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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Individual Mandate Tax Penalty, Jeffrey H. Kahn
The Individual Mandate Tax Penalty, Jeffrey H. Kahn
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In 2010, President Obama signed legislation that significantly altered the healthcare and health insurance markets in the United States. An integral part of that reform is the individual mandate, a provision that requires individuals to purchase and maintain healthcare insurance. Failure to maintain such coverage subjects an individual to a tax penalty. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of that provision under Congress’s taxing power. Despite the Supreme Court upholding the individual mandate, fundamental questions remain. This Article addresses the question of whether the use of a tax penalty to encourage taxpayers to do something that the government desires is …
A Commerce Clause Challenge To New York's Tax Deduction For Investment In Its Own Tuition Savings Program, Amy Remus Scott
A Commerce Clause Challenge To New York's Tax Deduction For Investment In Its Own Tuition Savings Program, Amy Remus Scott
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The Internal Revenue Code provides guidelines for states to create and maintain college tuition savings programs which offer federal tax benefits to investors. Several states have enacted tuition savings plans in accordance with these guidelines. In addition to the federal tax benefits allowed, New York offers a state tax deduction to New York residents who invest in its plan, the New York College Choice Tuition Savings Program. New York does not offer the deduction, however, to residents who invest in comparable programs offered by other states. The tax deduction thus creates an incentive for residents to invest in the in-state …
Curtailing The Economic Distortions Of The Mortgage Interest Deduction, William T. Mathias
Curtailing The Economic Distortions Of The Mortgage Interest Deduction, William T. Mathias
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Many Americans consider the mortgage interest deduction a necessary fixture of the American tax system. In this Article, Mathias examines the economic underpinnings of the deduction and finds that it cannot be justified on purely economic grounds. He then evaluates the major policy arguments for the mortgage interest deduction and concludes that it is inefficient, inequitable, and too costly in its present form to be justified on policy grounds. Finally, the author advocates for the elimination or substantial reduction in the size and scope of the mortgage interest deduction.
Distinguishing Between Capital Expenditures And Ordinary Business Expenses: A Proposal For A Universal Standard, Steven J. Greene
Distinguishing Between Capital Expenditures And Ordinary Business Expenses: A Proposal For A Universal Standard, Steven J. Greene
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
It is apparent from an examination of the various court decisions that there is no single, common standard used to distinguish between capital expenditures and ordinary business expenses. The courts are not completely to blame for this situation, however, because the Internal Revenue Code provides little guidance on the capital/ordinary distinction. This Note proposes an amendment to the Tax Code that would provide courts with a universal standard to apply in differentiating between the two types of expenditures and that best reflects the general purpose of the Code in matching income with its related expenses. Part I analyzes the historical …