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Full-Text Articles in Law
No Tax For "Phantom Income": How Congress Failed To Encourage Responsible Housing Consumption With Its Recent Tax Legislation, Rue Toland
Chicago-Kent Law Review
In the midst of the recent housing crisis, Congress passed two key pieces of federal tax legislation in an attempt to stem the tide of foreclosures and prevent further economic collapse. These two bills, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act in 2007 and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act in 2008, both sought competing goals: lessening the harm to existing homeowners, and encouraging purchases by new homebuyers. However, neither bill adequately addressed one of the root causes of the housing crisis, namely homeowners obtaining mortgages that, for whatever reason, they could not afford. Indeed, the tax incentives these bills created …
Washington Tax Legislative Update: Weathering The Gathering Storm, Jonathan Talisman
Washington Tax Legislative Update: Weathering The Gathering Storm, Jonathan Talisman
William & Mary Annual Tax Conference
No abstract provided.
State Finance In Times Of Crisis, Brian Galle, Jonathan Klick
State Finance In Times Of Crisis, Brian Galle, Jonathan Klick
All Faculty Scholarship
As recent events illustrate, state finances are pro-cyclical: during recessions, state revenues crash, worsening the effects of economic downturns. This problem is well-known, yet persistent. We argue here that, in light of predictable federalism and political economy dynamics, states will be unable to change this situation on their own. Additionally, we note that many possible federal remedies may result in worse problems, such as creating moral hazard that would induce states to take on excessively risky policy, both fiscal and otherwise. Thus, we argue that policy makers should consider so-called “automatic” stabilizers, such as are found in the federal tax …
Integrating Subchapters K And S — Just Do It, Walter D. Schwidetzky
Integrating Subchapters K And S — Just Do It, Walter D. Schwidetzky
All Faculty Scholarship
The Code contains two “pass-through” tax regimes for business entities. One is contained in Subchapter K, which applies to partnerships, the other in Subchapter S, which, unsurprisingly, applies to S corporations. In the main, both Subchapters tax the owners of the entities rather than the entities themselves. Having two pass-through tax regimes creates obvious administrative and other inefficiencies. There was a time when S corporations served a valuable purpose, particularly when taxpayers needed a fairly simple and foolproof pass-through entity that provided a liability shield. But limited liability companies (LLCs), which are usually taxed as partnerships, 1 in most contexts …
Increasing Preparer Responsibility, Visibility And Competence, Leslie Book
Increasing Preparer Responsibility, Visibility And Competence, Leslie Book
Working Paper Series
The insights from the responsive regulation literature present an intriguing model for IRS interaction with preparers, and provide a theoretical context for a more nuanced approach that the IRS could adopt when considering its return preparer strategies. To some extent, the IRS’s current emphasis on preparer education, including the significant resources expended on tax forums and other general outreach programs, reflects IRS awareness that its interaction with preparers must take a varied approach. In this paper, I propose a more personal contact paradigm with preparers, with those contacts facilitated by heightened identification requirements and a more dedicated IRS effort to …
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 …
Section 1031 Qualified Intermediaries And The New Economy, Brad Borden
Section 1031 Qualified Intermediaries And The New Economy, Brad Borden
Bradley T. Borden
Industry estimates indicate that, over the past several years, section 1031 qualified intermediaries have lost as much as $700 million of exchange proceeds. Exchangers and their representatives must take steps to help prevent future losses. This article reviews three recent failures and discusses measures that should help reduce the risk of qualified intermediary failure in the new exchange environment. Lawmakers should also consider measures they can take to help prevent such losses in the future.
The Failure Of Adversary Process In The Administrative State, Bryan T. Camp
The Failure Of Adversary Process In The Administrative State, Bryan T. Camp
Bryan T Camp
In a series of hearings in 1997 and 1998, Congress heard allegations that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS” or “Service”) was abusing taxpayers during the process of collecting taxes. The resulting distrust of the tax bureaucracy led Congress to create a special adversary proceeding providing for judicial review of IRS collection decisions. The proceeding is beguilingly titled “Collection Due Process” (and commonly referred to as “CDP”). My study of CDP’s structure, operation, and of 976 court decisions issued through the end of 2006 demonstrates that it has failed to fulfill its promise. Of the over 15 million collection decisions made …
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 …
Tax Policy And Personal Identity Over Time, Lawrence A. Zelenak
Tax Policy And Personal Identity Over Time, Lawrence A. Zelenak
Faculty Scholarship
Tax policy analysts often claim that tax distributional analysis should be based on a lifetime perspective, at least as a theoretical ideal. A prominent argument in favor of a consumption tax base over an income tax base appeals to this lifetime equity perspective, as does the argument for lifetime income averaging under an income tax with progressive marginal rates. These appeals to lifetime equity assume, in most cases without discussion, that personal identity over time is an unproblematic concept, so that the whole-life person is clearly the ideal unit for purposes of distributional analysis. However, the philosopher Derek Parfit claims …
Samuel Zell, The Chicago Tribune, And The Emergence Of The S Esop: Understanding The Tax Advantages And Disadvantages Of S Esops, Michael S. Knoll
Samuel Zell, The Chicago Tribune, And The Emergence Of The S Esop: Understanding The Tax Advantages And Disadvantages Of S Esops, Michael S. Knoll
All Faculty Scholarship
Samuel Zell’s acquisition of the Chicago Tribune Company (the Tribune) in December 2007 using a little-known type of Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) made headlines. In a complicated transaction, which took nearly a year to complete, the Tribune converted from a subchapter C corporation to a subchapter S corporation, established an ESOP that purchased 100 percent of the company’s equity, and sold Zell a call option giving him the right to purchase 40 percent of the company’s equity. Press reports claim that Zell’s novel structure enabled Zell to outbid other suitors. And financial commentators predict that many acquirers will employ …
Ebay's Second Life: When Should Virtual Earnings Bear Real Taxes?, Leandra Lederman
Ebay's Second Life: When Should Virtual Earnings Bear Real Taxes?, Leandra Lederman
Articles by Maurer Faculty
Millions of people participate in virtual worlds. The popular virtual world Second Life is designed to be a platform for commerce. This essay argues that profits received in the form of Linden dollars (Second Life's currency) should be taxed in much the same way profits received via PayPal, a widely used electronic-payment system, are. Although Second Life profits could instead be taxed once the taxpayer cashes out, that would create a special exception for Second Life that does not exist for platforms such as eBay, which would facilitate abuse and distort economic activity.
The Intellectual Foundations Of The Modern American Fiscal State, Ajay K. Mehrotra
The Intellectual Foundations Of The Modern American Fiscal State, Ajay K. Mehrotra
Articles by Maurer Faculty
No abstract provided.
I.R.C. § 409a And The Small Business, Michael Hussey
I.R.C. § 409a And The Small Business, Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey
No abstract provided.