papers on SSRN

Posted on December 10, 2009
Elliott Manning (Miami) & Jerome M. Hesch (Greenberg Traurig, Miami) have posted two tax papers on SSRN: Family Deferred Payment Sales: Installment Sales, SCINs, Private Annuity Sales, OID and Other Enigmas Sale of Business Assets: Contingent Liabilities and Economic Performance

The Truth About Law School Exams

Posted on December 10, 2009

Brown Presents Automatic Lifetime Income and Retirement Income Security Today at Columbia

Posted on December 10, 2009
Jeffrey R. Brown (University of Illinois, College of Business) presents Automatic Lifetime Income as a Path to Retirement Income Security at Columbia today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series. Here is the abstract: This paper proposes that policymakers encourage ?automatic annuitization? so that it becomes an integral part...

Mob Role in NYC Strip Club Excuses Responsible Person's Back Tax Liability

Posted on December 10, 2009
In today's New York Law Journal, Mob's Role in Strip Club Excuses Taxes, Judge Says: The estate of a businessman held to be responsible for taxes on a once-prosperous Manhattan strip club does not have to pay more than $4 million in back taxes because the club became so thoroughly...

Prescott: Taxpayer Civil Penalty Protection and Long Term Capital Holdings

Posted on December 10, 2009
Peter A. Prescott (Indiana-Indianapolis) has published Taxpayer Civil Penalty Protection: Long Term Capital Holdings and Its Wake, 81 Temple L. Rev. 995 (2009). Here is the abstract: The civil penalty protection provisions of the Internal Revenue Code are a taxpayer?s last line of defense when the IRS seeks to punish...

Pease-Wingenter: The 5th Circuit's Flawed Approach to the Work Product Doctrine in Tax Cases

Posted on December 10, 2009
Claudine Pease-Wingenter (Phoenix School of Law) has Prophetic or Misguided?: The Fifth Circuit's (Increasingly) Unpopular Approach to the Work Product Doctrine, 29 Rev. Litig. 121 (2009). Here is the abstract: Codified in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(3), the federal work product doctrine?s ?anticipation of litigation? requirement has been the...

Do You Need a Ph.D. to be a Law Professor?

Posted on December 09, 2009
Dave Hoffman (Temple), To JD/PhD or Not to JD/PhD, That Is the Question Orin Kerr (George Washington), In the Future, Will a Ph.D. Be More Important to Get A Law Teaching Job ? Or Less? Larry Ribstein (Illinois), You Still Don?t Need a PhD for Law Teaching Kate Litvak (Northwestern),...

WSJ Abandons Use of "Death Tax"

Posted on December 09, 2009
Style & Substance -- A Wall Street Journal Bulletin, Death and Taxes: Because opponents of estate taxes have long referred to them as death taxes, the term should be avoided in news stories. ... [T]he term death tax has become too politicized to be of any use except in editorials...

Moneyball, Volleyball, and Faculty Productivity

Posted on December 09, 2009
Bridget J. Crawford (Pace), Moneyball Comes to Women?s Collegiate Sports: The Penn State women?s volleyball team has a 98-game winning streak. ... Coach Russ Rose?s secret? Mathematics. He describes his approach in today?s New York Times. [For Penn State?s Volleyball Coach, the Streak Is Beside the Point]: ?My decisions in...

House to Vote Today on Tax Extenders

Posted on December 09, 2009
Following up on prior posts (here and here) on H.R. 4213, The Tax Extenders Act of 2009: Office of Management and Budget, Statement of Administration Policy Joint Committee on Taxation, Technical Explanation (JCX-60-09) Joint Committee on Taxation, Estimated Revenue Effects (JCX-59-09) Americans for Tax Reform, Letter in Opposition to H...

Senate Finance Committee & GAO on R&D Tax Credit

Posted on December 09, 2009
GAO, The Research Tax Credit?s Design and Administration Can Be Improved (GAO-10-136) Senate Finance Committee press release, Baucus, Grassley, Hatch Revisit Research and Development Tax Credit Senate Finance Committee press release, Finance Senators Propose Improvements to Research and Development Tax Credit Senate Bill, The ??Grow Research Opportunities With Taxcredits? Help...

ABA Tax Section Webcast Today on Payroll Tax Challenges of Multistate Businesses

Posted on December 09, 2009
The ABA Tax Section offers a teleconference and webcast today on Payroll Tax Challenges of Multistate Businesses from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST: This panel will discuss withholding and income tax reporting issues regarding employees (included tax attorneys attending out-of-state conferences) engaged in multistate businesses, including uniformity proposals being offered...

House Passes Tax Extenders Bill, With Tax Increase on Carried Interests

Posted on December 09, 2009
The House today, in a most party-line vote of 241-181, approved H.R. 4213, The Tax Extenders Act of 2009, which extends 45 tax provisions scheduled to expire at the end of 2009, paid for by taxing carried interests at ordinary income rates (rather than at capital gains rates) and by...

CCH Summary of House Estate Tax Bill

Posted on December 09, 2009
CCH has published a 4-page special briefing on The Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Bill of 2009: Highlights: $3.5 million estate tax exclusion amount Top estate tax and gift tax rate of 45 percent Not indexed for inflation No portability of spouse?s unused exclusion Continuation...

Poll: Your Favorite Tax Blog

Posted on December 09, 2009
The Tax Lawyer's Blog is running an online poll on Your Favorite Tax Blog among ten listed tax blogs (including TaxProf Blog).

Civ Pro Rappers

Posted on December 09, 2009
Two years ago, I blogged my civil procedure colleague Adam Steinman's tax rap: Robert Bone (Boston University) offers this civil procedure rap: (Hat Tip: Most Strongly Supported.)

A Transaction Tax Would Hurt All Investors

Posted on December 09, 2009
Wall Street Journal op-ed, A Transaction Tax Would Hurt All Investors, by Burton G. Malkiel (Princeton University, Department of Economics; author, A Random Walk Down Wall Street) & George U. Sauter (Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer of Vanguard Group): Wall Street is widely blamed for causing the current economic...

The Ethics and

Posted on December 08, 2009
Dan Markel (Florida State), How Much Time Should a Job Offer be Open to Avoid Being Thought of as "Exploding?" Michael Froomkin (Miami), Exploding Offers Are Evil Brian Leiter (Chicago), What Constitutes an "Exploding Offer"? Dan Filler (Drexel), Are Exploding Offers So Bad? Jennifer Mnookin (UCLA), Law Teaching and "Exploding...

Rangel to Press for Major Tax Reform

Posted on December 08, 2009
The Hill Reuters Wall Street Journal

IRS Offers Tips for Year-End Charitable Donations

Posted on December 08, 2009
IRS Offers Tips for Year-End Donations (IR-2009-114): Individuals and businesses making contributions to charity should keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have taken effect in recent years. Some of these changes include the following: Special Charitable Contributions for Certain IRA Owners Rules for Clothing and Household Items...

Borden: Allocations in Accordance with Partners' Interests in the Partnership

Posted on December 08, 2009
Bradley T. Borden (Washburn) has posted Allocations Made in Accordance with Partners' Interests in the Partnership, 11 Bus. Ent. 4 (Nov./Dec. 2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Tax law allocates partnership tax items in accordance with the partners' interests in the partnership if the allocations do not have substantial...

Infanti: Decentralizing Family: An Inclusive Proposal for Individual Tax Filing in the United States

Posted on December 08, 2009
Anthony C. Infanti (Pittsburgh) has posted Decentralizing Family: An Inclusive Proposal for Individual Tax Filing in the United States on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The debate in the United States over individual versus joint federal income tax filing is at something of a crossroads...

Top 12 Law School Acceptance Rates for MIT, Princeton & Yale Grads

Posted on December 08, 2009
The Daily Princetonian, U. Trails Yale in Law School Acceptance Rates: Undergrad Acceptance % at Top 12 Law Schools Average LSAT Average GPA Yale 37% 166 3.58 Princeton 32% 164 3.45 MIT 30% 164 3.32 Harvard and Stanford law schools refused to participate in the Daily Princetonian's study...

Helge: Regulation of the Charitable Sector Through a Federal Charity Oversight Board

Posted on December 08, 2009
Terri Lynn Helge (Texas-Wesleyan) has posted Policing the Good Guys: Regulation of the Charitable Sector Through a Federal Charity Oversight Board, 19 Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 101 (2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recently, public confidence in the charitable sector has eroded due to a barrage of media...

ABA Webcast Today on Using Graegin Loans to Pay Estate Taxes

Posted on December 08, 2009
The ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section offers a teleconference and webcast today on Black, White, and Grae(gin): Borrowing to Pay Estate Taxes from 1:00 p.m. -2:30 p.m. EST: A "Graegin loan" is a popular option for estates that lack enough liquid assets to pay estate taxes and...

Law School Partnerships with LSC-Funded Programs

Posted on December 08, 2009
The Legal Services Corporation has released a 53-page report on Law School Partnerships with LSC-Funded Programs.

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