Taxation-State and Local Commons^™

Bleeding Women Dry: Tampon Taxes And Menstrual Inequity, Jorene Ooi

Northwestern University Law Review

In recent years, the problem of menstrual inequity has attracted increased attention. Most states impose a sales tax on menstrual hygiene products—a “tampon tax.” A burgeoning social movement has sought to end the tampon tax, and lawmakers have taken notice by introducing, and in some cases successfully passing, measures to repeal the tax by exempting menstrual hygiene products from the sales tax. This Note evaluates, from a tax policy standpoint, the pros and cons of repealing the tampon tax. It argues that although repeal is usually undesirable as a matter of tax design, the tax should nevertheless be repealed both …

"Our Taxes Are Too Damn High": Institutional Racism, Property Tax Assessment, And The Fair Housing Act, Bernadette Atuahene

Northwestern University Law Review

To prevent inflated property tax bills, the Michigan Constitution prohibits property tax assessments from exceeding 50% of a property’s market value. Between 2009 and 2015, the City of Detroit assessed 55%–85% of its residential properties in violation of the Michigan Constitution, and these unconstitutional assessments have had dire consequences. Between 2011 and 2015, one in four Detroit properties have been foreclosed upon for nonpayment of illegally inflated property taxes. In addition to Detroit, the other two cities in Michigan’s Wayne County where African-Americans comprise 70% or more of the population—Highland Park and Inkster—have similarly experienced systemic unconstitutional assessments and unprecedented …

Tax Cannibalization And Fiscal Federalism In The United States, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Northwestern University Law Review

We began this project pondering a riddle. Most state governments have adopted what we—and many others—view as clearly suboptimal tax policies, especially in regard to the taxation of corporate income and capital gains. Yet, with the notable exception of those who oppose progressivity and the taxation of capital, state-level tax policymakers have had remarkably little appetite for reform. This Article provides one major explanation for this riddle by identifying and demonstrating a phenomenon that we label as “tax cannibalization.” We argue that flawed state-level tax policies derive in part from perverse incentives inadvertently created by the federal government.

Finding The Pearl In The Oyster: Supercharging Ipos Through Tax Receivable Agreements, Christopher B. Grady

Northwestern University Law Review

A new, “supercharged” form of IPO has slowly developed over the last twenty years. This new form of IPO takes advantage of several seemingly unrelated provisions of the tax code to multiply pre-IPO owners’ proceeds from a public offering without reducing the amount public investors are willing to pay for the stock. Supercharged IPOs use a tax receivable agreement to transfer tax assets created by the IPO back to the pre-IPO ownership, “monetizing” the tax assets. As these structures have become more efficient, commentators have expressed concerns that these agreements deceive shareholders who either ignore or do not understand the …

In States We "Trust": Self-Settled Trusts, Public Policy, And Interstate Federalism, Brendan Duffy

Northwestern University Law Review

Over the last twenty years, domestic asset protection trusts have risen in popularity as a means of estate planning and asset protection. A domestic asset protection trust is an irrevocable trust formed under state law which enables an independent trustee to allocate money to a class of

persons, which includes the settlor.

Since Alaska first enacted domestic asset protection legislation in 1997, fifteen states have followed its lead. The case law over the last twenty years addressing these trust mechanisms has, however, been surprisingly sparse. A Washington bankruptcy court decision, In re Huber, altered this drought, but caused more confusion …