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Full-Text Articles in Law

Access To Tax Injustice, Francine J. Lipman May 2013

Access To Tax Injustice, Francine J. Lipman

Pepperdine Law Review

Every morning, Monday through Friday, school children across the United States raise their voices in unison and pledge allegiance to America, with liberty and justice for all. America, in turn, pledges to these children and the world that it is a nation of liberty, justice, and laws. Laws drafted by representatives intended to follow through on America’s promise of liberty and justice for all. Yet for more than 16 million of these children and 30 million adults living in poverty in 2011, America does not deliver on its promise of justice. In a recent global study, America ranked 27th out …


The Death Of The Income Tax: A Progressive Consumption Tax And The Path To Fiscal Reform, Daniel Goldberg Apr 2013

The Death Of The Income Tax: A Progressive Consumption Tax And The Path To Fiscal Reform, Daniel Goldberg

Daniel S. Goldberg

The Death of the Income Tax explains how the current income tax is needlessly complex, contains perverse incentives against saving and investment, fails to use modern technology to ease compliance and collection burdens, and is subject to micromanaging and mismanaging by Congress. Daniel Goldberg proposes that the solution to the problems of the current income tax is completely replacing it with a progressive consumption tax collected electronically at the point of sale.


Tax Court Find Stars Transaction Lacks Economic Substance, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord Mar 2013

Tax Court Find Stars Transaction Lacks Economic Substance, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord

Faculty Scholarship

In Bank of New York Mellon Corp. v. Commissioner, the Tax Court found that a structured trust advantaged repackaged securities (“STARS”) transaction entered into by BNY Mellon lacked economic substance, and disallowed foreign tax credits of $199 million as well as transactional expenses of $8 million. BNY Mellon is the first test case to emerge from the IRS’s attempts to disallow tax benefits to several financial institutions that participated in the STARS transaction.

The STARS transaction is one of a number of different transactions that the IRS refers to as “foreign tax credit generators.” These transactions generally rely on inconsistent …


Horse Syndication: A Sure Footed Winner In The Investment Sweepstakes, Thomas R. Catanese Feb 2013

Horse Syndication: A Sure Footed Winner In The Investment Sweepstakes, Thomas R. Catanese

Pepperdine Law Review

Recent changes in the scheme of federal taxation coupled with increasing interest in the equine industry has propelled that industry into the forefront of tax sheltered investments. In this article the author takes an in-depth look at the federal securities and tax law aspects of a typical equine syndication as a tax sheltered investment.


Caveat Taxpayer: How And Why The Internal Revenue Service May Examine Your Books, Your Accountant And Even Your Attorney, Brian E. Holthus Jan 2013

Caveat Taxpayer: How And Why The Internal Revenue Service May Examine Your Books, Your Accountant And Even Your Attorney, Brian E. Holthus

Pepperdine Law Review

The IRS is authorized, by the use of an administrative summons, to thoroughly inspect a taxpayer's business and financial background. Although the taxpayer's attorney may feel powerless to restrict this free flow of information, there are defined limitations to the use of an administrative summons. These limitations are designed to abrogate its abuse by the IRS. This comment provides a summary of the limitations of an administrative summons, case law interpretation of the requirements for its issuance, and practical considerations for the protection of the taxpayer's financial privacy.


Justice For All: Reimagining The Internal Revenue Service, David J. Herzig Jan 2013

Justice For All: Reimagining The Internal Revenue Service, David J. Herzig

Law Faculty Publications

The ability of the Internal Revenue Service to both collect the tax and enforce the initial determination of tax liability in a neutral and fair manner has been compromised by a February 2011 pronouncement issued by the Department of Justice stating that the President and the Department of Justice believe that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and that the Department of Justice will no longer defend the statute in courts. The pronouncement results in a disparate treatment of similar taxpayers based solely on the forum of litigation. Through this lens, I examine whether it is …


Navigating Tefra Partnership Audits In Multi-Tiered Entity Structures, Mary A. Mcnulty, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord Jan 2013

Navigating Tefra Partnership Audits In Multi-Tiered Entity Structures, Mary A. Mcnulty, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord

Faculty Scholarship

The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) established a unified procedure for determining the tax treatment of partnership items at the partnership level rather than the partner level. Although these rules addressed a serious and real administrative problem in the assessment of partnership level deficiencies, they also created a complex process with many new problems and potential traps. One particularly unique set of challenges arises in the context of multi-tiered entities.

Multi-tiered entities are partnerships that have a partnership or other pass-through entity as a partner. The pass-through partner is commonly referred to as a “tier,” and …