Tax Law Commons^™

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Thomas P. Rohman, Wendy B. Gayle

University of Richmond Law Review

This article covers legislative changes and judicial decisions affecting Virginia taxation from July, 1991 to July, 1992. Its purpose is to alert Virginia's tax and general practitioners to these developments.

The Like-Kind Exchange Of Partnership Interests Under Irc Section 1031(A)(2)(D): An Historical Analysis Of Alternative Approaches, Vincent John Piazza

University of Richmond Law Review

Before the Tax Reform Act of 1984, general partnership interests were considered like-kind property which could be exchanged tax-free under Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") section 1031(a). Prior to 1984, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") had tried unsuccessfully to convince the courts that the parenthetical clause of section 1031(a), which excludes certain exchanges of interests from the definition of like-kind property, encompassed all types of equity interests. Since the IRC did not specifically exclude partnership interests, judges were very reluctant to adopt the IRS's over-expansive reading of the statute. After making very little headway with the courts, the IRS and treasury …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Carle E. Davis

University of Richmond Law Review

In its 1990 session, Virginia's General Assembly passed many bills amending sections of and adding new sections to title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia (the "Code"). These bills affected a broad range of areas, including the individual and corporate income tax, the sales and use tax, real estate and recordation taxes, and miscellaneous local taxes. The Supreme Court of Virginia also decided several cases concerning miscellaneous taxation issues. In addition, the Virginia Department of Taxation finalized several regulations and promulgated proposed regulations. This article covers legislative and regulatory changes, and recent judicial decisions affecting Virginia taxation from July 1989 …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Carle E. Davis

University of Richmond Law Review

In its 1989 session, Virginia's General Assembly passed many bills amending sections of and adding new sections to title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia (the "Code"). These bills affected a broad range of areas, including the individual and corporate income tax, the sales and use tax, real estate and recordation taxes, and miscellaneous local taxes. The Virginia courts decided several cases concerning miscellaneous taxation issues. In addition, the Virginia Department of Taxation finalized regulations concerning the payment of estimated income taxes by individuals and fiduciaries and promulgated other emergency and proposed regulations. This article covers legislative and regulatory changes …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Carle E. Davis

University of Richmond Law Review

In its 1988 session, the Virginia General Assembly passed a multitude of bills amending and supplementing title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia (the "Code"). These bills affected a broad range of areas, including the individual and corporate income tax, the sales and use tax, the local business license tax, and the real estate and recordation taxes.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Carle E. Davis

University of Richmond Law Review

In an effort to coordinate Virginia's income tax with the federal income tax as amended by the federal Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Virginia General Assembly passed several bills amending the individual and corporate income tax provisions of title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia (the "Code"). In addition, the General Assembly enacted several miscellaneous bills, the most important of which covered changes to the sales and use tax and the real estate and recordation taxes.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Carle E. Davis

University of Richmond Law Review

In contrast to tax reform efforts in the federal arena, the Virginia General Assembly made relatively few changes to Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia (the "Code"). The General Assembly enacted a number of miscellaneous bills, the most important of which affected the sales and use tax, and the real estate and recordation taxes. The Virginia Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit were likewise quiet in the area of Virginia taxation and rendered only three decisions, none of which is of major significance. After publishing numerous regulations in 1985, the Virginia Department of Taxation …

Revenue Ruling 84-132: Sidelined, But Not Forgotten, Nina R. Murphy

University of Richmond Law Review

Virtually all colleges and universities have scholarship programs designed to support their athletic teams. The programs are generally in the form of membership clubs which are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and therefore eligible to receive donations which provide tax deductions to their patrons. The fact that an organization is an "eligible receiver," however, does not ensure that all payments to it are deductible. For example, the cost of football tickets is not deductible since the purchaser is receiving value for his payment.

Virginia Tax Laws Affecting Churches, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

This is the second of two articles dealing with external church law in Virginia. The first article was a restatement of all Virginia laws relating to churches except for the tax laws. The subject of taxes was reserved for special treatment at that time because of the volume of tax-related materials. For the most part these materials consist of the various constitutional and statutory taxation provisions relating to religious charities and the opinions of the Virginia Attorney General interpreting and applying these provisions. Attorney General opinions take on a special importance in this study because there is only a handful …

Virginia Tax Laws Affecting Churches, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

This is the second of two articles dealing with external church law in Virginia. The first article was a restatement of all Virginia laws relating to churches except for the tax laws. The subject of taxes was reserved for special treatment at that time because of the volume of tax-related materials. For the most part these materials consist of the various constitutional and statutory taxation provisions relating to religious charities and the opinions of the Virginia Attorney General interpreting and applying these provisions. Attorney General opinions take on a special importance in this study because there is only a handful …

The Deductibility Of Bank Branching Expenditures: Central Texas Savings & Loan Association V. United States: A Weak Rebuttal To Ncnb Corp. V. United States, David Fields Webb

University of Richmond Law Review

In North Carolina National Bank Corp. v. United States, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that certain expenditures incurred by a national bank in connection with, yet prior to, the opening of branch offices were deductible under I.R.C. section 162 as ordinary business expenses. In Central Texas Savings & Loan Association v. UnitedStates, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that similar costs incurred by a savings and loan institution in its branching activities were capital rather than ordinary in nature, and could not be deducted under section 162.

The Effect Of The Tax Reform Act Of 1984 On Alimony And Transfers Of Property Incident To Divorce, J. Thomas O'Brien Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The Tax Reform Act of 1984 made substantial changes affecting the tax consequences of divorce. This comment will focus on the changes made in the tax treatment of transfers of property incident to divorce, in the definitional requirements of alimony and separate maintenance, and on the changes affecting "alimony" trusts and other forms of property. It will then analyze these changes by contrasting them, in light of congressional intent, with their pre-Tax Act development and treatment and attempt to draw some conclusions with respect to their effectiveness. Other changes affecting domestic relations are not within the scope of this comment.

Auditors' Liability - Adoption Of A Reasonable Foreseeability Standard, Laurence E. Skinner

University of Richmond Law Review

The common law liability of auditors to third party users of negligently audited financial statements is currently in a state of transition. For years, on the basis of Ultramares Corp. v. Touche, auditors successfully raised a lack of privity of contract with the plaintiff as a defense in negligence actions. Starting in the late 1960's, however, courts began to abandon the privity defense in favor of liability limited to actually foreseen third parties or foreseeable classes of financial statement users. Two recent cases manifesting the trend toward expanded auditors' liability held for the first time that negligent auditors can be …

Capital Expenditures: A Result In Search Of A Rationale, John W. Lee, Nina R. Murphy

University of Richmond Law Review

A business may reduce its gross income by its expenses to arrive at taxable income; however, not all money paid out by a business during its tax year is deductible in that year. The distinction between business expenses which are deductible under section 1622 and capital expenditures which are not currently deductible under section 2633 is probably the most difficult one to discern in the entire area of business deductions, principally because so many disparate elements are encompassed within the capital expenditure doctrine.

The Business Purpose Test In Section 355 Distributions: Major Pitfalls For Close Corporation Planning, Brenda D. Crocker

University of Richmond Law Review

Since 1918, Congress has recognized the economic necessity of stimulating growth in the business sector by encouraging productive corporate divisions. The unhappy task of more than sixty years has been to draft a statute which maximizes flexibility while precluding tax avoidance abuses. Charting its way by piecemeal legislation, Congress appears to have intended tax-free treatment for stock distributions pursuant to corporate divisions motivated by reasonable business needs. Curiously, although Congress clearly has assumed that a valid business purpose must be the primary motivation for such transactions, it never has expressly addressed the matter by statute. Instead, it has devised numerous …

Replacing The Social Security Tax With A Value-Added Tax: Policy Perspectives, John F. Kelly, Joseph L. Lewis, William J. Irvin

University of Richmond Law Review

On October 22, 1979, Representative Al Ullman (D-Ore.), then Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced the Tax Restructuring Act of 1979, which would have lowered the rates of the individual income, corporate income and social security taxes along with certain other tax benefits and would have replaced the lost revenues from such reductions with the revenues from a 10% value-added tax (VAT). The introduction of the bill followed a speech delivered by Sen. Russell B. Long (D-La.), then Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, at the 1978 Tulane Tax Institute, in which he advocated an overhaul of …

Qualified Plans Under Erisa: Tax Shelter Or Bureaucratic Paper Chase?, Louise Cobb Boggs

University of Richmond Law Review

The enactment of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 has had a profound and far-reaching impact upon existing employee benefit plans and upon those which have since been created. ERISA, as the act is commonly designated, is a comprehen- sive federal statute with strong consumer protection overtones which sets up strict requirements for regulating most aspects of the operation and administration of private employee benefit plans. Its primary goals are: (1) to protect benefit rights and to provide retirement security for the participants of employee benefit plans by setting out minimum standards for nondiscriminatory participation, vesting, benefit accrual, and …

Taxation Of Boot Received During Acquisitive Reorganization: Dividend V. Capital Gain, Stephen Lee Dalton

University of Richmond Law Review

Acquisitive reorganizations either by consolidation or statutory merger have become a popular means for corporations with surplus cash or treasury stock to diversify their investment base. The tax treatment of cash received during such reorganizations is an often litigated and still unsettled area of the law. Such confusion is the product of inconsistent and irreconcilable case holdings and Revenue Rulings as the courts and the Internal Revenue Service have attempted to apply the myriad of judicial doctrines and intricate Code law dealing with this question to various factual situations.

Virginia Wealth Transfer Tax- Proposed Alternatives, Michael D. Flemming

University of Richmond Law Review

House Resolution 34, which was approved by the House of Delegates during the 1977 session of the Virginia General Assembly, observed that Virginia's inheritance and gift tax laws have remained essentially unchanged for more than 50 years and commissioned a study of those laws "in light of recent developments."' The proponents of House Resolution 34 no doubt had the 1976 amendments to the federal estate and gift tax laws fresh on their minds. But in addition to the federal changes, several of the states have altered their approach to transfer taxation in recent years. These changes expand the options available …

A Larson-Zuckman Checklist For Partnership Tax Classification Of Ulpa Real Estate Shelters, J. Durwood Felton Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

Real estate developments necessarily require large amounts of capital, and are usually dependent on financing from sources other than the venture group assembled to construct and operate a proposed project. Theoretically, such ventures may be undertaken in many forms, corporate and otherwise, and the available financing vehicles may include debt instruments, equity shares and innumerable combinations thereof. In reality, however, business and legal considerations often dictate organization and operation of such ventures within more narrowly defined limits.

The Taxation Of Distributions From Qualified Employee Benefit Plans, Louis A. Mezzullo

University of Richmond Law Review

One of the most confusing aspects of employee benefit plans is the federal tax treatment of distributions to the participants of these plans and to the beneficiaries of deceased participants. The issues frequently involve not only income taxation, but estate and gift taxation as well. While the average practitioner may never be called upon to draft a pension or profit-sharing plan, he may be asked by his client about the consequences of the various alternative methods

of receiving a benefit from such a plan. Many employee benefit plans, particularly profit-sharing plans, offer a participant upon his retirement from the plan …

Property Taxation In Virginia, Gordon M. Cooley, Burton F. Dodd, Norman T. Fowlkes, Julia Krebs-Markrich, Ronald E. Kuykendall

University of Richmond Law Review

The Virginia Constitution mandates that all property within the state, except exempt property, must be taxed. In light of the constitution's directive, this note examines the present Virginia property taxation structure in order to provide the practitioner with a guide to its application and operation.

Section 1244 Small Business Stock - Professional Responsibility Demands Its Use

University of Richmond Law Review

In 1958, Congress added section 1244 to the Internal Revenue Code, which allows ordinary loss treatment for original owners of specified stock in "small business corporations" when such stock is sold, exchanged at a loss, or when the stock becomes worthless. The purpose of section 1244 is to reduce the discrepancy between the tax treatment of losses sustained by corporations and those sustained by proprietorships or partnerships, thereby diminishing the role which tax considerations play in determining whether a business should be conducted in corporate or in unincorporated form. When an unincorporated business sustains an operating loss, such loss is …

The "Elaborate Interweaving Of Jurisdiction:" Labor And Tax Administration And Enforcement Of Erisa And Beyond, John W. Lee

University of Richmond Law Review

On Labor Day 1974, President Ford signed into law~the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, commonly known by its acronym ERISA. The genesis of ERISA is found in a study released in 1965 by the President's Committee on Corporate Pension Fund and Other Private Retirement and Welfare Programs, titled "Public Policy and Private Pension Programs-A Report to the President on Private Employee Retirement Plans." The Committee had been established in 1962 by President Kennedy in recognition of the growth of the pension industry and the need for reform. The report made recommendations as to vesting; funding; termination insurance and …

The Tax Consequences Of Inter Vivos Charitable Contributions After December 31, 1969 Under Section 170, Olin R. Melchionna Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

To give and live to give again has always been the American way. Traditionally, Americans contribute to those charitable institutions and associations which effectuate their benevolent, philanthropic desires. Many individuals believe the funding of charitable institutions should be primarily by direct contributions from the private sector as opposed to federal and state government subsidies. This view is supported by the federal income, I gift and estate tax deductions.

Special Purpose Taxation Districts: Coming Or Going?, John E. Juergensmeyer

University of Richmond Law Review

Special purpose taxing districts, as an instrument of local government, have been widely criticized and commonly blamed for many of the problems of "urban sprawl." However, despite repeated and extensive criticism, and continual attempts to limit and restrict them, special purpose districts have expanded in number and function.

Tax Reform And The Voluntary Support Of Higher Education, Sheldon Elliot Steinbach

University of Richmond Law Review

Since colonial times voluntary support has been a major factor in the financing of American higher education. It is estimated by the Council for Financial Aid to Education that the total voluntary support of institutions of higher education in 1971-72 was slightly over $2 billion. This represents an increase of $160 million or 8.6% over the $1.8 billion received in 1970-71.2 Private philanthropy is not limited to private colleges but is increasingly being extended to state-controlled institutions so that in 1971-72 such state-controlled institutions received over 21% of the total voluntary support to higher education. The financial plight of colleges …

Ancient Simplicity Is Gone- Procedural Aspects Of Relief From Taxes Administered By The Virginia Department Of Taxation, Lee F. Davis Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The Virginia Supreme Court has referred to "the convenience, elasticity and fairness" of the Virginia procedure for the correction of erroneous assessments of taxes. Few would add "clarity" to this description, yet the statutory remedies, however complicated, are usually the only source of relief for the taxpayer.