Taxation & Estate Planning

Off to San Diego

Posted on June 06, 2009
I am off to San Diego for my sixth summer teaching Tax I at the University of San Diego School of Law, my first as the Herzog Summer Visiting Professor in Taxation. San Diego is truly America's Finest City -- the climate and environments are simply spectacular...

4th Annual Junior Tax Scholars' Workshop Kicks Off Today at Brooklyn

Posted on June 05, 2009
The 4th Annual Junior Tax Scholars' Workshop kicks off today at Brooklyn: Panel #1: Tax Legislative and Regulatory Process Heather Field (UC-Hastings), Taxpayer Choice in Legal Transitions Commentators: Meredith Conway (Suffolk), Rachelle Holmes (George Mason) Stephanie Hoffer (Ohio State): A Study of Congressional Signaling through Tax Legislation Commentators: Rebecca Kysar...

Aprill Wins Dana Latham Award

Posted on June 05, 2009
Ellen P. Aprill (Loyola-L.A.) will receive the 2009 Dana Latham Award today from the Los Angeles County Bar Association for lifetime achievement in the field of tax law: The award is given only in those years when the Executive Committee of the Taxation Section concludes that there is a then...

Obama Tax Plan Would Increase Progressivity, Decrease Economic Growth

Posted on June 05, 2009
Curtis S. Dubay (Heritage Foundation) has published Income Tax Will Become More Progressive Under Obama Tax Plan. Here is the Conclusion: Increasing the progressivity of the tax code threatens to further stifle economic growth. A code more in line with the flat tax is necessary to remove the barriers that...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

House Holds Hearing on IRS Operations

Posted on June 05, 2009
The House Ways & Means Committee Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing yesterday on Internal Revenue Service Operations and Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Proposals. In connection with the hearing, the Government Accountability Office released Interim Results of IRS?s 2009 Filing Season, which: Assess the IRS?s filing season performance in processing...

Justice Souter's Tax Antipathy

Posted on June 05, 2009
The Tax Foundation has published Justice Souter?s Tax Opinions Show Steady Erosion of Respect for Commerce Clause: In cases involving taxation Justice Souter will be remembered for his antipathy. When asked why he sang along with the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the Court's annual Christmas party, he responded,...

Law, Society, and Taxation Wrap-Up

Posted on June 05, 2009
Last week, I blogged the fourteen Law, Society, and Taxation panels at the Law & Society Association Annual Meeting in Denver: Distributive Justice, Tax Policy, and Society Gender, Families, and Sexuality Tax Administration International Tax Comparative Tax Tax Rules and Social Outcomes Normative Analysis of Tax Doctrines Business Tax History...

The High Tech Alternative to "My Grandmother Died"

Posted on June 05, 2009
Inside Higher Ed: The New Student Excuse?: Most of us have had the experience of receiving e-mail with an attachment, trying to open the attachment, and finding a corrupted file that won't open. That concept is at the root of a new Web site advertising itself (perhaps serious only in...

Graduation Day

Posted on June 05, 2009
Reed, congratulations on your high school graduation today. Although I am bursting with pride at your many academic and athletic accomplishments, I am prouder still of simply who you are and the man you are becoming. After spending many years as your coach and later sideline cheerleader, I was awed...

IRS Files $800k Tax Lien Against John Kerry's 2004 Campaign

Posted on June 04, 2009
The IRS has filed a $819,848 tax lien against Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign for failure to file payroll tax forms, but Kerry on Wednesday blamed an IRS clerical error. Tax Analysts reports that Sen. Kerry released documentation from the Paychex payroll service claiming that the tax forms were...

TIGTA Releases Semi-Annual Report to Congress

Posted on June 04, 2009
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released its semi-annual report to Congress: January 2009 marked the ten-year anniversary of TIGTA?s stand-up as an independent organization. In July of 1998, Congress approved and the President signed into law the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act (RRA 98)...

Microsoft to Shift Jobs Overseas If Obama Tax Bill Passes

Posted on June 04, 2009
Bloomberg: Ballmer Says Tax Would Move Microsoft Jobs Offshore, by Ryan J. Donmoyer: Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steven Ballmer said the world?s largest software company would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Barack Obama?s plans to impose higher taxes on U...

Blair: Churches, Political Speech and the Loss of § 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status

Posted on June 04, 2009
Keith Blair (Baltimore) has published Tax Break: Churches, Political Speech and the Loss of Section 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status, 86 Denv. U. L. Rev. 439 (2009). Here is the abstract: Churches in the United States, like individuals, are free to speak on any issue that they choose...

3Ls: What Will You Miss Most About Law School?

Posted on June 04, 2009

IRS to Close Tax Gap by Licensing Tax Preparers

Posted on June 04, 2009
IR-2009-57, IRS Launches Tax Return Preparer Review; Recommendations to Improve Compliance Expected by Year End Associated Press, IRS to Seek More Regulation of Tax Preparers Bloomberg, IRS May License Tax Preparers to Help Close "Tax Gap" Reuters, IRS Mulls Oversight of Tax Preparers Wall Street Journal, IRS To Propose New...

Clemson Official Admits to Manipulating its U.S. News Ranking

Posted on June 04, 2009
Chronicle of Higher Education: Clemson Assails Allegations That It Manipulates 'U.S. News' Rankings: Clemson University, stung by charges by one of its own researchers that it willfully manipulates the U.S. News & World Report rankings, fired back on Wednesday, saying the accusations are ?outrageous? examples of ?urban legends? that have...

VAT = Big Government

Posted on June 04, 2009
Op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal: VATs Mean Big Government; The Evidence From Europe Shows That Consumption Taxes Go Hand-in-Hand With Rising Income Taxes, by Daniel J. Mitchell (Senior Fellow, Cato Institute): The classical argument in favor of a VAT says that it's desirable because it has a single rate...

Former BDO Seidman Vice-Chairman Pleads Guilty in J&G Tax Shelter Case

Posted on June 04, 2009
Charles W. Bee, Jr., former Vice-Chairman of BDO Seidman, pled guilty yesterday to charges stemming from over $1 billion in Jenkens & Gilchrist tax shelters marketed by BDOS Seidman. Press Release Criminal Information Plea Agreement Bloomberg News Federal Tax Crimes Financial Times New York Post New York Times DealBook Roth...

Johnson: The Work Product Doctrine and Tax Accrual Workpapers

Posted on June 04, 2009
Steve R. Johnson (UNLV) has posted The Work Product Doctrine and Tax Accrual Workpapers, 123 Tax Notes ___ (July 23, 2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article does not purport to answer all questions as to the work product doctrine generally or even as to that doctrine as...

Caron & Repetti: The Estate Tax Non-Gap: Why Repeal a 'Voluntary' Tax?

Posted on June 03, 2009
Jim Repetti (Boston College) and I have published The Estate Tax Non-Gap: Why Repeal a "Voluntary" Tax?, 20 Stan. L. & Pol'y Rev. 153 (2009). Here is the abstract: Over thirty years ago, George Cooper wrote a seminal article arguing that the estate tax was largely voluntary...

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman's Speech Before the OED

Posted on June 03, 2009
IRS Commissioner's Speech Bloomberg: IRS Should Do Company Audits With Other Countries: Shulman Wall Street Journal: IRS Chief Says Banks May Help Shape Offshore-Account Rules Web CPA: IRS Commish Details Global Tax Enforcement Plans

ABA Tax Section Offers Webcast Today on Dealing With an Uncooperative Client

Posted on June 03, 2009
The ABA Tax Section offers a teleconference and webcast today on Dealing With an Uncooperative Client from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST: In a perfect world, a client would consult a lawyer before engaging in any transaction that might have significant tax consequences and would then attempt to implement the...

CBPP: Limiting the Tax Exclusion For Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance

Posted on June 03, 2009
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has published Limiting the Tax Exclusion For Employer-Sponsored Insurance Can Help Pay For Health Reform, by Paul N. Van de Water: Although the tax exclusion provides a big boost to employer-sponsored health coverage, it is poorly targeted...

NLJ on Yeserday's

Posted on June 03, 2009
Following up on yesterday's post, Today's En Banc 1st Circuit Oral Argument in Textron Tax Accrual Work Papers Case: in today's National Law Journal: 1st Cir. Grills Both Sides in Hearing Over Protected Status of Tax Accrual Work Papers: At an en banc hearing, the U...

Avi-Yonah: Structuring a U.S. Federal VAT

Posted on June 03, 2009
Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Michigan) has posted Structuring a US Federal VAT on SSRN. Here is the abstract: On 18 and 19 February 2009, the American Tax Policy Institute (ATPI) sponsored a conference in Washington, DC, on Structuring a Federal VAT: Design and Coordination Issues...

Knoll: Reconsidering International Tax Neutrality

Posted on June 03, 2009
Michael S. Knoll (Penn) has posted Reconsidering International Tax Neutrality on SSRN. Here is the abstract: For decades, U.S. international tax policy has shifted back and forth between territorial-source-exemption taxation and worldwide-residence-credit taxation...

Len Burman Leaves Tax Policy Center, Assumes Moynihan Chair at Syracuse

Posted on June 03, 2009
Len Burman is leaving his position as Director of the Tax Policy Center to accept a position as Daniel Patrick Moynihan Chair in Public Affairs at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. From the press release: ?We are extremely fortunate to have recruited Dr...

"Sweeping Change" Coming in Law School Accreditation -- Outcomes, Not Inputs

Posted on June 03, 2009
In today's ABA Journal: Sweeping Accreditation Review May Prompt "Sea Change" in Law School Evals: For months, the ABA's law school accrediting body has quietly been working on a comprehensive review of its often-controversial standards governing legal education...

More on Liberty University's Tax-Exempt Status

Posted on June 03, 2009
Following up on these prior posts: Group Asks IRS to Review Liberty University's Tax-Exempt Status (5/27/09) Liberty University as Bob Jones University -- Can the IRS Strip Tax-Exempt Status for Revoking Recognition of Democratic Club? (5/25/09) Liberty University Revokes Recognition of Democratic Club (5/22/09) In today's Legal Times: Questioning Liberty...

Supreme Court Grants Cert in Bilski, Implicating Tax Strategy Patents

Posted on June 02, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday granted certiorari in Bilski v. Doll, No. 08-964, which will have implications for the validity of tax strategy patents. Prior TaxProf Blog coverage: Symposium on Tax Patents (12/16/08) Aprill: Bilski Means More Uncertainty for Tax Strategy Patents (10/30/08) Federal Circuit Overrules Tax Strategy Patent Linchpin...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.