Taxation Commons^™

What Explains Taxation By Resource-Rich Rebels? Evidence From The Islamic State In Syria, Mara R. Revkin

Faculty Scholarship

Greed-based theories of civil war predict that rebel groups will only engage in taxation and other state-building activities in areas where they lack exploitable resources. However, this prediction is contradicted by the Islamic State’s pattern of taxation across time and space. A new data set mapping seven types of revenue-extracting policies imposed by the Islamic State, a jihadist rebel group, in the 19 Syrian districts that it governed between 2013 and 2017 indicates that these policies were just as prevalent in resource-rich as in resource-poor districts. I propose a new theory that better explains this pattern—a rebel group’s pattern of …

The Importance Of Qualitative Research Approaches To Gig Economy Taxation, Shu-Yi Oei, Diane M. Ring

Faculty Scholarship

As the United States tax system continues to grapple with how to tax workers in the gig economy, it confronts a number of questions about the nature and composition of the sector as well as the tax issues confronted by its participants. Many of these questions have proven difficult to answer due to a lack of adequate information. But the answers are important and will shape how tax and other areas of law (such as employment law, labor law, and antitrust) respond to the gig economy. Thus, the question of how to obtain the data and information necessary to formulate …

Leak-Driven Law, Shu-Yi Oei, Diane Ring

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past decade, a number of well-publicized data leaks have revealed the secret offshore holdings of high-net-worth individuals and multinational taxpayers, leading to a sea change in cross-border tax enforcement. Spurred by leaked data, tax authorities have prosecuted offshore tax cheats, attempted to recoup lost revenues, enacted new laws, and signed international agreements that promote “sunshine” and exchange of financial information between countries.

The conventional wisdom is that data leaks enable tax authorities to detect and punish offshore tax evasion more effectively, and that leaks are therefore socially and economically beneficial. This Article argues, however, that the conventional wisdom …

Tax Issues In The Sharing Economy: Implications For Workers, Shu-Yi Oei, Diane M. Ring

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Benefit-Cost Analysis And Distributional Weights: An Overview, Matthew D. Adler

Faculty Scholarship

Standard cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is insensitive to distributional concerns. A policy that improves the lives of the rich, and makes the poor yet worse off, will be approved by CBA as long as the policy’s aggregate monetized benefits are positive. Distributional weights offer an apparent solution to this troubling feature of the CBA methodology: adjust costs and benefits with weighting factors that are inversely proportional to the well-being levels (as determined by income and also perhaps non-income attributes such as health) of the affected individuals.

Indeed, an academic literature dating from the 1950s discusses how to specify distributional weights. And …

Can Sharing Be Taxed?, Shu-Yi Oei, Diane M. Ring

Faculty Scholarship

In the past few years, we have seen the rise of a new model of production and consumption of goods and services, often referred to as the “sharing economy.” Fueled by startups such as Uber and Airbnb, sharing enables individuals to obtain rides, accommodations, and other goods and services from peers via personal computer or mobile application in exchange for payment. The rise of sharing has raised questions about how it should be regulated, including whether existing laws and regulations can and should be enforced in this new sector or whether new ones are needed.

In this Article, we explore …

Cheating On Their Taxes: When Are Tax Limitations Effective At Limiting State Taxes, Expenditures, And Budgets?, Colin H. Mccubbins, Mathew D. Mccubbins

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mitt Romney, The 47% Percent, And The Future Of The Mass Income Tax, Lawrence A. Zelenak

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Getting More By Asking Less: Justifying And Reforming Tax Law’S Offer In Compromise Procedure, Shu-Yi Oei

Faculty Scholarship

The Offer in Compromise (OIC) is a procedure by which the IRS may agree to forgive a portion of the tax liabilities of certain taxpayers. This Article suggests a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of any proposed reforms to this procedure. It presents three arguments that support forgiving tax debts through devices such as the OIC. These arguments are rooted in revenue-raising, fairness, rehabilitative, and socioeconomic considerations. Unfortunately, an analysis of the OIC’s recent history shows that its current structure tends to undermine its effectiveness. The power to effectuate the procedure is dispersed among four stakeholders with divergent interests: Congress, …

Beyond Economic Substance: Interrogating The Full Impacts Of Third-Party Relationships In Tax Shelter Cases, Shu-Yi Oei

Faculty Scholarship

The evaluation of relationships between actors is an important preoccupation across many areas of law. The degree of respect accorded a relationship can give rise to significant legal consequences. No less so in tax law. Relationships between taxpayers and other parties are critical in triggering the realization events necessary to generate favorable tax consequences. And, where tax law refuses to respect such relationships, adverse tax consequences follow. This article analyzes the effects of relationality in tax shelter transactions. First, it discusses the importance of relationship evaluation in traditional assessments of whether a tax transaction has, “substance,” highlighting challenges faced by …