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U.S.Foreign Trade Zones, Tax-Free Trade Zones Of The World, And Their Impact On The U.S. Economy, Susan W. Tiefenbrun

Susan W Tiefenbrun

ABSTRACT

U.S. Foreign Trade Zones, Tax-Free Trade Zones of the World, and Their Impact on the United States Economy , by Susan Tiefenbrun

Free trade zones (FTZs) date back to the time of the Phoenicians; they developed in the l970s and proliferated from 1980 until today. FTZs are duty-free areas where goods may be warehoused, processed, sold, serviced, distributed, showcased, packaged, labeled, sorted, assembled, and/or manufactured as finished goods prior to re-exporting them as duty-exempt finished products. More than one 135 countries operate tax-free trade zones. There are more than 3,500 of these zones and subzones all over the world, …

The Role Of The Ira In Retirement Savings: A Critical Examination With Suggestions For Improvement, Rebecca C. Davenport

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This comment scrutinizes the role IRAs play in retirement savings by presenting the current law in key areas with a focus on those aspects which call for improvement. Suggestions for improvement include eliminating the back-loaded Roth variety of IRA, encouraging lawmakers to make changes to promote IRA savings among low- and moderate income individuals, and changing the taxation of IRA withdrawals. While the IRA is the focus of the comment, the suggestions for change are geared toward enhancing the overall retirement landscape.

Retroactive Taxation: United States V. Carlton -- The Taxpayer Loses Again!, Ronald Z. Domsky

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Unlike criminal laws, the ex post facto constitutional protection does not extend to civil tax matters. Nor are the words "fairness" or "equity" found anywhere in the Internal Revenue Code. Even as this is written, Congress is debating major tax changes, some of which may be retroactive. Should taxpayers be required to plan their financial affairs always subject to pending tax legislation or legislation that hasn't even yet been proposed? The Carlton case is one of the most egregious examples of taxpayer abuse in this area.

Characterization And Assignment Of Corporate And Shareholder Income, Daniel M. Schneider

Northern Illinois University Law Review

A fertile group for the development of differentials arises in dividend distributions made by corporations to their shareholders. Professor Schneider analyzes the way in which differentials in dividend income have been exploited: whose income it is; is it ordinary income or capital gain; and has a dividend been disguised as proceeds from the sale of stock, or a sales proceed as a dividend (the Waterman Steamship problem). He concludes that differentials between various types of statutes--who is the taxpayer, at what rate is the income taxed--inevitably leads to taxpayers trying to meet favorable characterizations and to avoid negative characterizations. The …

Limits On State Taxation And Spending: Implications For The Illinois Constitutional Convention Referendum, J. Fred Giertz, David L. Chicoine

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article considers the use of constitutional restraints on the state's power to tax and spend. The Article examines the effects of both traditional and specific limitations, and analyzes government growth rates, concluding that the traditional measures already in place in Illinois are adequate to control the size of state government without unduly restricting the state's ability to perform necessary governmental functions.

Illinois Home Rule And Taxation: A New Approach To Local Government Enabling Authority, James M. Banovetz, Thomas W. Kelty

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article examines and assesses the use of the home rule powers which were granted to local governments by the 1970 Constitution. Focusing primarily on the power of taxation, the Article notes that the use of the home rule powers has been restrained and generally successful. The Article points to narrow judicial reactions, however, which may conflict with the apparent intent of the constitution's drafters to grant broad authority to local government under the home rule powers.

Edna Louis Dunn Trust V. Commissioner: A Movement From The 5 Year Rule To The Device Clause Under Section 355, Delaine Frangos

Northern Illinois University Law Review

An examination of Dunn Trust v. Commissioner, wherein the Supreme Court refused to expand the 5-year rule of section 355 to encompass an indirect distribution. This narrow application of the 5-year rule shifts emphasis to the device clause, the more appropriate provision for evaluating sham separations.

Even A Tax Collector Should Have Some Heart: Equitable Relief For The Innocent Spouse Under I.R.C. § 6013(E), Timothy Philipps, L. Bradford Braford

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article examines I.R.C. § 6013(e). The provision is intended to protect an innocent spouse from tax liability where a joint return is filed by one spouse who understates or misstates the joint return's taxable income, through no fault of the innocent spouse. This Article concludes that certain changes in LR.C. § 6013(e) are necessary in order for this provision to provide the equitable relief which all innocent spouses should enjoy.

Nonrecourse Financing: Does It Still Generate Tax Advantages After Gibson Products Co. V. United States And Brountas V. Commissioner?, Gregory A. Biegel

Northern Illinois University Law Review

A discussion of the three analytical approaches-the "all events" test, basis analysis and Section 636 analysis applied by the courts in evaluating the benefits of non-recourse financing as a tax shelter.

The Future Of Government Regulation Of Agriculture: Implications Of Tax Policy For Agriculture, Neil E. Harl

Northern Illinois University Law Review

An analysis of the impact of tax policies on the structure of agriculture, focusing on the uniqueness of agriculture from a tax perspective and on identified policy concerns.