Tax Law Commons^™

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 …

Introduction To The Edwin S. Cohen Tax Symposium: An Overview Of Business Taxation, Michael J. Graetz

Faculty Scholarship

It is an honor and pleasure for me to be here today to launch this symposium on current tax reform topics in honor of Edwin S. Cohen on the occasion of his retirement from the University of Virginia as Professor of Law. This is the second occasion I have been asked to speak honoring Ed Cohen on his retirement and, knowing him well, I look forward to many more of his retirements in years ahead.

My assignment today is to provide a brief overview of issues in business taxation. I was tempted simply to repeat the program for this symposium, …

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.

Comments On 'Tax Neutrality Between Equity Capital And Debt', Douglas A. Kahn

Articles

Professor Andrews' proposals are aimed at eliminating a tax bias that affects a corporation's choice of a method of raising additional capital. Professor Andrews believes that the current tax system favors a corporation which raises capital internally by accumulating its income (or by borrowing) rather than by issuing stock. Professor Andrews seeks a neutral system that permits the choice of the manner in which capital is raised to be made on economic grounds without influence of the tax laws.

Tax Equity And Fiscal Responsibility Act Of 1982, Merlin G. Briner

Akron Tax Journal

O N AUGUST 20, 1982, President Reagan signed into law the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), the fourth piece of major tax legislation in less than seven years. Though TEFRA has been said to provide the single largest tax increase in American history, President Reagan lobbied for it not as a tax bill, but as a revenue measure which, to his mind, in no way represented a backing-off from his vaunted "supply side-trickle down" economic program. This article will discuss the implications of TERFA on both the individual taxpayer and businesses.

Eliminating The Capital Gains Preference. Part Ii: The Problem Of Corporate Taxation, Michael J. Waggoner

Publications

No abstract provided.

Eliminating The Capital Gains Preference. Part I: The Problems Of Inflation, Bunching And Lock-In, Michael J. Waggoner

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Judicial Public Policy Doctrine In Tax Litigation, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note evaluates the merits of Revenue Ruling 74-323. First, it asserts that, while not arbitrary, the Service's resolution of the preemption issue was not mandated by the language of amended section 162 or by the relevant legislative history. Second, it maintains that it is both appropriate and procedurally feasible to apply the judicial public policy doctrine to violations of federal civil rights laws that impose no fine, imprisonment, loss of license, or other criminal penalty. The denial of a deduction in this situation would extend the public policy doctrine beyond both section 162(c)(2) and the judicial doctrine as it …

Comparison Of Major Tax And Legal Advantages Of Operating In An Unincorporated Form, Douglas A. Kahn

Book Chapters

As an introduction to the subject of this conference, several topics will be discussed. First, the tax and non-tax consequences of conducting business in a partnership form will be examined and compared with the consequences of doing business in a corporate form. The principle concern of this paper, however, is to examine the tax consequences of transferring property to a corporation, whether such transfer is made at the time the corporation is organized or at some subsequent date.

Mandatory Buy-Out Agreements For Stock Of Closely Held Corporations, Douglas A. Kahn

Articles

A buy-out of a shareholder's stock is a sale of his stock holdings in a specific corporation pursuatnt to a pre-existing contract. In recent years such arrangements have, deservedly, become an increasingly popular planning device for shareholders in closely held corporations; they make it possible to limit the class of potential shareholders, provide liquidity for the estate of a deceased shareholder, and establish a value for stock which has no active market. There are two popular categories of buy-out plans. If the prospective purchaser of a decedent's shares is the corporation that issued them, the plan is called an "entity …

Subchapter S--Election Of Small Business Corporations, Mortimer M. Caplin

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Recent Tax Stimulants On Modest Enterprises, L. Hart Wright, Jerome B. Libin

Michigan Law Review

The recession year 1958 found Congress in a mood to "aid and encourage small business" through more favorable tax treatment. The thrust of the ensuing legislation touched in varying degrees the whole life span of a modest enterprise, from organization through liquidation. The focus here, however, will be confined to a consideration of the practical impact of the recent statutory changes on the organizational and ordinary operational phases of such a business.

Improper Accumulation Of Surplus, W.E. Norvell Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Section 102 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, levies an additional or surtax on corporations. Said Section 102 is entitled "Surtax on Corporations Improperly Accumulating Surplus." However, this title is slightly misleading, in that the purpose is the criterion. Section 102 (a) levies the said additional tax upon the net income of every corporation (other than a personal holding company or a foreign personal holding company).

Domestic Corporate Tangible And Intangible Invested Capital, Frederick M. Thulin

Michigan Law Review

With a tax law on the statute books that fixes a moderate flat rate of taxation on business income, no question of invested capital need be considered. The income tax laws of 1913 and 1916 and the flat rate or normal tax section of the 1917 law and the proposed 1918 law bear out this statement.