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Full-Text Articles in Law
California Women: Trying To Use Federal Taxes To Put The 'Community' In Community Property, Stephanie H. Mcmahon
California Women: Trying To Use Federal Taxes To Put The 'Community' In Community Property, Stephanie H. Mcmahon
Faculty Articles and Other Publications
Community property is thought to be a more equitable marital property regime than the common law because we assume that providing each spouse with an interest in fifty percent of the family’s income also provides a substantial amount of equality between spouses. Historically, however, as the regime operated in the United States, it was not especially favorable to wives. Although the concept implied a partnership between spouses, in practice wives were denied rights a partner would expect to enjoy. This article examines how women lobbied to enlarge the protection California wives enjoyed under the state’s community property regime in the …
To Save State Residents: States' Use Of Community Property For Federal Tax Reduction, Stephanie Mcmahon
To Save State Residents: States' Use Of Community Property For Federal Tax Reduction, Stephanie Mcmahon
Faculty Articles and Other Publications
This essay analyzes the forces that led five common law states to adopt community property regimes between 1939 and 1947. Focusing on Oklahoma, the first state to switch, this article traces these laws from initial proposals through their repeal after Congress enacted nationalized income-splitting in 1948. Earlier studies have focused on the impact of these laws, primarily on wives as secondary earners within families, and not on their development. From the various political and social forces precipitating this trend, this study explores the actual reasons states adopted these regimes and shows that an economic goal, namely reducing married couples' federal …
Law With A Life Of Its Own: The Development Of The Federal Income Tax Statutes Through World War I, Stephanie H. Mcmahon
Law With A Life Of Its Own: The Development Of The Federal Income Tax Statutes Through World War I, Stephanie H. Mcmahon
Faculty Articles and Other Publications
This manuscript examines the development of the federal income tax within the United States fiscal system from the founding of the nation through World War I. The study reveals that, although the tax had become a permanent feature of the tax system by World War I, congressional debates had focused primarily on whether there should be an income tax as opposed to how it should or would operate in practice. This paper argues that the technical aspects of this tax received surprisingly little congressional attention because when the tax was originally passed it was a marginal revenue measure. Laden with …