Tax Law Commons^™

Are We A Nation Of Tax Cheaters? New Econometric Evidence On Tax Compliance, Jeffrey A. Dubin, Michael J. Graetz, Louis L. Wilde

Faculty Scholarship

In 1982, then Commissioner of Internal Revenue Roscoe Egger reported to Congress that legal sector noncompliance with the Federal Income Tax statutes generated an "income tax gap" of $81 billion in 1981, up from $29 billion in 1973. He further projected a gap of $120 billion for 1985 (U.S. Congress, 1982). Perceptions of accelerating noncompliance inspired a crisis mentality within the Internal Revenue Service, Congress, and the tax bar.

The IRS responded in part by funding a major independent study of tax noncompliance via the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Bar Foundation initiated an investigation of its own …

Below Market Loans: From Abuse To Misuses – A Sports Illustration, Phillip J. Closius, Douglas K. Chapman

All Faculty Scholarship

Below market loans have been traditionally used as substitutes for gifts, salaries, and dividends for the primary purpose of tax avoidance in the transfer of wealth. The Supreme Court's opinion in Dickman v. Commissioner subjected both demand and term loans in an intrafamilial setting to the federal gift tax. Congress, while subjecting all below market loans to either income or gift tax, applied different valuation formulas to term and demand loans and, in so doing, favored the use of demand loans as a salary substitute. This Article analyzes the current status of below market loans by examining their use in …

The Marriage Tax Revisited: An Analysis Of The Tax Consequences Of Marriage, Dan Subotnik

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

State And Local Taxation Of Financial Institutions:An Opportunity For Reform, C. James Judson, Susan G. Duffy

Vanderbilt Law Review

Forces at work in both public and private sectors may soon change the way state and local political subdivisions tax financial institutions. The market for financial services is changing dramatically. Governments have expanded substantially the scope of activities in which financial depositories may engage. The competitive environment for financial activities also is changing as general business corporations enter the financial services field, an area previously considered the exclusive domain of financial institutions. Financial institutions have increasing opportunities for interstate activity, which offers both risks and challenges. These changes have occurred during a period in which the extensive framework of state …

Distinguishing Between Capital Expenditures And Ordinary Business Expenses: A Proposal For A Universal Standard, Steven J. Greene

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

It is apparent from an examination of the various court decisions that there is no single, common standard used to distinguish between capital expenditures and ordinary business expenses. The courts are not completely to blame for this situation, however, because the Internal Revenue Code provides little guidance on the capital/ordinary distinction. This Note proposes an amendment to the Tax Code that would provide courts with a universal standard to apply in differentiating between the two types of expenditures and that best reflects the general purpose of the Code in matching income with its related expenses. Part I analyzes the historical …

Efficiency And Income Taxes: The Rehabilitation Of Tax Incentives, Edward A. Zelinsky

Articles

This Article explores two prominent issues in current legal literature: the propriety of tax incentives in the federal income tax and the use of economic analysis to examine questions of concern to academic lawyers. One premise of this Article is that there is a connection between these two topics.

Federal Income Tax Developments: 1985, Merlin G. Briner, James W. Childs

Akron Tax Journal

This article discusses the federal income tax developments of 1985, including relevant Supreme Court cases, deductions, legislative and treasury regulations, and income recognition and related topics.

Fiduciary Income Taxation And The Holloway Adjustment, Dennis E. Bires

Akron Tax Journal

A great deal of the complexity of the rules dealing with income taxation of trusts and estates' can be attributed to the imperfect compatibility of two different regimes of law: the federal taxation of income and local rules of trust accounting. Just as the confluence of two rivers may generate turbulence exceeding that of either branch, the meeting of federal tax law and state trust law in Subchapter J of the Internal Revenue Code generates problems that neither discipline would present by itself.

In 1972, a New York Surrogate's Court introduced the Holloway adjustment to fiduciary accounting. This equitable adjustment …

Commentary: Does The United States Need An Alternative Tax Base?, James W. Childs

Akron Tax Journal

This article looks at the alternative tax systems of France, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia and compares that to the system in the United States. It uses this comparison to discuss whether an alternative tax base is necessary in the United States.

Comments: Conflict Between The Internal Revenue Code And The Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Richard B. Stanley

University of Baltimore Law Review

The privilege against self-incrimination contained in the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution is invoked with some frequency in the reporting of income to the Internal Revenue Service. Unfortunately, no definite standard for the applicability of this privilege to income reporting has emerged. In this comment, the author reviews decisional law on the applicability of this privilege to income reporting and analyzes under what circumstances this privilege can be invoked.

Income Taxation Of Social Security Benefits: Balancing Social Policy With Tax Policy, Christopher R. Hoyt

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Tax Reform Act Of 1986 On Legal Education And Law Faculty, Christopher R. Hoyt

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Taxation Of The Disposition Of Partnership Issues: Time To Repeal I.R.C. Section 736, John A. Lynch Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

As part of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 Congress enacted section 736. This section specifies the tax treatment of the various types of payments that a partnership may make to a withdrawing partner. It introduced the concept of a liquidation of a partnership interest by the partnership itself, as opposed to the sale of that interest to an outsider or to the continuing partners. In some instances it provides tax consequences for continuing and withdrawing partners which are different from those attendant to a sale. It was designed to make the law concerning disposition of partnership interests simpler and …

For A Few Dollars More: Client’S Right To Discharge His Attorney Under A Contingent Fee Contract, Irving Cohen

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Federal Circuit's 1985 Tax Cases: The Exercise Of Equity, William S. Blatt

Articles

No abstract provided.

An Opportunity Missed: Armco, Inc. V. Hardesty, A Retreat From Economic Reality In Analysis Of State Taxes, C. James Judson, Susan G. Duffy

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

United States Taxation Of Its Citizens Abroad: Incentive Or Equity, Renee J. Sobel

Vanderbilt Law Review

The United States, unlike many sovereignties, has exercised worldwide income tax jurisdiction over its individual citizens since the inception of the income tax. Since 1926, however, United States citizens working abroad have received special treatment in the taxation of their foreign earned income. By the use of a tax credit, direct double taxation has been avoided. In addition, various exclusions and deductions have been permitted. Such tax preferences have been justified on the grounds that they promote tax equity and that they serve as incentives to encourage Americans to work overseas.

This Article considers whether the special treatment of United …

Internal Revenue Code Section 7701(B): A More Certain Definition Of Resident, Rolf E. Kroll

Penn State International Law Review (1982 - 2011)

The purpose of this Note is four-fold. First, it seeks to articulate the central concepts underlying taxation of nonresidents and residents. In so doing, the discussion endeavors to show the importance of section 7701(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Second, it attempts to cancas the case law and pertinent regulations and rulings and highlight the ambiguities therein. Third, the discussion will address the essential features of section 7701(b) and illustrate Congress' new approach to the problem of determining resident status for aliens. Finally, the policy implications of 7701(b) are examined and suggestions for further improvement are made.

The Supreme Court's Misconstruction Of A Procedural Statute-A Critique Of The Court's Decision In Badaracco, Douglas A. Kahn

Articles

When a taxpayer files an honest' federal income tax return for a taxable year, section 6501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code2 limits the period of time during which the Government can assess a tax for that year to a three-year period commencing with the date that the return was filed. The three-year limitations period is extended for an additional three years by section 6501(e)(1)(A) if the taxpayer's return omits properly includible gross income in an amount in excess of twenty-five percent of the gross income that was reported. If a taxpayer fails to file a return for a taxable year …

Disparate Tax Treatment Of Different Types Of Business Organizations: Where Should We Go From Here?, Douglas A. Kahn

Articles

If several persons wish to join together in a common enterprise in order to pool their capital or labor or some of each, they may choose among a variety of available organizational structures that will serve that purpose. The most common entity forms are partnerships (including joint ventures), corporations, and trusts. While, in its typical structure, each of those entity forms has its own distinct characteristics, the structure of such organizations often is modified by agreement so as to adopt attributes of another type of entity. Because of this, the substantive distinction between entity types is blurred.

Tax Policy For Post-Liberal Society: A Flat Tax Inspired Redefinition Of The Purpose And Ideal Structure Of A Progressive Income Tax, Charles O'Kelley

Faculty Articles

A flat rate comprehensive federal income tax could be achieved by replacing graduated rates with a single rate that applies to all taxpayers, eliminating many currently available deductions and credits, and treating as taxable income types of economic gain presently excluded from the tax base. The fact that Congress is seriously considering such radical changes makes it appropriate for tax scholars to reconsider longheld beliefs about the ideal structure of an income tax. This article analyzes the characteristics and underlying rationale of a progressive flat rate comprehensive income tax and reconsiders the nature and purpose of a progressive income tax. …

Taxing Personal Insurance: The Case Of Tax Audit Insurance, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Are Mandatory Income Tax Withholding Work Expenses Or Are They Not Income In Afdc: An Analysis Of The Statute And Its History, William D. Herlong

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Tax Lien—Forced Sale Of The Homestead Interest Of A Non-Delinquent Spouse, Allen C. Dobson

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Assisting Dislocated Workers: Dimensions, Needs And Tax Policy Options, Lewis D. Solomon, Janet S. Solomon, Brian M. Malsberger

Akron Tax Journal

The involvement of the federal government in retraining of dislocated workers raises the specter of rigidity, bureaucracy, paternalism, and cost. After examining the dimensions of the dislocated worker problem and the need for governmental involvement, this article examines the use of tax policy to enable workers to bridge the gap between old and new jobs and to thrive in an economy in transition. The policy making challenge can be succinctly stated: is it possible to use the federal income tax system to the advantage of society by creating tax incentives for a retraining program based on individual choice and limited …

Over The Back Fence: Tax Shelters And Other Sales Of Federal Income Tax Reductions, Thomas A. Robinson

Akron Tax Journal

Structural features of the federal income tax system frequently make the same tax reduction' more valuable to one taxpayer than to another. There are many types of such tax reductions (including deductions and credits), creating a fertile environment for the tax shelter markets. Black letter law says tax reductions are nontransferable. In other words, taxpayers are not allowed to sell their mortgage interest deductions over the back fence to their neighbors. Yet, observation reveals some transactions where tax reductions are in effect bought and sold. This article will examine four of these transactions: business sales, divorce agreements, sale-leasebacks, and partnership …

Selling A Business And Starting Anew: Liquidation-Reincorporation In The Simple Situation, John R. Dorocak

Akron Tax Journal

A client approaches his attorney with a fairly common problem. The client, as sole or predominant shareholder, operates a business in the corporate form. He wishes to sell all the assets of that business to a third party. The client will then take the proceeds of the sale, after distribution to himself as shareholder, and use a part of them to capitalize a new corporation, which will purchase a new business. The question for the attorney is whether this simple transaction will ever call forth the tax doctrine of liquidation-reincorporation. This article will examine the likelihood of the liquidation reincorporation …

Serving Two Masters: Commercial Hues And Tax Exempt Organizations, Lawrence Zelenak

Seattle University Law Review

This article will describe the statutory and regulatory framework of section 501(c)(3), examine how the test has been applied, criticize the test, and suggest a test more in keeping with the language and the spirit of section 501(c)(3). The proposed test is this: If the questioned activity directly accomplishes an exempt purpose of the organization, and if all profits from the activity are used in a manner consistent with the organization's exempt purposes, 6 then the organization should be granted exempt status, whether or not the organization's activities are imbued with a "commercial hue."

Child Care, Work, And The Federal Income Tax, Brian Wolfman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article explores the federal income tax treatment of employment-related child care expenses. It takes both a theoretical and historical approach, examining the various ways in which the Code has dealt with child care in relation to conventional tax notions and values at play in the community at large.

Part II outlines the history of the Code's various childcare provisions. It is a critical analysis whose purpose is to decide whether any of the provisions, which have existed, can be explained by a particular tax theory.

Part III asks whether employment-related childcare expenses can be characterized as "business" or "personal" …

Double Benefits And Transactional Consistency Under The Tax Benefit Rule, Kenneth F. Joyce, Louis A. Del Cotto

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.