Taxation & Estate Planning

Bradbury & Zhao: Measuring Non?School Fiscal Disparities Among Municipalities

Posted on June 23, 2009
Katharine Bradbury (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) & Bo Zhao (Federal reserve Bank of Boston) have published Measuring Non?School Fiscal Disparities Among Municipalities, 62 Nat'l Tax J. 25 (2009). Here is the abstract: This paper develops new measures of non?school revenue capacity and environmental costs for Massachusetts cities and towns...

The Code and Regs Find a Home

Posted on June 23, 2009
I previously blogged Sarah Lawsky's (George Washington) photo essay on her unsuccessful effort to move the 8-volume complete CCH tax code and regs at a yard sale -- she first asked $1 for the $270.50 set, and then couldn't even give it away! Sarah reports that they have "found a...

Liberty University to Equalize Treatment of Democratic and Republican Clubs

Posted on June 23, 2009
I previously blogged (here and here) the tax implications of Liberty University's decision to revoke recognition of the student College Democrats club. Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. has announced a new policy, treating the College Democrats as an unofficial club and changing the College Republicans from an officially sanctioned club to...

Deducting the Cost of a Kindle

Posted on June 23, 2009
Legal Blog Watch: Five Uses for a Kindle in a Law Practice: OK, so I realize that most of you are probably coveting a Kindle, Amazon.com's digital book device. But you haven't yet figured out how to justify its cost as a business expense when you're planning on using it...

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New Details Emerge of Scientology-IRS Settlement

Posted on June 22, 2009
One of the enduring tax mysteries is the 26-year battle between the Church of Scientology and the IRS (documented here), culminating in a 1993 settlement (during Fred Goldberg's stint as Commissioner) in which the IRS agreed to grant tax exempt status to the church (Rev...

Florida's President: UF = Harvard (and Princeton, Stanford, Yale, ...)

Posted on June 22, 2009
Following up on my prior posts on manipulation of the U.S. News rankings: the Gainesville Sun has obtained the peer reputation survey completed by University of Florida President Bernie Machen, in which he only gave the highest (5) "distinguished" to nine universities: Columbia Florida Harvard Michigan MIT Princeton Stanford UC-Berkeley...

Rothstein & Yoon: The Impact of Affirmative Action on Law School Admissions

Posted on June 22, 2009
Jesse Rothstein (Princeton) & Albert H. Yoon (Northwestern) have published Affirmative Action in Law School Admissions: What Do Racial Preferences Do?, 75 U. Chi. L. Rev. 649 (2008). Here is part of the Conclusion: Debates over the effects of affirmative action, and the mismatch hypothesis in particular, in legal education...

Heritage Foundation Hosts Luncheon Panel Today on The Corporate Income Tax on Jobs and Wages

Posted on June 22, 2009
The Heritage Foundation hosts a luncheon panel today on Capitol Hill on The Corporate Income Tax on Jobs and Wages: The corporate income tax costs the U.S economy jobs and wages, diminishes investment and productivity, and limits the ability of U.S. businesses to compete in the global marketplace...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on June 22, 2009
Saturday: The Tax Causes of the Economic Crisis Tax Bloggers Don't Buy Obama's Defense of DOJ Tax Division Nominee Dorocak: Constitutionality of the § 107 Housing Allowance for Pastors Cui: Income Taxation of State-Owned Enterprises: Theory and Chinese Evidence Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads Obama's Pick for State Department...

DePaul Names Illinois Judge as Interim Dean for Two Years; Search for Glen Weissenberger's Replacement Will Not Begin Until Summer 2010

Posted on June 22, 2009
Following up on my recent posts (here and here) on DePaul's abrupt firing of Dean Glen Weissenberger: the law school today named as interim dean 76 year old Illinois state appellate judge Warren Wolfson, effective August 15. In response, DePaul's Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship & Faculty Stephen Siegel has...

Overesch: The Effects of Multinationals? Profit Shifting Activities on Real Investments

Posted on June 22, 2009
Michael Overesch (Centre for European Economic Research) has published The Effects of Multinationals? Profit Shifting Activities on Real Investments, 62 Nat'l Tax J. 5 (2009). Here is the abstract: This paper investigates whether the size of multinationals? real investments in a high?tax country is affected by profit?shifting activities...

Moneyball: The Movie

Posted on June 22, 2009
As regular readers of this blog know, I have long been intrigued by the application of Moneyball principles to law schools, beginning with my article, What Law Schools Can Learn from Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, 82 Tex. L. Rev. 1483 (2004), which helped spawn the Moneylaw blog...

Bird-Pollan: Who?s Afraid of Redistribution? An Analysis of the Earned Income Tax Credit

Posted on June 22, 2009
Jennifer E. Bird-Pollan (Ropes & Gray, Boston) has published Who?s Afraid of Redistribution? An Analysis of the Earned Income Tax Credit, 74 Mo. L. Rev. 251 (2009). Here is the abstract: Using the federal income tax system as a means of redistribution was a recurrent theme in last year's presidential...

Trends in Tax Compliance

Posted on June 22, 2009
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today released its annual compliance report, Trends in Compliance Activities Through Fiscal Year 2008: This report presents the results of our review to provide statistical information and trend analyses of the data for Collection and Examination functions activities...

DePaul's Firing of Dean Glen Weissenberger Is Universally Condemned

Posted on June 21, 2009
Following up on Friday's post: DePaul law faculty, administrators, and students, as well as the law prof blogosphere, are unanimously condemning DePaul's abrupt firing of Dean Glen Weissenberger for reporting truthful information to the ABA in connection with its reaccreditation site visit...

Edgar Posts Tax Papers on SSRN

Posted on June 21, 2009
Timothy Edgar (University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law) has posted several tax papers on SSRN: The Search for Alternatives to Exempt Treatment of Financial Services Under a Value-Added Tax, in GST in Retrospect and Prospect 123 (2007) (Richard Krever & David White, eds...

Top 5 Tax

Posted on June 21, 2009
This week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads is ths same as last week's list: 1. [348 Downloads]: Now You See it, Now You Don't: Exiting a Partnership and Making Gain Disappear, by Howard Abrams (Emory) 2. [257 Downloads]: Measuring Rates of Return for Lobbying Expenditures: An...

Obama's Pick for State Department Post Failed to File Her 2005 & 2006 Tax Returns; She Blames Her Cardiologist Husband and the Post Office

Posted on June 21, 2009
The New York Times reports that President Obama?s choice as Chief of Protocol for the State Department, Capricia Penavic Marshall (J.D. 1990, Case Western), and her cardiologist husband, failed to file their 2005 and 2006 tax returns. She balmed the problem "on the Postal Service and on miscommunication between her...

Dorocak: Constitutionality of the § 107 Housing Allowance for Pastors

Posted on June 20, 2009
John R. Dorocak (Western State) has published The Income Tax Exclusion of the Housing Allowance for Ministers of the Gospel Per I.R.C. § 107: First Amendment Establishment of Religion or Free Exercise Thereof -- Where Should the Warren Court Have Gone?, 54 S...

Cui: Income Taxation of State-Owned Enterprises: Theory and Chinese Evidence

Posted on June 20, 2009
Wei Cui (China University of Political Science and Law) has posted Income Taxation of State-Owned Enterprises: Theory and Chinese Evidence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the corporate income taxation of state-owner enterprises (SOEs)...

Tax Bloggers Don't Buy Obama's Defense of DOJ Tax Division Nominee

Posted on June 20, 2009
Following up on Thursday's post, Obama Digs in on Smith Nomination to Head DOJ Tax Division: tax bloggers have come out against the nomination of Patty Smith to head the Department of Justice's Tax Division: The Tax Lawyer's Blog: "Withdraw the Nomination Mr...

The Tax Causes of the Economic Crisis

Posted on June 20, 2009
Forbes: Taxes and the Crisis, by Bruce Bartlett: It's important to understand the origins of the economic crisis so that the correct policies can be implemented to end it and prevent its recurrence. Thus far, most attention has focused on monetary and regulatory policy...

Tax Analysts Hosts Program Today on ADR and the IRS

Posted on June 19, 2009
Tax Analysts hosts a program today on ADR and the IRS at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Here are the speakers: Christopher Bergin (President and Publisher, Tax Analysts) (Moderator) John Klotsche (Caplin & Drysdale) Armando Gomez (Skadden) Donald Rocen (Former Deputy Chief Counsel, IRS) A live webcast is...

Tax Foundation Adds Holtz-Eakin, McGill & Olson to Board

Posted on June 19, 2009
The Tax Foundation has announced three new members of its Board of Directors: Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of DHE Consulting, LLC; former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Chief Economist of the President's Council of Economic Advisers Sarah McGill, Senior Vice President, Tax Planning, PepsiCo Pamela Olson, Partner, Skadden, Arps; former...

Millar Posts Tax Papers on SSRN

Posted on June 19, 2009
Rebecca Millar (University of Sydney Law School) has posted two tax papers on SSRN: Echoes of Source and Residence in VAT Jurisdictional Rules Intentional and Unintentional Double Non-Taxation Issues in VAT

Can States Force Out of State Border Businesses to Collect Sales Tax?

Posted on June 19, 2009
City Journal: Interstate Confiscation Clause: Massachusetts Wants Even More Tax Revenue?From New Hampshire: Should New Hampshire businesses have to collect Massachusetts sales taxes from border-crossing shoppers? That?s the issue in Town Fair Tire v. Massachusetts, a case before the Bay State?s Supreme Judicial Court with ramifications for commerce and constitutional...

U.S., Switzerland Agree to Information Exchange to Combat Tax Evasion

Posted on June 19, 2009
From Treasury Department Press Release TG-177: As part of the Obama Administration's aggressive efforts to enforce U.S. tax laws and reduce offshore tax evasion, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the conclusion of negotiations with Switzerland to amend the U...

Arnold Embraces the Flat Tax; Is It Good for California?

Posted on June 19, 2009
"California is so broken that we must look at every bold proposal out there, no matter how daring or radical -- including the idea of a flat tax." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, June 11, 2009 Wall Street Journal: A Flat Tax for California? The Governator Goes Back to his Roots as...

DePaul Fires Dean in Dispute Over Tuition to be Retained by Law School

Posted on June 19, 2009
In this email sent to the DePaul College of Law community yesterday, Provost Epp announced that he was "immediately" firing Dean Glen Weissenberger, who on July 1, 2007 was reappointed to a second five-year term: I write today to inform you that there will be a change in leadership at...

U.S. News Top 400 Colleges & Universities in the World

Posted on June 19, 2009
U.S. News & World Report has published a mid-year update of its ranking of the Top 400 World's Best Colleges and Universities, based on six criteria: Academic Peer Review (40%) Employer Review (10%) Student/Faculty Ratio (20%) Citations per Faculty Member (20%) Proportion of International Faculty (5%) Proportion of International Students...

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