Tax Law Commons^™

Note: Get The Balance Right: Finding An Equilibrium Between Charitable Solicitation, Fraud, And The First Amendment In Illinois Ex Rel. Madigan V. Telemarketing Associates, Inc., 538 U.S. 600 (2003), Christopher R. Sullivan

William Mitchell Law Review

This Note first examines the history of the relevant law in the areas of fraud, charitable solicitation, and prior restraints. Specifically, it examines the three leading cases on regulation of charitable fundraising speech: Schaumburg, Munson, and Riley. Next, the Note discusses the history and holding of Illinois ex rel. Madigan v. Telemarketing Associates, Inc. Next, this Note will explore the holding in Telemarketing Associates in light of Schaumburg and its progeny. This analysis includes a survey of recent and pending fraud litigation against charities and their fundraisers, and a review of the Federal Trade Commission's “Operation Phoney Philanthropy.” Finally, the …

Sin, Salvation, And The Law Of Charities, Corwin R. Kruse

William Mitchell Law Review

Review of Governing Nonprofit Corporations: Federal and State Law and Regulation. By Marion R. Fremont-Smith. Belknap Press, 2004. 570 pages, $95.

The Allocation Of Profits Between Related Entities And The Oppression Remedy: An Analysis Of Ford Motor Co. V. Omers, Kim Brooks, Anita Anand

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In Ford Motor Co. v. Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice reviewed the transfer pricing arrangements between parent and subsidiaries Ford US and Ford Canada in the context of a going-private transaction. Its review was the key to resolving the two main issues in the case: first, did the transfer-pricing arrangements understate Ford Canada's profits so as to undermine the fair value of Ford Canada's shares? And second, did the transfer-pricing arrangement oppress or unduly disregard the interests of Ford Canada's minority shareholders so as to give rise to the oppression remedy?

In this comment, …

Book-Tax Conformity And The Corporate Tax Shelter Debate: Assessing The Proposed Section 475 Mark-To-Market Safe Harbor, Linda M. Beale

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments In Federal Income Taxation: The Year 2003, Ira B. Shepard, Martin J. Mcmahon Jr.

UF Law Faculty Publications

This recent developments outline discusses, and provides context to understand the significance of, the most important judicial decisions and administrative rulings and regulations promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department during 2003 - and sometimes a little farther back in time if we find the item particularly humorous or outrageous. Most Treasury Regulations, however, are so complex that they cannot be discussed in detail and, anyway, only a devout masochist would read them all the way through; just the basic topic and fundamental principles are highlighted. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code generally are not discussed except to …

Family Limited Partnerships: Discounts, Options, And Disappearing Value, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

UF Law Faculty Publications

Family partnerships have been become increasingly popular as a means of avoiding estate and gift taxes. As other estate freezing techniques have been closed off by statutory anti-abuse rules, estate planners have increasingly resorted to partnerships as a vehicle for transferring assets within a family at deeply discounted values. Discounts ranging from one-third to over one-half of the value of the underlying assets are routinely claimed, and often allowed, based on lack of marketability and lack of control, even where these disabilities have no lasting or ascertainable economic effect. Nevertheless, the use of family partnerships to suppress value for transfer …

A Good Old Habit, Or Just An Old One? Preferential Tax Treatment For Reorganizations, Yariv Brauner

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article proposes to repeal the preferential tax treatment of certain merger and acquisition transactions known as "reorganizations," and tax them like all other sales or exchanges. In the last 80 years this preference has been a cornerstone of our tax system. It is also one of the most stable rules in the tax code. Nevertheless, its normative justification is weak, and has never been rigorously debated in the legal literature. This article rejects the stated rationale for this rules - that such transactions trigger insufficient realization and therefore it is both unfair and impractical to currently tax them. It …

Litigation Expenses And The Alternative Minimum Tax, Gregg D. Polsky, Brant J. Hellwig

Scholarly Works

One of the chief features of the alternative minimum tax (the "AMT") is a broadened tax base, accomplished in part through the disallowance of deductions that are not central to measuring an individual's net income. Yet in achieving its objective of limiting deductions, the AMT casts a wide net. Thus, in certain instances, an individual can be robbed of the tax benefit of expenses that were critical to the production of the income being taxed. An extreme example of this problem is the treatment of certain litigation expenses under the AMT. If an individual incurs attorney fees and other associated …

Seeking Consistency In Relating Capital To Current Expenditures, Henry Ordower

All Faculty Scholarship

Identifies relational duration as the key factor that distinguishes capital from current expenditures for tax purposes and argues that inventory cost is fundamentally identical to capitalization. Barriers to deductibility such as illegal payment prohibitions should also be barriers to capitalization or inventory absorption.

Putting Sec Heat On Audit Firms And Corporate Tax Shelters: Responding To Tax Risk With Sunshine, Shame And Strict Liability, Linda M. Beale

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Race And Equality Across The Law School Curriculum: The Law Of Tax Exemption, David A. Brennen

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

What is the relevance of race to tax law? The race issues are apparent when one studies a subject like constitutional law. The Constitution concerns itself explicitly with such matters as defining rights of citizenship, allocating powers of government, and determining rights with respect to property. Given the history of our country -- with slavery followed by periods of de jure and de facto racial discrimination -- these constitutional law matters obviously must have racial dimensions.

Tax law, however, does not generally concern itself explicitly with matters of race. Tax law is often thought of as completely race neutral in …

The Most Rational Branch: Guinn V. Legislature And The Judiciary's Role As Helpful Arbiter Of Conflict, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

When the Nevada Supreme Court decided Guinn v. Legislature, one would have thought from reading the popular press accounts that the court had forcibly displaced the State legislature by means of a violent coup d'etat. Newspaper accounts of the decision referred to it as a usurpation of power in violation of clear constitutional language, belittling the court in language sometimes more appropriate to the baseball bleachers than to serious editorial commentary. Following suit, politicized elements of the citizenry began a recall effort (seemingly unsuccessful as of this writing) directed at the court as well as joining the chorus of criticisms. …

Retirement Security Through Asset Protection: The Evolution Of Wealth, Privilege, And Policy, John K. Eason

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taxpayer Standing: A Step Toward Animal-Centric Litigation, Varu Chilakamarri

Animal Law Review

This comment takes a novel approach in animal law jurisprudence by evaluating the taxpayer standing doctrine and how animal welfare proponents may utilize it. The doctrine can potentially be used for public interest litigation whenever a link can be found between a social harm and the use of public monies.

The Neglected Role Of International Altruistic Investment In The Chinese Transition Economy, Darryll K. Jones

Journal Publications

This Article discusses the positive role of altruistic investment in any transition economy by making specific reference to altruistic investment in the Chinese economic transition. The Article discusses the social welfare hardships arising from the transition process and then discusses the U.S. and Chinese tax incentives and barriers to altruistic investment that would lessen that hardship. After that, the Article discusses the reasons why both countries might prefer to retain those barriers. Finally, the Article concludes that altruistic investment has more positive then negative consequences and makes a simple proposal to stimulate altruistic investment in China in a manner that …

Innocent Spouses: A Critique Of The New Tax Laws Governing Joint And Several Tax Liability, Lily Kahng

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Tax Treatment Of Charitable Contributions In Canada: Theory, Practice, And Reform, David G. Duff

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Tax recognition for charitable contributions in Canada takes the form of a deduction where the contribution is made by a corporation or for the purpose of gaining or producing income from a business, a nonrefundable credit where individuals make qualifying gifts to eligible recipients, and a reduction or exemption from capital gains tax on gifts to eligible recipients of qualifying cultural property, publicly traded securities, or ecologically sensitive land. This article reviews different rationales for the tax recognition of charitable contributions, concluding that the most persuasive rationale is to indirectly subsidize the quasi-public goods and services that charities provide and …

Aba Section Of Taxation Report Of The Task Force On Judicial Deference, Linda Galler, Irving Salem, Ellen P. Aprill, Aba Section Of Taxation, Task Force On Judicial Deference

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Recognizing the need for clearer standards regarding the degree of deference that the federal courts should confer on guidance issued by the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, the Tax Section, under the direction of former ABA Section of Taxation Chair Pamela F. Olson, created a Task Force on Judicial Deference in 2000. It was charged with the mission of not only examining the state of the law pertaining to judicial deference across the broad range of administrative pronouncements issued by the Treasury and the IRS, but also sharing its conclusions and possible solutions with the Section of …

Taxing The New Intellectual Property Right, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

Articles

Current, albeit arbitrary, rules exist governing the tax treatment of traditional forms of intellectual property, such as patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and trade names. While tax principles exist for these traditional intellectual property and intangible rights, specific tax rules do not exist for new intellectual property rights, such as domain names, that are emerging with the arrival of global electronic commerce transactions on the Internet. This article explores the proper tax treatment of domain name registration and acquisition costs, addressing these parallel questions? Are domain names merely variations of traditional forms of intellectual property and other intangible rights to …

Investing Trust Assets: Prudence Redefined, Mark R. Gillett

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Executive Compensation Reform And The Limits Of Tax Policy, Michael Doran

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 includes a major attempt to reform the tax rules for deferred compensation arrangements covering corporate managers. This paper examines the tax policy and corporate-governance policy objectives of the reform effort, explores the shortcomings of the legislation, and outlines a different approach for future executive compensation reform.

Book Review. The Price Of Progress: Public Services, Taxation And The American Corporate State, 1877-1929 By R. Rudy Higgens-Evenson, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Entrepreneurship Effect: An Accidental Externality In The Federal Income Tax, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Case law and commentators sometimes speak as if all income-producing activities are taxed similarly. However, that simply is not true for individuals. Although the expenses and losses of business activities generally are deductible from income of any source and net losses can be carried to other tax years, individuals' investment expenses and losses generally are deductible only from investment income. Although many of the provisions restricting investment-related deductions were enacted at different times, and each one has its own rationale, the combined effect of these provisions on individual investors is a systematic preference for business losses over investment losses.

Economists …

Basis Shifting - A Radical Approach To An Intractable Problem, Glenn E. Coven

Faculty Publications

Coven asserts that one of the lingering ambiguities in subchapter C is how an appropriate tax benefit can be obtained from the tax basis that "disappears" when a shareholder's interest is completely redeemed but the transaction is treated as a dividend because stock held by others is attributed to the former shareholder. He believes that Treasury was content to rely on manifestly inadequate regulations to resolve that issue until taxpayers discovered how to convert those regulations into a potent tax shelter. The amendment to those regulations, proposed in 2002, however, was fatally flawed, according to Coven.

In this article, Coven …

What Corporate Tax Shelters Can Teach Us About The Structure Of Subchapter C, Glenn E. Coven

Faculty Publications

Coven argues that the rules extending nonrecognition treatment to the incorporation of property never have been properly integrated with the double taxation of corporations. As a result, the duplicate burden or benefit is applied retroactively. That defect, Coven believes, has been long overlooked, but now that it has been exploited by one popular version of the loss replicating corporate tax shelter, it must be addressed. The remedy applied by Congress to the tax shelter in section 358(h) is insufficient, does not operate correctly and undermines the integrity of the code, he says.

This article proposes a more comprehensive solution that …

Corporations, Society, And The State: A Defense Of The Corporate Tax, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

Corporations are both everywhere and nowhere. They are everywhere, first and foremost, on the economic scene: a large percentage of economic activity in the United States is effectuated through the corporate form. But the reach of corporations is far broader than that. Many of our other institutions, including universities, churches, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations, are in corporate form. Other salient features of our society, such as representative democracy, originated from the use of the corporate form in medieval England. Even the idea of the state itself originated in Roman and Medieval legal notions about corporate bodies.

Sensible Tax Policies In Open Economics, James R. Hines Jr.

Articles

This paper evaluates the design and the desirability of business taxes in small open economies, in light of evidence of the impact of taxation on the activities of multinational firms. The high degree of international capital mobility implies that small countries benefit by reducing their tax rates below the rates of other countries with whom they compete, possibly to the point of eliminating any taxes on inbound investment. Countries likewise have incentives not to tax the foreign incomes of resident companies. Host countries that are tempted to use their tax systems to subsidize and thereby encourage local employment, net exports, …

Innocent Spouses: A Critique Of The New Laws Governing Joint And Several Tax Liability, Lily Kahng

Faculty Articles

This article provides a framework for such interpretation and implementation of the new innocent spouse laws. The author presents an overview of the current tax law treatment of married joint filers under which joint and several liability is imposed unless relief is available under the new innocent spouse laws. The article then examines the tax rationales that have traditionally been offered for imposing joint and several liability. The author concludes that because the fiction of marital unity is deeply embedded in our tax system, joint and several liability for married joint filers is likely to remain the law. While it …

Perpetuation Of The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, Hale E. Sheppard

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article discusses Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE), as an example of a provision that has been sustained, not on the basis of sound economic analysis and compliance with established U.S. international tax policy, but rather because of effective lobbying and political circumstance. First providing an overview of the U.S. system of worldwide taxation, and the place of the FEIE within that framework, Mr. Sheppard explores the forces underlying the perpetuation of the FEIE. He demonstrates that FEIE is inconsistent with each of the primary components of U.S. international …

Cancellation Of Debt And Other Incidential Items Of Income: Puritan Tax Rules In The U.S., Richard C.E. Beck

Articles & Chapters

This article examines some miscellaneous and incidental forms of income from a comparative point of view. It appears that U.S. law includes as income more types of incidental items than most other countries. The items briefly considered here are (in no particular order) found money and property, gambling gains, gains from a personal hobby, isolated criminal profits, prizes and awards for merit, damages from non-physical personal injury, and gains from sale of a personal residence. The article concludes with a more thorough examination of income from the cancellation of debts (COD income) of an individual. These items have in common …