Taxation-Federal Commons^™

Public Good Through Charter Schools?, Philip Hackney

Articles

Should nonprofit charter schools be considered “charitable” under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and be entitled to the benefits that go with that designation (income tax exemption, charitable contribution deduction, etc.)? Current tax law treats them as such; the question is whether there is a good rationale for this treatment. In addition to efficiency and equity, I consider political justice as a value in evaluating tax policy. By political justice, I mean a democratic system that prioritizes the opportunity for more people to have a voice in collective decisions (political voice equality or PVE). Thus, a tax policy …

A More Capacious Concept Of Church, Philip Hackney, Samuel D. Brunson

Articles

United States tax law provides churches with extra benefits and robust protection from IRS enforcement actions. Churches and religious organizations are automatically exempt from the income tax without needing to apply to be so recognized and without needing to file a tax return. Beyond that, churches are protected from audit by stringent procedures. There are good reasons to consider providing a distance between church and state, including the state tax authority. In many instances, Congress granted churches preferential tax treatment to try to avoid excess entanglement between church and state, though that preferential treatment often just shifts the locus of …

Dark Money Darker? Irs Shutters Collection Of Donor Data, Philip Hackney

Articles

The IRS ended a long-time practice of requiring most nonprofits to disclose substantial donor names and addresses on the nonprofit annual tax return. It is largely seen as a battle over campaign finance rather than tax enforcement. Two of the nonprofits involved, social welfare organizations and business leagues, are referred to as “dark money” organizations because they allow individuals to influence elections while maintaining donor anonymity. Many in the campaign finance community are concerned that this change means wealthy donors can avoid campaign finance laws and have no reason to fear being discovered. In this Article, I focus on whether …

Political Justice And Tax Policy: The Social Welfare Organization Case, Philip Hackney

Articles

In addition to valuing whether a tax policy is equitable, efficient, and administrable, I argue we should ask if a tax policy is politically just. Others have made a similar case for valuing political justice as democracy in implementing just tax policy. I join that call and highlight why it matters in one arena – tax exemption. I argue that politically just tax policy does the least harm to the democratic functioning of our government and may ideally enhance it. I argue that our right to an equal voice in collective decision making is the most fundamental value of political …

Preventing Tax-Exempt Propaganda: The Case For Defining The Second Prong Of The Methodology Test, Jordanne Miller

Catholic University Law Review

Under current Treasury Regulations, various propaganda groups throughout the United States are exempt from paying federal income tax. This is so because the current test used by the IRS to determine tax-exempt eligibility, the methodology test, is incapable of separating wild propaganda from viewpoints supported by facts.

The IRS created the methodology test in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Since then, groups denied tax-exempt status have repeatedly challenged its validity. The IRS has responded, and the test has evolved. However, the second prong of the test remains undefined—it is still unclear what it means for facts to be “distorted.” This Comment …

Taxing The Unheavenly Chorus: Why Section 501(C)(6) Trade Associations Are Undeserving Of Tax Exemption, Philip Hackney

Articles

Our federal, state, and local governments provide a subsidy that enhances the political voice of business interests. This article discusses the federal subsidy for business interests provided through the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) and argues why we should end that subsidy. Under the same section that provides exemption from income tax for charitable organizations, the Code also exempts nonprofit organizations classified as “business leagues, chambers of commerce, real-estate boards, boards of trade, or professional football leagues.” Theory supporting tax exemption states that we should subsidize nonprofit organizations that provide goods or services that are undersupplied by the market. A charitable …

How Good A Samaritan? Federal Income Tax Exemption For Charitable Hospitals Reconsidered, James B. Simpson, Sarah D. Strum

Seattle University Law Review

Do contemporary charitable hospitals provide a sufficient community benefit to justify the loss of government revenue caused by their tax exemption? Focusing particularly on federal income tax exemption and on the community benefit derived from the provision of services to persons unable to pay, this Article argues that not all hospitals do. Accordingly, the authors recommend that the Internal Revenue Service issue a Revenue Ruling revising the current standards for federal income tax exemption to encourage charitable hospitals to clearly and explicitly identify and respond to health care needs, including the needs of persons unable to pay, in their local …

Serving Two Masters: Commercial Hues And Tax Exempt Organizations, Lawrence Zelenak

Seattle University Law Review

This article will describe the statutory and regulatory framework of section 501(c)(3), examine how the test has been applied, criticize the test, and suggest a test more in keeping with the language and the spirit of section 501(c)(3). The proposed test is this: If the questioned activity directly accomplishes an exempt purpose of the organization, and if all profits from the activity are used in a manner consistent with the organization's exempt purposes, 6 then the organization should be granted exempt status, whether or not the organization's activities are imbued with a "commercial hue."

Tax Aspects Of Jury Valuation Of Future Earnings, John J. Kennett

Cleveland State Law Review

Whether or not a jury should be instructed, in a personal injury case, that its verdict is exempt from federal income taxation, has been much discussed recently. A most practical element in this problem is the difference between "gross pay" and "take-home pay" in computing the present value of future earnings, when estimating damages. The real question presented by the topic concerns impairment, or deprivation, of future earning capacity. Some of the early English cases which I shall mention considered earnings lost between the time of injury and the time of trial, in addition to the impairment of future earning …

Instructions On Taxes In Personal Injury Suits, Lloyd J. Fingerhut

Cleveland State Law Review

The Internal Revenue Code enacted in 1954 has continued the 1939 Code provision of law that damages received, whether by suit or agreement, for personal injuries or sickness, are exempt from the Federal income taxation, by providing that such awards are specific exclusions from gross income. In light of this, many defense attorneys engaged in suits of such nature are asking the courts to instruct the jury of such provision, or in their closing arguments mentioning the same. The introduction of the provision in closing arguments has been the cause of many appeals and subsequent reversals due to prejudicial error.