Tax Law Commons^™

Repricing Limited Liability And Separate Entity Status, William H. Clark Jr., D. Alicia Hickok

Seattle University Law Review

In this Article we discuss how U.S. entity law has evolved in recent decades so that (i) limited liability has become available to the owners of any form of business organization, and (ii) all forms of business organizations are now seen as having the status of entities separate from their owners. Those changes have occurred without significant consideration of their consequences or what they mean for the public policies underlying entity law. At the same time, there is an increasing awareness by businesses that promotion of social benefits and/or reduction of externalities is in the firm’s best interests. There has …

In Pursuit Of Good & Gold: Data Observations Of Employee Ownership & Impact Investment, Christopher Geczy, Jessica S. Jeffers, David K. Musto, Anne M. Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

A startup’s path to self-sustaining profitability is risky and hard, and most do not make it. Venture capital (VC) investors try to improve these odds with contractual terms that focus and sharpen employees’ incentives to pursue gold. If the employees and investors expect the startup to balance the goal of profitability with another goal—the goal of good—the risks are likely to both grow and multiply. They grow to the extent that profits are threatened, and they multiply to the extent that balancing competing goals adds a dimension to the incentive problem. In this Article, we explore contracting terms specific to …

The Gordian Knot: How The United States, The European Union, And Organization For Economic Cooperation And Development Took Action Against Corporate Tax Avoidance, Katlyn Twomey

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

In 2016, the United States had the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Perhaps, the high tax rate could be why American corporations are holding an estimated $2.5 trillion abroad (Cox 2016). According to a study by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. firms pay a measly 3% in tax to foreign governments on those profits, rather than the 35% U.S. corporate tax rate. How are these corporations able to legally avoid paying taxes on a large percentage of their profits? Many use various loopholes in the laws to shift profits into other countries or U.S. states referred to …

Perspectives - Jonathan Denham And Paul Wolf Of Denham Wolf Real Estate Services, James Hagy, Kelly Padden

Rooftops Project

In a conversation with Kelly Padden and Professor James Hagy of The Rooftops Project, Jon Denham and Paul Wolf reflect on their experiences with not-for-profit projects across mission types to draw lessons about creativity in locating and securing permanent space in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets.

Perspectives - Bms Building Management Systems, James Hagy, Frank Loffreno

Rooftops Project

How can not-for-profit organizations better prepare themselves to launch and sustain effective relationships with their outside janitorial, security, and maintenance service providers? Mike Doherty, President and CEO of BMS Building Management Services, and members of his New York City team consider these themes with Frank Loffreno and Professor James Hagy of The Rooftops Project.

Perspectives - Wework, James Hagy, Stephen Caracappa

Rooftops Project

While the concept of executive office suites has existed for decades, in recent years innovations have emerged seeking to provide a broader range of services and a sense of community combined with affordability and flexibility. Stephen Caracappa and Professor James Hagy of The Rooftops Project talk with WeWork executives David Fano and Mark Lapidus (Class of 2012) about the company’s business model, space concept and design, and the applications for not-for-profit organizations.

Nobody’S Stock Compares To Your Own: How Treasury Can Revive Stock Compensation In Cost-Sharing Agreements, Tyler Johnson

Northwestern University Law Review

In Altera Corp. v. Commissioner, the United States Tax Court invalidated a 2003 Treasury Regulation for failing to meet State Farm’s reasoned decisionmaking standard under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Invalidating this specific regulation eliminates one of the federal government’s latest attempts to limit income tax avoidance by some of the world’s largest and wealthiest corporations in the murky world of transfer pricing. This Note demonstrates that the Tax Court’s ruling must be limited to its specific APA holding and argues that Treasury may enact a similar regulation under the existing statutory and regulatory framework of the arm’s length …

Problems With Destination-Based Corporate Taxes And The Ryan Blueprint, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Kimberly Clausing

Articles

With the election of Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s domination of Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan’s blueprint for fundamental tax reform requires more careful analysis. The Ryan blueprint combines reduced individual rates with a destination-based cash flow type business tax applicable to all businesses. The destination-based business tax at the center of the blueprint has several major problems: It is incompatible with our WTO obligations, it is incompatible with our tax treaties, and it will not eliminate the problems of income shifting and inversions it is designed to address. In addition, these proposals generate vexing technical problems that are …

Perspectives - David Samuels And Themes Karalis Of Duval & Stachenfeld Llp, James Hagy, Jordan Moss

Rooftops Project

Federal and state law can impose compliance requirements affecting both disposing of and transacting in real estate by not-for-profit organizations. In a dialogue with The Rooftop Project’s Jordan Moss and Professor James Hagy, David Samuels and Themes Karalis of the law firm Duval & Stachenfeld illustrate situations, including some unique to New York law and regulation, in which compliance and care are warranted.

Profiles - Rosie's Theater Kids, James Hagy, Frank Loffreno

Rooftops Project

What started out as a single dance and song class in a borrowed New York City public school lunchroom has evolved into programming that touches the lives of students across all five New York City boroughs in a dedicated building near the heart of the Broadway theater district. The Rooftops Project’s Frank Loffreno and Professor James Hagy visit with Rosie’s Theater Kids cofounder and Artistic and Executive Director Lori Klinger and Director of Advancement Lindsay Miserandino at the Maravel Arts Center in New York’s Midtown West neighborhood.

Profiles - The Sammons Center, James Hagy, Brenda Alejo

Rooftops Project

A historic but disused water pumping station, sited between active freeways, became an early and enduringly successful innovator in mission-centered notfor- profit supportive space for the arts. Brenda Alejo and Professor James Hagy of The Rooftops Project talk with Joanna St. Angelo, Executive Director of the Sammons Center for the Arts in Dallas, Texas.

Profiles - Barrier Free Living, James Hagy, Christopher Whalen

Rooftops Project

What if you were homeless, a victim of domestic violence, and perhaps were also struggling with physical or mental disabilities? Where would you go? Christopher Whalen and Professor James Hagy of The Rooftops Project visit with Paul Feuerstein, founder, President, and CEO of Barrier Free Living, which has served these needs in New York City through a unique program established almost 40 years ago.

Perspectives - 120 Wall Street, James Hagy, Alison Snyder

Rooftops Project

Through a decades-long collaboration with the city and state, not-for-profit tenants occupy office space in a landmarked structure in the heart of Wall Street with the unusual advantage of no real estate taxes. The Rooftop Project’s Alison Snyder and Professor James Hagy interview Jeremy Moss and Camille McGratty of Silverstein Properties at the iconic 120 Wall Street building in lower Manhattan.

R. V Comeau And Section 121 Of The Constitution Act, 1867: Freeing The Beer And Fortifying The Economic Union, Malcolm Lavoie

Dalhousie Law Journal

A recent decision from the New Brunswick Provincial Court may have significant implications for Canada's constitutional structure. R. v. Comeau held that s. 121 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the constitution's internal free trade provision, prohibits both interprovincial tariffs as well as non-tariff trade barriers. In doing so, the court departed from a line of precedents holding that s. 121 prohibits only the erection of outright tariffs or duties on interprovincial trade. Ultimately the court held that s. 134(b) of New Brunswick's Liquor Control Act, which effectively prohibits the possession of all but small quantities of liquor purchased out of …

Tax-Supported Abortions: The Legal Issues, Eugene J. Schulte

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Utilitarianism And Wealth Transfer Taxation, Jennifer Bird-Pollan

Arkansas Law Review

This article is the third in a series examining the continued relevance and philosophical legitimacy of the United States wealth transfer tax system from within a particular philosophical perspective. The article examines the utilitarianism of John Stuart Mill and his philosophical progeny and distinguishes the philosophical approach of utilitarianism from contemporary welfare economics, primarily on the basis of the concept of “utility” in each approach. After explicating the utilitarian criteria for ethical action, the article goes on to think through what Mill’s utilitarianism says about the taxation of wealth and wealth transfers, the United States federal wealth transfer tax system …

Tax Credit - Current Status And Prospects, James Robinson

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Gaars And The Nexus Between Statutory Interpretation And Legislative Drafting: Lessons For The U.S. From Canada, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Amir Pichhadze

Articles

Rules targeting specific known schemes are not the only tools available in the battle against tax avoidance. Legal systems also use measures that apply generally. The U.S. for example has tended to rely heavily on general doctrines. One such doctrine which is discussed in part 2 of this chapter is the “economic substance” doctrine. Yet as Xiong and Evans recently pointed out “although such judicial doctrines can be used to deal with various aspects of complicated tax abuse judges tended sometimes to limit and sometimes to enlarge the scope of jurisprudential interpretation leading to substantial uncertainty and risk.” One way …

International Tax Avoidance -- Introduction, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

Tax avoidance and evasion is a hot topic. On the evasion (illegal activity by individuals) front, the various leaks culminating in the Panama Papers have once again revealed the scope of evasion by the global elite. Gabriel Zucman conservatively estimated the annual revenue loss at $200 billion. On the tax avoidance (legal activity by corporations) front, the OECD BEPS project has estimated the scope of avoidance by multinationals at between $100 and $240 billion per year. By comparison, total US corporate tax revenues are about $400 billion per year. The articles in this volume reflect various aspects of these troubling …

Comment On 'Fundamental Tax Reform: A Comparison Of Three Options', James R. Hines Jr.

Book Chapters

Alan Viard’s chapter, “Fundamental Tax Reform: A Comparison of Three Options” is a thoughtful, even-handed, and most worthwhile contribution to the analysis of major reforms that, if adopted, would move the tax system strongly in the direction of taxing consumption. The chapter nicely illustrates the complexity of the tax reform problem by exposing a range of available reform options, with an accompanying range of welfare implications. Even among tax reforms with common objectives, there can be strongly differing economic and distributional consequences. Furthermore, otherwise-similar reforms can and do appeal to very different political constituencies....

Behavioral Public Choice And The Carbon Tax, Gary M. Lucas Jr

Faculty Scholarship

In response to the historic Paris Agreement on climate change and to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently finalized Clean Power Plan, economists and other climate policy experts have renewed the call for the United States to adopt a carbon tax. Opposition among the public presents a major obstacle. While a majority of the public supports government action on climate change, most people favor the use of “green” subsidies and command-and-control regulations—a fact that frustrates economists of all political stripes who contend that a carbon tax would be much cheaper and more effective. This Article argues that a cognitive bias known …

Payroll Tax Compliance And Blockchain, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Ville Viitasaari

Faculty Scholarship

Bitcoin is an application that runs on blockchain technology. Blockchain is a foundational technology that is bringing in the second era of the Internet – the era where value can be transferred, rather than just information.

Blockchain is developing along a four-stage path similar to that which TCP/IP took. Both are foundational technologies. TCP/IP brought the Internet, and eventually brought significant (transformational) technological changes in business like Amazon.com and Skype. These are changes that could not have been forecast at the beginning of the Internet age.

Blockchain is an immutable distributed ledger. It replaces the inefficient use of multiple centralized …

Carbon Tax Rising, Shi-Ling Hsu

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Ownership Not Required: The Expansion Of Section 167(H) In Cgg Americas, Inc. V. Commissioner, Kristofer Thompson

San Diego Law Review

CGG Americas marks a significant departure from past treatment of G&G expenses, establishing a precedent for the expanded application of Section 167(h) to a novel body of taxpayers. This Note analyzes the court’sdecision to expand Section 167(h) to such entities as CGGA, drawing uponcases, revenue rulings, and legislative history to discern the appropriatenessof the decision in light of relevant policy concerns. Following this Introduction, Section II of this Note sketches the historical framework of G&G expenses, using historical cases and revenue rulings to illustrate the evolution of the concept across much of the twentieth century and detailing the legislative history …

How May The United States Leverage Its Fatca Iga Bilateral Process To Incentivize Good Tax Administrations Among The World Of Black Hat And Grey Hat Governments? A Carrot & Stick Policy Proposal, William Byrnes

Faculty Scholarship

Professor William Byrnes examines whether it is prudent for taxpayers to trust the governments of the 117 countries that scored a fifty or below on Transparency International’s corruption index. The complete information system invoked by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) encourages, even prolongs, the bad behavior of black hat governments by providing fuel (financial information) to feed the fire of corruption and suppression of rivals. Professor Byrnes recommends that the United States leverage a “carrot-stick” policy tool to incentivize bad actors to adopt best tax administration practices.

Tax Cannibalization And Fiscal Federalism In The United States, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Northwestern University Law Review

We began this project pondering a riddle. Most state governments have adopted what we—and many others—view as clearly suboptimal tax policies, especially in regard to the taxation of corporate income and capital gains. Yet, with the notable exception of those who oppose progressivity and the taxation of capital, state-level tax policymakers have had remarkably little appetite for reform. This Article provides one major explanation for this riddle by identifying and demonstrating a phenomenon that we label as “tax cannibalization.” We argue that flawed state-level tax policies derive in part from perverse incentives inadvertently created by the federal government.

Irs's Cp-2000 E-Mail Scams - Never In Dubai - Common In Canada & The Uk, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

On September 22, 2016 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its Security Summit partners issued an alert to taxpayers and tax professionals to be on guard against fake e-mails purporting to contain a tax bill related to the Affordable Care Act. Surprisingly, this e-mail scam works. It really should not.

Modern technology is facilitating many contemporary tax scams. In recent years the US has seen false (refund) return scams, phone scammers impersonation IRS agents, and now e-mail scams with fraudulent CP-2000 notices attached to a demand for payment. The same phone and e-mail frauds have appeared in both Canada and …

Netflix And Quill: Using Access And Consumption To Create A Plan For Taxing The Cloud, William L. Fletcher Jr.

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bartell And The Expansion Of Facilitated Exchanges, Bradley T. Borden

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Blockchain, Bitcoin, And Vat In The Gcc: The Missing Trader Example, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Musaad Alwohaibi

Faculty Scholarship

Blockchain is coming to tax administration and will cause fundamental change. This article considers the potential for blockchain technology as it applies to the introduction of a value added tax in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Blockchain technology disrupts centralized ledgers. Blockchain improves efficiency, security and transparency. Perhaps no centralized ledger system presents more challenges than that of the modern tax administration. The central data storage system of a modern tax authority contains all return, payment, and audit activity for all taxpayers arranged tax-by-tax for three years or longer periods of time.

It is likely that blockchain will come first to …