Tax Law Commons^™

Parting The Dark Money Sea: Exposing Politically Active Tax-Exempt Groups Through Fec-Irs Hybrid Enforcement, Carrie E. Miller

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Delegating Tax, James R. Hines Jr., Kyle D. Logue

Michigan Law Review

Congress delegates extensive and growing lawmaking authority to federal administrative agencies in areas other than taxation, but tightly limits the scope of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury regulatory discretion in the tax area, specifically not permitting these agencies to select or adjust tax rates. This Article questions why tax policy does and should differ from other policy areas in this respect, noting some of the potential policy benefits of delegation. Greater delegation of tax lawmaking authority would allow administrative agencies to apply their expertise to fiscal policy and afford timely adjustment to changing economic circumstances. Furthermore, delegation of the …

Should Apb 23 Indefinite Reinvestment Be Repealed?, J. Richard Harvey

Working Paper Series

A recent letter to FASB suggested that APB 23 should be repealed. Although there is a clear lack of application guidance surrounding APB 23, repeal is not justified. Instead, FASB should address several practical uncertainties that have effectively allowed U.S. MNCs to make whatever APB 23 assumption best suits their needs.

Given that many U.S. MNCs have shifted substantial amounts of income to low-tax foreign jurisdictions and may need those foreign earnings back in the U.S. relatively soon, it is important for FASB to address these issues. If not, aggressive MNCs may continue to assert indefinite reinvestment when in fact …

Improving The Legal Implementation Mechanisms For A Carbon Tax In China, Haifeng Deng

Pace Environmental Law Review

Within the framework of existing Chinese environmental laws, carbon taxation faces four main challenges: the contradiction of existing taxes, conflict with the carbon emissions trading system, necessary adjustments to the organizational structure of tax collection and management, and coordination with international trade rules. Implementing a carbon tax is a complete and systematic process containing three stages: introduction, collection, and impacts assessment. In order to address these problems, it is necessary to construct legal implementation mechanisms for carbon taxation in China. The legal mechanisms of implementing a carbon tax include a series of coordination and safeguard measures aimed at optimizing the …

Constitutional Law, Import-Export Clause: Non-Discriminatory, Fairly Apportioned Excise Tax Applied To Stevedoring Companies Loading And Unloading Goods In Imports And Export Transit Does Not Constitute An Import Or Duty Within The Prohibition Of The Import-Export Clause, Tony G. Mills

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Tax Incentives To Exportation: Alternatives To Disc, Timothy A. Peterson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Through The Antiboycott Morass To An Export Priority, Mark D. Menefee, Don Samuel

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Business Law Bulletin, Fall 2015

Business Law Bulletin

No abstract provided.

Perspectives - William Morrish, Professor Of Urban Ecologies At Parsons The New School For Design, James Hagy

Rooftops Project

How can arts organizations with an aspiration to build their own facilities connect project design both with the broader community and with financial sustainability? The Rooftops Project’s Zulaihat Nauzo and Professor James Hagy talk with William Morrish, Professor of Urban Ecologies at Parsons The New School for Design.

Without Representation, No Taxation: Free Blacks, Taxes, And Tax Exemptions Between The Revolutionary And Civil Wars, Christopher J. Bryant

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Essay is the first general survey of the taxation of free Blacks in free and slave states between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. A few states treated all equally for tax purposes, but most states enacted taxation systems that subjected free Blacks to different requirements. Both free and slave states viewed free Blacks as an undesirable population, and this Essay posits that—within the relevant political constraints—states used taxes and tax exemptions to dissuade free Black immigration and limit the opportunities for free Blacks within their borders. This topic is salient for at least two reasons. First, the Essay sheds …

Dodging The Taxman: Why The Treasury’S Anti-Abuse Regulation Is Unconstitutional, Linda D. Jellum

University of Miami Law Review

To combat abusive tax shelters, the Department of the Treasury promulgated a general anti-abuse regulation applicable to all of subchapter K of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Treasury targeted subchapter K because unique aspects of the partnership tax laws—including its aggregate-entity dichotomy—foster creative tax manipulation. In the anti-abuse regulation, the Treasury attempted to “codify” existing judicially-created anti-abuse doctrines, such as the business-purpose and economic-substance doctrines. Also, and more surprisingly, the Treasury directed those applying subchapter K to use a purposivist approach to interpretation and to reject textualism.

In this article, I demonstrate that the Treasury exceeded both its …

Of More Than Usual Interest: The Taxing Problem Of Debt Principal, Charlene Luke

UF Law Faculty Publications

Leverage is an essential but often troubling component of the U.S. market. The financial crisis highlighted the risks and complexity of a leverage web that includes flesh-and-blood people from all walks of life and paper people from all corners of the business and investment world. In the tax area, the potentially problematic incentive effects of interest deductibility have long engaged a wide array of tax commentators and policymakers. While interest deductibility rightly receives widespread scrutiny, a more comprehensive approach to leverage is needed. This Article focuses on the surprisingly complicated tax treatment of cash (and cash equivalent) borrowings. This Article …

Cancellation Of Debt And Related Transactions, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Douglas A. Kahn

Scholarly Publications

If a taxpayer borrows money, the borrowed funds are not included in the taxpayer’s gross income. That treatment is proper even though the taxpayer has increased his assets by the amount he borrowed because he also has created a corresponding liability to pay back the loan. The taxpayer’s net wealth has not increased. The more difficult and interesting questions arise when the taxpayer fails to repay the loan. At first blush, it would appear that upon cancellation of a loan, the taxpayer should have income for the amount that was cancelled. However, the current tax treatment is not that simple. …

Keeping Up With Tax Law And The Affordable Care Act, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Reforming Reit Taxation (Or Not), Bradley T. Borden

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Practitioner's Guide To United States Employment Taxation Of Nonresident Aliens Working In The United States, John L. Gornall Jr., John B. Copenhaver

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Schoppe V. Commissioner: The Federal Circuit Split Regarding The Application Of The Automatic Stay Provision Of 11 U.S.C. § 362(A)(1) To Appeals From The United States Tax Court, Nathaniel Tucker

Akron Law Review

Part II of this Note establishes the background of the automatic stay which exists in bankruptcy law under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1). It examines the purpose of the automatic stay and how its scope is very broad and applicable to many different proceedings. Further, this part discusses how the automatic stay applies to tax deficiencies, and it examines the federal circuit court split regarding the applicability of the automatic stay to appeals from Tax Court. Part III presents a factual and procedural history of the most recent circuit court decision regarding this matter, Schoppe v. Commissioner, which the Tenth Circuit …

Distinguishing Deductible Repairs From Capitalized Improvements: An Expectations Approach To The New Repair Regulations, George Mundstock, Thomas J. Korge

Akron Law Review

This Article explores an economic model of the business use of assets that supports an expectations approach to distinguishing between immediately deductible repairs and capitalized improvements. Under an expectations approach, the classification of an activity as a repair or a capital improvement depends on the taxpayer’s reasonable expectation when first placing the depreciable property in service—whether, upon acquisition of the property, the taxpayer reasonably expected the activity to be required in the future to keep the property operating in its ordinarily efficient operating condition. Many of the rules provided by the new regulations are consistent with this approach. The inconsistent …

The Same Sex Marriage Tax Shelter: What's Love Got To Do With It?, Stephen T. Black

Akron Law Review

This Article examines how wide, and asks whether the tax planning opportunities post-Windsor threaten the stability of the tax system and the stability of marriage. Part II of this Article discusses the federal tax benefits married couples receive when treated as a single economic unit. In Part III, the Article examines the use of partnerships and marriages to attain tax benefits for the parties involved. Next, Part IV discusses the possibility of tax shelter opportunities through the use of multiparty marriages, which are now possible in light of the Windsor decision. Finally, Part V concludes.

Bogus Refunds & Bad Penalties: The Feckless And Fixable Refund Penalty System, Del Wright Jr.

Akron Law Review

This Article analyzes the problems with section 6676 as it currently applies and offers suggestions to change it. The Article begins by identifying the reasons section 6676 has been unable to accomplish its policy goals and then highlights problems on the horizon. It ends by suggesting legislative and regulatory changes that will ameliorate the problems with section 6676 and allow the law to accomplish the goals Congress sought to achieve through its enactment. Part II of this Article lays out the problems associated with erroneous claims for refund and past legislative attempts to deal with the problem, ultimately leading to …

Better Late Than Never: Incorporating Llcs Into Section 4943, Elaine Waterhouse Wilson

Akron Law Review

Part I of this Article traces the historical development of Code Section 4943 and the business entanglement issues that the Code Section was designed to combat. It then discusses developments in the law that occurred after the passage of Section 4943 that have implications for its structure, most importantly the introduction of the LLC. Part II describes the current statutory scheme of Section 4943, and the ambiguity in the manner in which it applies, and the practical problems and abuses that potentially arise from this ambiguity. In Part III, the Article reviews various options for clarifying the treatment of Section …

Untangling The Strings: Transfer Taxation Of Retained Interests And Powers, Matthew A. Reiber

Akron Law Review

This Article takes a more sanguine approach: it acknowledges the utility of certain portions of these provisions to a functioning transfer tax system, but ultimately concludes that the current statutory scheme is overbroad in reach, clumsy in application, and therefore should be replaced with a single, stand-alone provision. Such a provision would require inclusion of property irrevocably transferred during life in which (a) the transferor retains an economic interest in the property, such as the right to use the property or to receive the income generated by the property, (b) the transferor pays gift tax at the time of transfer …

Breaking Beps: The New International Tax Diplomacy, Itai Grinberg

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

International tax avoidance by multinational corporations is now front-page news. In a time of public austerity, citizens and legislators around the world have focused on the erosion of the corporate income tax base. In response, in 2012 the G-20 — the gathering of the leaders of the world’s twenty largest economies — launched the “Base Erosion and Profit Shifting” (BEPS) project, the most extensive attempt to change international tax norms since the 1920s.

This article is the first to explain that in the course of the BEPS project, the field of international tax has adopted the institutional and procedural architecture …

Libertarianism And The Charitable Tax Subsidies, Miranda Perry Fleischer

Faculty Scholarship

Tax scholarship is largely silent about the interaction between libertarian principles and the structure of our tax system. If all taxation is indeed slavery, as Nozick suggested, why bother analyzing libertarianism for insights into our tax system? This dismissal, however, ignores the diversity of libertarian thought. To that end, this Article mines the nuances of libertarian theory for insights into one feature of our tax system: the charitable tax subsidies. One strand of libertarianism suggests that the charitable tax subsidies are in and of themselves illegitimate. Yet several other understandings of libertarianism see a role for the state to engage …

Taxing Honesty, Adam B. Thimmesch

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Elaine Hightower Gagliardi On Proving Estate And Gift Tax Value: Evolving Lessons From Recent Cases, Elaine H. Gagliardi

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

The term, “fair market value,” proves one of the most litigated in the Federal estate and gift tax code. Value lies in the eyes of the appraiser, often resulting in wide disparities between the Service’s and taxpayer’s appraised values.2 The underlying assumptions, and at times the legal principles, on which an appraisal rests can vary greatly based on the particular asset and the appraisal method. The Tax Court claims wide latitude in deciding an asset’s value, reserving the right to draw from each appraisal submitted as it deems appropriate to arrive at ultimate value based on a preponderance of the …

"Trade Or Business": The Relevance Of A Deceptively Simple Income Tax Phrase To The Labor Code, Federal Statutes, And Private Equity Activity, Arthur Acevedo

Florida A & M University Law Review

Corporate law is premised upon two fundamental principles: the pooling of moneys for investment purposes and the privilege of limited liability. The pooling of money enables promoters and investors to efficiently amass and organize substantial sums for investment purposes. The privilege of limited liability assures investors that personal liability for the underlying invested activity is limited to the moneys invested. Limited liability is a sacrosanct principle and a quintessential investment assumption within the investment community. Private equity firms have successfully exploited these two policies. However, a decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeal casts a shadow of doubt on …

Broad, Inflexible And Redundant?: Fixing The Anti-Avoidance Rule In Section 75a Finance Act 2003, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Sections 75A - 75C of the Finance Act 2003 (‘the Sections’) were enacted with the intention of countering schemes that have the effect of reducing Stamp Duty Land Tax (‘SDLT’) liability. These sections were subjected to criticism right from the start, with practitioners noting its exceptionally broad scope and some going so far as to call it ‘fundamentally deficient’ and ‘almost unworkable in practice’. The recent decisions of the First-Tier Tribunal in Project Blue Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners (‘Project Blue FTT’) and its subsequent appeal to the Upper Tribunal in Project Blue Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners …

Compliance In The 21st Century: The Exchange Of Tax Information And The Future Of Banking Secrecy In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The presentation discusses the future of exchange of tax information and banking secrecy in Singapore

Silent Tax Changes: The Political Economy Of Indexing For Inflation, Alan L. Feld

Faculty Scholarship

The federal income tax adjusts many but not all of its dollar components automatically to account for inflation. In this article I analyze the benefits and burdens this process confers on some taxpayers and the political logic behind them. I discuss the choice of the proper index for making the adjustments, as well as the effects of the failure to adjust specific dollar amounts. I conclude that some adjustments have become overly generous, while unadjusted provisions suffer slow repeal, sometimes intentionally. Indexation thus can have the effect of tax legislation by stealth.