Law Commons^™

The Disclosure Of State Corporate Income Tax Data: Turning The Clock Back To The Future, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

The Disclosure Of State Corporate Income Tax Data: Turning The Clock Back To The Future, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

Public access to federal tax return information has been evaluated and debated since the enactment of the first federal income tax. As a way to fund the Civil War, the Revenue Act of 1862 imposed an income tax on individuals, and provided that members of the public were entitled to examine the names of taxpayers and their liabilities. The initial purpose of this public disclosure was to notify potential taxpayers of the amounts being assessed against them, not to permit the public scrutiny of individual taxpayers. The Revenue Act of 1864 changed that, making all returns open for public inspection …

Corporate Tax Policy And The Right To Know: Improving State Tax Policymaking By Enhancing The Legislative And Public Access, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

This report examines the need for disclosure of state corporate income tax data in order to facilitate more thoughtful tax policymaking as well as accountability and openness in government. While disclosure of federal income tax data has been resolved by the SEC’s required disclosures of public corporations, the only states that have laws mandating disclosure of information relating to their state’s income tax are Arkansas, West Virginia, and Massachusetts.

Firm-specific disclosure of corporate tax information at the state level is necessary for informed tax policy, essential to public understanding of corporate tax reform issues, and will complement SEC mandated disclosures. …