Law Commons^™

Conservation Easements As A Tool For Nature Protection, William Snape

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Marijuana Taxation: Theory And Practice, Benjamin Leff

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Marijuana legalization creates a host of complex legal problems, not the least of which is how to best tax the emerging legal market. This Essay attempts to bridge the gap between tax theory and marijuana policy to make some modest claims. First, it roots the discussion of state-level marijuana taxation in the theoretical distinction between ordinary revenue-raising taxes and "Pigouvian" or regulatory taxes. It makes the somewhat controversial claim that the best taxing strategy for states is to attempt to capture as much of the marijuana legalization premium as possible without driving consumers into the illegal market and that other …

Fixing The Johnson Amendment Without Totally Destroying It, Benjamin Leff

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The so-called Johnson Amendment is that portion of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that prohibits charities from "intervening" in electoral campaigns. The intervention has long been understood to include both contributing charitable funds to campaign coffers and communicating the charity's views about candidates' qualifications for office. The breadth of the Johnson Amendment potentially brings two important values into conflict: the government's interest in preventing tax-deductible contributions to be used for electoral purposes (called "nonsubvention") and the speech rights or interest of charities.

For many years, the IRS has taken the position that the Johnson Amendment's prohibition on electoral …

Reclaiming Place-Based Development Incentive, Ezra Rosser

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Professor Michelle Layser's forthcoming article is an attack on the current form of place-based tax incentive programs. Layser argues that while rhetorically such programs are said to help the poor, by design they support gentrification in ways that harm the poor. The article ends with a call to reform place-based incentive programs so that the poor in selected areas actually benefit.

Eitc For All: A Universal Basic Income Compromise Proposal, Benjamin Leff

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Universal Basic Income ("UBI") is a concept that has recently begun to enter the popular political consciousness in the United States. It is defined as "a regular cash income paid to all, on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement." It is invoked for a wide variety of political and social purposes, but is almost always presented as radically different from existing governmental welfare and transfer systems. Once a UBI is disaggregated into discrete policy components, it is possible to imagine to what degree existing programs share the benefits (and detriments) of a UBI to a greater or …

Tax Benefits Of Government-Owned Marijuana Stores, Benjamin Leff

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This Article is the first to address whether independent governmental affiliates that sell marijuana are exempt from federal income tax under section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code. It argues that such entities should easily pass the IRS's current interpretation of the three requirements for tax-exemption under section 115: (i) that exempt income be derived from "the exercise of any essential governmental function"; (ii) that such income "accru[e] to a State or any political subdivision thereof"; and (iii) that the income "not serve private interests[.]" In addition, this Article argues that though selling marijuana is illegal under federal law, that …

Tax Planning For Marijuana Dealers, Benjamin Leff

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In recent years, many states have legalized marijuana while the federal government continues to consider all marijuana sales and use illegal. But marijuana industry insiders consider not federal criminal law but federal tax law to be the biggest impediment to the development of a legitimate marijuana industry. State-sanctioned marijuana sellers are required to pay federal income taxes pursuant to § 280E, a formerly largely symbolic provision that Congress enacted to punish drug dealers, but which now could potentially drive legitimate marijuana sellers underground. This paper proposes a tax strategy that enables state-sanctioned marijuana sellers to avoid the impact of § …

U.S. Taxes Corporate Income At Comparatively Low Rates, Andrew Pike

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

It Down And Count The Cost:" A Framework For Constitutionally Enforcing The 501(C)(3) Campaign Intervention Ban, Benjamin Leff

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) prohibits charities from intervening in a political campaign for or against a candidate for public office. The Internal Revenue Service (Service) currently interprets the campaign-intervention ban to absolutely prevent charities from communicating their views on candidates, even if such communications are completely financed by non-501 (c) (3) affiliates. This article argues that the current Service enforcement paradigm is unconstitutional because it exceeds the government interest in preventing tax-deductible donations to be used for campaign- intervention. A constitutional interpretation exists under the current statutory framework, but it would require the Service to shift …

Thinking About Conflicting Gravitational Pulls Litcs: The Academy And The Irs, Nancy S. Abramowitz

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article addresses the tension between educational and public service goals in the immediate term for tax clinics receiving funding from the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (“LITC”) program under Internal Revenue Code §7526. The author expresses concern that the LITC Program Office will over emphasize the “number-of-taxpayers served” factor in program evaluation, thereby putting academic clinics at a distinct disadvantage in seeking and/or retaining program funds. By imposing these types of “productivity” measures, there is a tendency to force that particular type of activity, thereby significantly disrupting what otherwise might be a better or different educational model for the use …

No Wealthy Parent Left Behind: An Analysis Of Tax Subsidies For Higher Education, Andrew Pike

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article analyzes the status in 2007 of higher education costs in relation to U.S. taxation policy and the declining real income and ability of lower and middle income taxpayers to pay tuition and fees. Then-current tax policy lessened support for families with the greatest financial need while providing much greater levels of support to those with greater financial resources. To enhance distributional fairness, the author proposes that Congress repeal tax provisions that have this effect and consolidate the separate sources of federal financial aid grants into one program--an expanded Pell Grant program. He also advises that Congress make the …

Professor Janet Spragens: In Memory Of A Friend, In Celebration Of An Idea, Nancy S. Abramowitz

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article is a tribute to the career and contributions of Professor Janet Spragens, who created the Federal Tax Clinic at the American University, Washington College of Law (WCL). During testimony before the historic Internal Revenue Service Restructuring Commission, Prof. Spragens advised the Commission to create better education of the public and greater availability of free advocacy for low-income taxpayers through federal funding of more clinics. In its landmark legislation of 1998, Congress responded to this testimony with the enactment of 26 U.S.C. §7526, which authorized a program to fund academic and pro bono clinics working to educate non-native English …

Low-Income Taxpayers And The Modernized Irs: A View From The Trenches, Nancy Abramowitz, Janet Spragens

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article examines the continuing effects on low-income taxpayers of the 1998 Internal Revenue Service reorganization and computer modernization of the agency. Specifically, the article highlights the severe hardships that have been experienced by that segment of the taxpayer population resulting from agency efforts to streamline resolution of postfiling disputes. Those efforts include acceleration of the administrative process, centralization of agency function, elimination of local contracts, and increasing reliance on computer-generated correspondence. The authors believe that the net result for many taxpayers has been the trading of fairness for administrative efficiency and the contraction - and often denial - of …

Reflections On The Meaning Of Life: An Analysis Of Section 7702 And The Taxation Of Cash Value Life Insurance, Andrew Pike

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.