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Full-Text Articles in Tax Law
A Comment On Unification, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
A Comment On Unification, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
Grayson McCouch
This Article discusses recent proposals aimed at unifying the law of wills and nonprobate transfers. The author notes that default rules of construction present the strongest case for unification, but contends that distinctions between wills and nonprobate transfers remain important in the areas of formalities and restrictions affecting third-party rights. The author concludes that the policy goal should be to allow wills and nonprobate transfers to operate smoothly as complementary methods of deathtime wealth transmission.
The Moving Target Of Tax Reform, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
The Moving Target Of Tax Reform, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
Grayson McCouch
In 2000, Professor William Turnier proposed a package of three reforms to make the estate tax more “equitable” and “taxpayerfriendly.” All of his proposals—allowing a surviving spouse to inherit a deceased spouse’s unused exemption, replacing the state death tax credit with a deduction, and indexing the exemption for inflation—were eventually enacted. Today, the estate tax remains on the books, but changes in rates and exemptions have severely curtailed its role in the larger federal tax system. Income tax rate reductions for capital gains and dividends have further lightened the tax burden on capital income, and international pressure to reduce the …