Law Commons^™

Zambia Revenue Authority V Matalloy Company Limited Scz/08/016/2020, Mwaba Mulenga Chileya

SAIPAR Case Review

Justice Mumba Malila supplements the jurisprudence on tax law in this judgment that deals with the obligation of a taxpayer in tax cases. The case focused on the responsibility of taxpayers to prove their eligibility for a tax credit from the Zambia Revenue Authority. Briefly, the case also discusses the concept of tax credits, and their use by taxpayers.

Resource Nationalism And Zambia’S Oscillating Mining Taxation Regime, Edna Kabala, Rosemary Mapoma, John Lungu

Zambia Social Science Journal

The parcelling and privatisation of the large state-owned mining conglomerate Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) involved the signing of Development Agreements (DAs) between the Zambian government and the new private investors. These DAs were concessionary to the new investors, offering low taxation rates, tax exemptions and deductions. But in 2008, under political pressure from the opposition, then President Mwanawasa abrogated the DAs with a new Mines and Minerals Act, removing exemptions and deductions and increasing taxation rates. This action set in motion a decade long period of contestation over mining taxation in Zambia, with the introduction and retraction of numerous …

The Republic Of Virtue: The Republican Ideal In British And American Property Law, Maxwell M. Garnaat

Cornell International Law Journal

As the estate tax comes under increasing pressure from all sides, it is important that we determine just how rooted in American ideals such a measure truly is. On the one hand, it is true that Lockean theories of private property remain a stalwart influence on the nation, one which may be used to argue against the estate tax. On the other hand, however, the equally venerable theory of republicanism— one adopted and developed by the Framers themselves— can justify its continuation. Applying the principles of republicanism to this specific context, one can see how closely its tenets align with …

The Charitable Deduction And Looting Of Antiquities: A Comparative Approach, Sabrina Y. Hsieh

Cornell International Law Journal

The tax incentive structure for charitable giving in the United States, as in many other countries, is imperfect. The structure over-incentivizes donations from wealthy individuals, whether those donations are made up of cash or of property. This structure has negative impacts not only domestically, but abroad as well.

By providing an incentive for donations of antiquities to museums— an incentive that was perhaps largely necessitated by the state of American museums in the 19th century— the charitable deduction has not only created a market for antiquities of questionable provenance, but has also created what is potentially a get-out-of-jail free card …

An Expressive Theory Of Tax, Kitty Richards

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

The tax code is full of ineffective, inefficient, inequitable, or otherwise problematic provisions that make little sense when evaluated through the lens of traditional tax policy analysis, yet remain popular with citizens and legislators alike. The tax literature is equally full of carefully-researched, technically precise, and theoretically sound proposals for reform that nonetheless fail to get traction in the public debate. Why?

What tax scholarship is missing is the importance of social meaning: what do our tax laws say about our society's values, and how is taxation being used to construct cultural ideals in contested spaces?

This Article applies expressive …

Bargaining In The Shadow Of The Debt Ceiling: When Negotiating Over Spending And Tax Laws, Congress And The President Should Consider The Debt Ceiling A Dead Letter, Neil H. Buchanan, Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

If the debt ceiling is inconsistent with existing spending and taxing laws, what must the President do? In earlier work, we argued that when Congress creates a "trilemma"-making it impossible for the President to spend as much as Congress has ordered, to tax only as much as Congress has ordered, and to borrow no more than Congress has permitted-- the Constitution requires the President to choose the least unconstitutional path. In particular, he must honor Congress's decisions and priorities regarding spending and taxing, and he must issue enough debt to do so. Here, we extend the analysis in two ways. …

Nullifying The Debt Ceiling Threat Once And For All: Why The President Should Embrace The Least Unconstitutional Option, Neil H. Buchanan, Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In August 2011, Congress and the President narrowly averted economic and political catastrophe, agreeing at the last possible moment to authorize a series of increases in the national debt ceiling. This respite, unfortunately, was merely temporary. The amounts of the increases in the debt ceiling that Congress authorized in 2011 were only sufficient to accommodate the additional borrowing that would be necessary through the end of 2012. In an economy that continued to show chronic weakness -- weakness that continues to this day -- the federal government would predictably continue to collect lower-than-normal tax revenues and to make higher-than-normal expenditures, …

How To Choose The Least Unconstitutional Option: Lessons For The President (And Others) From The Debt Ceiling Standoff, Neil H. Buchanan, Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The federal statute known as the “debt ceiling” limits total borrowing by the United States. Congress has repeatedly raised the ceiling to authorize necessary borrowing, but a political standoff in 2011 nearly made it impossible to borrow funds to meet obligations that Congress had affirmed earlier that very year. Some commentators urged President Obama to ignore the debt ceiling, while others responded that such borrowing would violate the separation of powers and therefore that the president should refuse to spend appropriated funds.

This Article analyzes the choice the president nearly faced in summer 2011, and which he or a successor …

“Early-Bird Special” Indeed!: Why The Tax Anti-Injunction Act Permits The Present Challenges To The Minimum Coverage Provision, Michael C. Dorf, Neil S. Siegel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In view of the billions of dollars and enormous effort that might otherwise be wasted, the public interest will be best served if the Supreme Court of the United States reaches the merits of the present challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) during its October 2011 Term. Potentially standing in the way, however, is the federal Tax Anti-Injunction Act (TAIA), which bars any “suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax.” The dispute to date has mostly turned on the fraught and complex question of whether the ACA’s exaction for being …

Stabilisation Clauses And The Zambian Windfall Tax, Sangwani Ng'ambi

Zambia Social Science Journal

Over the past decade, Zambia has seen an increase in the flow of foreign direct investment; a large quantity of which went into the copper mining industry. The price of copper increased radically, which prompted the Zambian government to reconsider the preferential tax regime that foreign mining companies enjoyed to ensure that Zambia benefited from this change in circumstances.

The tax regime was originally implemented to encourage the inflow of foreign capital, and to revive an industry that had been crippled by previously low copper prices. The concession agreements between the Government of Zambia and the mining companies contained Stabilisation …

On The Right To Private Property And Entitlement To One's Income, Andrei Marmor

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Taxings, Eduardo M. Peñalver

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The tension between the Supreme Court's expansive reading of the Takings Clause and the state's virtually limitless power to tax has been repeatedly noted, but has received little systematic exploration. Although some scholars, most notably Richard Epstein, have used the tension between takings law and taxes to argue against the legitimacy of taxation as it is presently practiced, such an approach has failed to gain a significant following. Instead, the broad legal consensus is that legislatures effectively have unlimited authority to impose tax burdens. Nevertheless, this Article demonstrates that every attempt to formulate a "Reconciling Theory," a theory that would …

The Interaction Of Tax And Non-Tax Treaties, Robert A. Green

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This background note consists of two parts. Part one provides an overview of the extent to which tax matters are currently covered in non-tax treaties. This discussion focuses on the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT)/World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement and the North American free trade agreement (NAFTA) (which cover direct tax measures only to a limited extent) and the European Community (EC) treaty (which covers direct tax measures more broadly). Part two outlines the issues raised when tax matters are covered in non-tax treaties.

Justice Blackmun's Federal Tax Jurisprudence, Robert A. Green

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Blackmun was widely regarded as the Court's authority on tax matters. Justice Blackmun viewed tax law not merely as a technical specialty, but as a microcosm of the legal system. His numerous tax opinions involve a wide range of issues of constitutional law, criminal law, administrative procedure, court procedure, and statutory interpretation. This Article begins by discussing two of Justice Blackmun's tax opinions involving constitutional issues. Justice Blackmun refused to create special constitutional rules for tax cases. Instead, he applied generally applicable principles, but with great sensitivity to how those principles would …

Antilegalistic Approaches To Resolving Disputes Between Governments: A Comparison Of The International Tax And Trade Regimes, Robert A. Green

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The Health Security Act: Coercion And Distrust For The Market, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Troubled Rule Of Nondiscrimination In Taxing Foreign Direct Investment, Robert A. Green

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

[Abstract needed]

The Future Of Source-Based Taxation Of The Income Of Multinational Enterprises, Robert A. Green

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Tax Expenditure Budgets: A Critical View, Jeffrey S. Lehman, Douglas A. Kahn

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

South Dakota Airplane Tax Hangs By A Technical Thread, Jeffrey S. Lehman

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mineral Taxation In Zambia, Muna Ndulo

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Critique Of The Business-Purpose Doctrine, Robert S. Summers

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The aims of this article are: (1) to define the nature and significance of the business-purpose doctrine as applied in the field of Federal income taxation; (2) to summarize several considerations that support abandonment of the doctrine; and (3) to consider whether a substitute doctrine is needed. Several recent cases indicate that the influence of the business-purpose doctrine is declining, and in the recent case of Knetsch v. United States the Supreme Court appears to have substituted an alternative doctrine. The dual thesis of the present article is that the business-purpose doctrine ought to be abandoned and that there is …

Practicability And Constitutionality Of An Income Tax, Charles M. Smalley

Historical Theses and Dissertations Collection

No abstract provided.

Inheritance And Succession Taxes, J. John Hassett

Historical Theses and Dissertations Collection

Presented for the Degree of Bachelor of Laws.