Tax Law Commons^™

Strange Bedfellows: The Federal Constitution, Out-Of-State Nongrantor Accumulation Trusts, And The Complete Avoidance Of State Income Taxation, Jeffrey Schoenblum

Vanderbilt Law Review

With the maximum rate of federal income tax at 39.6 percent, the Medicare surtax on investment income of 3.8 percent, and some state income tax rates exceeding 9 percent, taxpayers in the highest brackets have been seeking to develop strategies to lessen the tax burden. One strategy that has been receiving increased attention is the use of a highly specialized trust known as the NING, a Nevada incomplete gift nongrantor trust, which eliminates state income taxation of investment income altogether without generating additional federal income or transfer taxes. A major obstacle standing in the way of accomplishing this objective, however, …

The Changing Meaning Of "Gift": An Analysis Of The Tax Court's Decision In Carson V. Commissioner, Jeffrey Schoenblum

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article will focus on the Carson case in an effort to identify the emerging meaning, if any, of gift. Following a consideration of the factual background of the case in Part II, Part HI will analyze critically and in-depth each of the five Carson opinions in an effort to decipher the various currents at play and any common ground that may still be shared by a majority of the court. Finally, Part IV will consider the decision's likely consequences and the long-term prospects for a settled meaning for gift, one that is not only workable, as is the case …

Charitable Remainder Trusts--A Need For Further Reform?, R. Frank Murphy, Ii

Vanderbilt Law Review

The proposals offered in this Note are meant to suggest that are turn to some form of the flexible, well understood charitable remainder trust of pre-1969 days would prove most satisfactory to the needs of donors, charities, and attorneys. With modifications similar to those recommended above, the familiar concept of traditional income and remainder interests could be reinstated, with its weaknesses eliminated. If reversion to an improved form of the old law is deemed unacceptable,it nevertheless appears that a revision of the tripartite structure of the 1969 Act is mandatory. The complexity and lack of flexibility inherent in the new …

The Effect Of Renunciations And Compromises On Death And Gift Taxes, Walter E. Black Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

When a man dies, it must be decided how his property shall be distributed. Ordinarily, the distribution will follow his express intention as evidenced in a will or the presumed intention of the state laws of intestacy. In these ordinary situations, the state death tax is applied to the various legacies and devises and to the property passing by descent in the manner provided by the state tax statutes. Thus, the majority of testamentary distributions are carried out without any state death tax problems.

However, in some cases, events occur after the death of the decedent which change the testator's …