Law Commons^™

Nonprofits, Politics, And Privacy, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

No abstract provided.

A Quiet Faith? Taxes, Politics, And The Privatization Of Religion, Richard W. Garnett

Richard W Garnett

The government exempts religious associations from taxation and, in return, restricts their putatively political expression and activities. This exemption-and-restriction scheme invites government to interpret and categorize the means by which religious communities live out their vocations and engage the world. But government is neither well-suited nor to be trusted with this kind of line-drawing. What's more, this invitation is dangerous to authentically religious consciousness and associations. When government communicates and enforces its own view of the nature of religion - i.e., that it is a private matter - and of its proper place - i.e., in the private sphere, not …

A Taxing Endeavor: Local Government Protection Of Our Nation's Coasts In The "Wake" Of Climate Change, Simone Savino

Simone Savino

A storm is brewing, and not just in our nation’s coastal waters. The effects of climate change are becoming alarmingly apparent: sea levels are rising, storm surges are intensifying and ocean temperatures are warming at increasing speeds. Higher storm surges have led to increased flooding in coastal zones and nearby low-lying regions. The need for greater disaster preparedness in areas vulnerable to storm surges is evident, not just in the United States, but worldwide. As a direct result, coastal towns and cities have been left with the daunting task, and cost, of implementing littoral adaptation measures such as beach renourishment …

Let Educators Educate, Let Builders Build: Making A Case For School Facility Privatization, John Pizzo

John Pizzo

No abstract provided.

Turf Wars: Territoriality And The Allocation Of Sales And Use Taxes In California, Kevin Schmitt

Kevin Schmitt

Sales and use tax revenue provides an important source of funding for California’s local governments, particularly its cities. Under the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law, local governments may enact sales and use tax ordinances and contract with the state to manage collection and distribution. The current allocation system, known as the situs-based system, provides for distribution to local government based on the physical location of the retailer. Although such a system has logical appeal, in practice it has proven highly problematic, promoting unproductive competition among local governments for scarce revenue.

Reform of the situs-based allocation process has …

Nonprofits, Politics, And Privacy, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

The time is ripe for a deeper consideration of the policy concerns that underlie public disclosure requirements for politically active tax-exempt nonprofit organizations and the related issue of privacy. To clarify the discussion, one aspect for deeper consideration is recognizing that this particular area is at the intersection of three significantly different disclosure regimes. Those three regimes are (1) federal tax law generally, (2) federal tax law as it applies to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, and (3) federal election law. These regimes are a study in contrasts. Federal tax law strongly protects taxpayer information from public disclosure. And while federal tax …