Taxation & Estate Planning

NY Times: Does College Make You Smarter?

Posted on January 26, 2011
New York Times, Room for Debate -- Does College Make You Smarter?: First there was the news that students in American universities study a lot less than they used to. Now we hear, in a recent book titled Academically Adrift, that 45% of the nation's undergraduates learn very little in...

7th Circuit: Overstatement of Basis Is Omission of Income, Triggering 6-Year SOL

Posted on January 26, 2011
The Seventh Circuit handed the IRS a big victory today in a Son-of-BOSS tax shelter case, treating a taxpayer's overstatement of basis as an omission of income under § 6501(e), triggering the six-year (not three-year) statute of limitations. Beard v. Commissioner, No...

Zelenak Presents The Return-Based Mass Income Tax Today at Penn

Posted on January 26, 2011
Lawrence Zelenak (Duke) presents Learning to Love the Form 1040: Two Cheers for the Return-Based Mass Income Tax 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 its introduction during World...

Georgia State Seeks Tax Visitor

Posted on January 25, 2011
The Georgia State University College of Law is looking for a tax visitor for Fall 2011 (or possibly for the entire 2011-12 academic year) to teach the basic tax course as well as related courses such as Business Planning, Estate Planning, and Wills & Trusts...

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SSRN Tax Professor Rankings

Posted on January 25, 2011
SSRN has updated its monthly rankings of 658 American and international law school faculties and 1,500 law professors by (among other things) the number of paper downloads from the SSRN data base. Here is the new list (through January 19, 2011) of the Top 25 U...

Smart Presents International Taxation in Canada at Toronto

Posted on January 25, 2011
Michael Smart (University of Toronto, Department of Economics) presented Should We Worry About Tax Havens? International Taxation in Canada at the University of Toronto yesterday as part of the James Hausman Tax Law and Policy Workshop Series. Here is the abstract: We review Canada?s system of international taxation and evaluate...

Sleeping With Your Dog Can Kill You

Posted on January 25, 2011
AOL, Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie in Your Bed Can Kill You Baltimore Sun, Could Cuddling in Bed With Your Doggy be Hazardous to Your Health? Chicago Now, Sleeping With the Enemy: Your Pets CNN, Sleep With Your Pet, Risk Catching His Bugs Right Coast, Scientists Say You Should Not Sleep...

Johnson: More on Mannella

Posted on January 25, 2011
Following up on last week's posts: 3d Cir. Joins 7th Cir. in Reversing Tax Court and Upholding Innocent Spouse Reg (Jan. 20, 2011) Hickman: Dismayed by Mayo? Check Out the Mannella Dissent (Jan. 20, 2011) Steve Johnson (UNLV), More on Mannella: The most fun part of Mannella to ruminate about...

Dilbert on Tax Policy

Posted on January 25, 2011
(Hat Tip: Andy Morriss.)

Michigan Faculty Opposes Proposal to Lengthen Tenure Clock to Ten Years

Posted on January 25, 2011
Inside Higher Ed, Not So Fast: The faculty senate at the University of Michigan voted overwhelmingly on Monday to reject an administration proposal that would allow the university to extend the pre-tenure probationary period to 10 years. ... The faculty senate voted twice, 54-1, with one abstention, on two measures...

Kaplan: The Impact of ObamaCare on Older Americans

Posted on January 25, 2011
Richard L. Kaplan (Illinois) has published Analyzing the Impact of the New Health Care Reform Legislation on Older Americans, 18 Elder L.J. 213 (2011). Here is the abstract: This Article analyzes the impact on older Americans of the major changes enacted in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...

Bank & Cheffins: The Corporate Pyramid Fable

Posted on January 25, 2011
Steven A. Bank (UCLA) & Brian R. Cheffins (University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law) have published The Corporate Pyramid Fable, 84 Bus. Hist. Rev. 435 (2010). Here is the abstract: Although corporate pyramids are currently commonplace world-wide and although there have been ?noteworthy pyramiders? in American business history, this controversial...

Sullivan: The Mortgage Deduction Heavily Favors Blue States

Posted on January 24, 2011
Martin A. Sullivan (Tax Analysts) has published Mortgage Deduction Heavily Favors Blue States, 130 Tax Notes 364 (Jan. 24, 2010): The benefits of the mortgage interest deduction are not evenly distributed among the states. ... [T]he per capita tax benefit from the mortgage interest deduction for Californians is more than...

Book: Elite Law School Ideas Are ?Catastrophically Bad for America?

Posted on January 24, 2011
Coverage of the forthcoming book by Walter Olson (Cato Institute), Schools for Misrule: Legal Academia and an Overlawyered America (Encounter Books, Feb. 15, 2011): From Barack Obama (Harvard and Chicago) to Bill and Hillary Clinton (Yale), many of our national leaders today emerge from the rarefied air of the nation?s...

Court Gives IRS Rare Win in 'John Edwards Sub S Tax Shelter' Case

Posted on January 24, 2011
Wall Street Journal, The IRS Targets Income Tricks, by Laur Saunders: [A] recent U.S. district court case [was] won by the IRS against David Watson, a CPA in West Des Moines, Iowa. At issue: a common tax-cutting maneuver available to the owners of millions of closely held businesses...

Law School Is Worth It Only If You Go to a Top 35 School

Posted on January 24, 2011
Fortune: When Law School Is Worth the Cost, by Shawn O'Connor (Founder & CEO, Stratus Prep): Despite arguments to the contrary, law school can still lead to a lucrative career, but only if you plan properly and set your sights on one of the top 35 schools...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on January 24, 2011
Saturday: ABA Tax Section Names 2011 Nolan Fellows Fulbright & Jaworski Receives Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award LSAT Test-Takers Down 10%, Law School Applications Down 12% ABA Tax Section Midyear Meeting Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads Caplin & Drysdale Shifts Tax-Exempt Guns to NASCAR-Rival Emory Conference on Aging as...

IRS Releases App for iPhone, Android SmartPhones

Posted on January 24, 2011
The IRS today released IRS2Go App for iPhone and Android SmartPhones: The IRS2Go phone app gives people a convenient way of checking on their federal refund. It also gives people a quick way of obtaining easy-to-understand tax tips. Apple users can download the free IRS2Go application by visiting the Apple...

New York City Charges Alec Baldwin With Evading Tax on Residents

Posted on January 24, 2011
New York Daily News, City Takes Aim at Rich, Famous Like Alec Baldwin, Derek Jeter, Who May be Fibbing on Where They Live: Actor Alec Baldwin has joined a list of elite New Yorkers targeted by tax collectors who think they're fibbing about where they really live to dodge New...

U.S. News to Continue to Use LSAT in Rankings, Even if ABA Makes LSAT Optional

Posted on January 24, 2011
Robert Morse (Director of Data Research, U.S. News & World Report), LSAT Will Still Be Weighted Heavily in Law School Rankings: There are serious discussions underway in the legal education community about whether the LSAT, which is now a mandatory requirement for admission to law school, will become a voluntary...

Lederman Presents Deference to Tax Regs and Rulings Issued During Litigation Today at Florida

Posted on January 24, 2011
Leandra Lederman (Indiana-Bloomington) presents Hold the Mayo: What Respect Should Courts Accord Tax Regulations and Rulings Issued During Litigation? at Florida today as part of its Faculty Colloquia Series. Here is the abstract: The IRS has multiple roles in the tax system...

Oprah Hates Writing Checks to the IRS (She Takes a Shot of Tequila)

Posted on January 24, 2011
Accounting Today, Oprah Hates Writing Checks to the IRS L.A. Times, Oprah Winfrey Tells Piers Morgan She Hates Writing Checks to the IRS Washington Examiner, Oprah Talks to Piers Morgan About Paying Taxes: Its a Tequila Signing Ceremony

Caplin & Drysdale Shifts Tax-Exempt Guns to NASCAR-Rival

Posted on January 23, 2011
After filing complaints with the IRS challenging the tax-exempt status of college football bowl games, Marcus S. Owens (Caplin & Drysdale), the former head of the IRS's Exempt Organization Division, has filed this complaint with the IRS challenging the tax-exempt status of the National Hot Rod Association...

Emory Conference on Aging as a Feminist Concern

Posted on January 23, 2011
Tax Prof presentations at this weekend's conference at Emory on Aging as a Feminist Concern, sponsored by the Feminist Legal Theory Project: Richard Kaplan (Illinois), Feminist Legal Theory and the Financing of Long-Term Care Nancy Knauer (Temple), LGBT Elders: Rethinking Equality Across the Lifespan

CTJ: Tax Justice Digest

Posted on January 23, 2011
Citizens for Tax Justice, Tax Justice Digest (Jan. 21, 2011): A Tale of Two Tax Commissions: Georgia vs. Vermont Bad and Less Bad: Business Tax Cuts vs. Grocery Tax Cuts Lawmakers in 4 States [HI, ME, NY, WI] Want to Make Tax Reform More Difficult Ohioans Battle Stormy Conditions The...

Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

Posted on January 23, 2011
There is a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a new paper joining the list at #5: 1. [681 Downloads] 2010 Federal Tax Update, by Samuel A. Donaldson (U. Washington) 2. [327 Downloads] High Volatility, Negative Correlation, Roth IRA Conversions,...

The Number of LSAT Test-Takers Is Down 10%

Posted on January 22, 2011
The Law School Admission Council reports that the number of 2010-11 LSAT test takers is down 10.0% from 2009-10 (albeit the 129,414 test takers is the second largest YTD testing volume in history). (Hat Tip: Legal Skills Prof Blog.)

ABA Tax Section Midyear Meeting

Posted on January 22, 2011
The ABA Tax Section midyear meeting concludes today in Boca Raton. The full program is here; Tax Profs with speaking roles today include: Low Income Taxpayers -- Leslie Book (Villanova), Kathryn J. Sedo (Minnesota), William N. Timm, Jr. (Georgia State) Pro Bono: Tax Counseling for the Exploding Population of Elderly...

Fulbright & Jaworski Receives Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award

Posted on January 22, 2011
The ABA Tax Section today presented Fulbright & Jaworski with the annual Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award on the final day of its midyear meeting in Boca Raton. From the press release: The Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award, named after the late American University Law professor who greatly contributed to...

ABA Tax Section Names 2011 Nolan Fellows

Posted on January 22, 2011
The ABA Tax Section today announced the recipients of its 2011 Nolan Fellowships on the final day of its midyear meeting in Boca Raton: Chad R. DeGroot (Bryan Cave, St. Louis) Stacey Delich-Gould (Cahill Gordon & Reindel, New York) Melissa L. Galetto (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Washington, D...

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