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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Spurious Allure Of Pass-Through Parity, Karen C. Burke
The Spurious Allure Of Pass-Through Parity, Karen C. Burke
UF Law Faculty Publications
In 2017, Congress reduced tax rates on both corporate and noncorporate income. The drafters invoked the concept of pass-through parity to justify lower rates on noncorporate business income, resulting in a new and highly controversial deduction for pass-through owners under § 199A. The concept of pass-through parity conflates equitable treatment of different entity forms with equitable distribution of the ultimate tax burden among labor and capital. The flawed rationale for § 199A may be viewed as an attempt to preserve the pre-2017 preference for pass-through income; conceptually, the advantage of lower corporate rates is limited to the availability of a …
Passthrough Entities: The Missing Element In Business Tax Reform, Karen C. Burke
Passthrough Entities: The Missing Element In Business Tax Reform, Karen C. Burke
UF Law Faculty Publications
Reform of the U.S. corporate tax system is again on the agenda. Despite important differences, many current proposals share two common goals: (1) reducing the statutory corporate tax rate to improve U.S. “international competitiveness” and (2) broadening the corporate tax base by reducing or eliminating business expenditures to offset revenue losses. Given the significance of the passthrough sector and the relationship between individual and corporate taxes, however, such reforms need to be considered within a broader context. Part I of this article discusses the growing significance of the passthrough sector, which now accounts for roughly half of net business income. …
Is The Corporate Tax System "Broken"?, Karen C. Burke
Is The Corporate Tax System "Broken"?, Karen C. Burke
UF Law Faculty Publications
The slated expiration of the Bush Administration's tax cuts in 2010 highlights the instability of the current 15% rate on dividends and capital gains. Meanwhile, pressure has mounted to reduce U.S. corporate tax rates to improve competitiveness in an increasingly global economy. Much of the 1986 Act reform of the corporate tax-base-broadening combined with lower rates - has unraveled, leaving the U.S. with a high statutory corporate tax rate and narrow corporate tax base. Despite renewed interest in base-broadening and loophole-closing, the goal of corporate tax reform remains elusive. Thus far, proponents of corporate tax reform have largely sidestepped the …
Turning Slogans Into Tax Policy, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
Turning Slogans Into Tax Policy, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
UF Law Faculty Publications
The article examines the Bush Administration's tax cutting agenda, focusing on recent attempts to repeal the estate tax and to eliminate the shareholder-level income tax on corporate dividends. In each of these two seemingly disparate episodes, the Administration used dubious economic claims and populist rhetoric to promote tax cuts without considering revenue costs or distributional effects. The legislative outcomes, however, were driven largely by budget constraints and interest group politics. In conclusion, the article suggests that the Administration's tax cutting agenda is best understood in terms of politics and ideology rather than conventional tax policy.