Tax Law Commons^™

Debt Instruments' Tax Treatment In Corporate Mergers And Acquisitions, Tae Oon Jang

LLM Theses and Essays

The increase of merger and acquisition(M&A) activity since 1992 has resulted mainly from a domestic economic recovery. The current M&A trend shows that M&A is still an important means of enhancing many corporations' competitive power and of stimulating growth in such areas as computer software and services, wholesale and distribution, miscellaneous services, banking and finance, and leisure and entertainment. Fundraising for mezzanine-fund financing, which reflects investors' foresight about current and future M&A trends, has also seen rapid growth. After the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the repeal of the General Utilities doctrine, the elimination of the capital gain preference …

China's Tax Preferences To Foreign Investment: Policy, Culture And Modern Concepts, Zhaodong Jiang

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In conclusion, policy-making in China is subject to the leadership's perception of problems and solutions. Taxation must reflect political and economic concerns and closely follow policy choice. For the Chinese, the objective, economic value to foreign businesses should not be as important as the Chinese sincerity and friendly sentiments that the preferential meas- ures symbolize. While the Chinese do refer to modern concepts such as ef- ficiency or equity, they tend to apply their own interpretation and understanding.

Treasury Regulations And Judicial Deference In The Post-Chevron Era, David A. Brennen

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Analysis of several post-Chevron cases indicates that every major Supreme Court case since 1984 involving the validity of a Treasury regulation is consistent with Chevron. Indeed, since 1984 every challenged Treasury regulation interpreting a statute in which Congress failed to address a specific tax issue has been upheld by the Court. In fact, no Supreme Court case since 1984 could be discovered in which the Court invalidated a Treasury regulation on the grounds that it was an unreasonable interpretation of a statute. Several post-Chevron Supreme

Court decisions, however, rejected the Treasury's application of a tax regulation to …

State And Local Taxation: When Will Congress Intervene?, Kathryn L. Moore

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article examines congressional activity in the state and local tax area to determine when, if ever, Congress will enact legislation mandating uniformity in state and local taxation. The article begins by briefly describing our current system of state and local taxation and explaining why we need more uniformity therein.

The article then provides an empirical study of congressional activity in the state and local tax area between January, 1971 and May, 1996. Specifically, it focuses first on four discrete but representative areas in which Congress has enacted legislation regulating state and local taxation, and, second, on four discrete but …

New York Lifts Death Tax Penalty, Nancy O'Hagan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

New York State replaced its estate tax and repealed its gift tax. This Article will trace the history of the New York State gift and estate taxes, explain the burden they imposed upon New York State residents in relation to other states, and examine the recent legislation in New York State which will gradually eliminate such inequities.

Tax Exemption Issues Facing Academic Health Centers In The Managed Care Environment, Darryll K. Jones

Journal Publications

A variation on an old adage states, "things aren't like they used to be and never were." The applicability of tax law to higher education is a subject to which the modified adage is apt. If there was ever a time when tax law was generally inapplicable to higher education, when higher education administrators and counsel could ignore the maddening and glorious detail of tax law, it is certainly not now and one would be hard pressed to prove that such a time ever existed. Indeed, many of modem tax law's prohibitions and allowances were motivated by or refined as …

The Proposed Corporate Sponsorship Regulations: Is The Treasury Department "Sleeping With The Enemy"?, David A. Brennen

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In 1993, the Treasury Department (the Treasury) issued a proposed regulation outlining when money received by a charity from a corporate sponsor would be subject to federal income tax. In defining the phrase "trade or business," the proposed regulation addresses the extent to which sponsorship payments to charities will be treated by the Treasury as having been made in return for advertising on behalf of the sponsor, thus subjecting the payment to income tax. In the proposed regulation, the Treasury concludes that a charity's use of a corporate sponsor's name in the title of a charitable event is a mere …

Anti-Deferral Deferred: A Proposal For The Reform Of International Tax Law, John Mcdonald

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Nowhere is the complexity of the Code more apparent than in the income tax provisions relating to U.S. ownership of foreign corporations.' In fact, the operation of the tax law in this area has become so incredibly complex that many calculations required by the Code can no longer be performed effectively without the use of sophisticated computer software.4 The cost of complying with these Code provisions has started to affect the competitiveness of the corporations to which they apply.5 In fact, there is a definite possibility that our tax laws in this area have become so complex that tax professionals …

Comments On A Revised Filing System, R. Wilson Freyermuth

Faculty Publications

Professor Edward Adams's article, both in terms of its basic structure and the myriad of options it offers, neatly highlights the basic dilemma facing the Drafting Committee as it addresses the future Article 9 filing system. As he correctly notes, the filing system's shortcomings are largely due to its continued dependence on paper records, despite the increasing sophistication and availability of computerized information technology for both filing and searching. Should the Drafting Committee maintain the basics of the current system (a public, paper-based filing system) and merely attempt to identify and correct the existing shortcomings in that system, with some …

The Separate Tax Status Of Loan-Out Corporations, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

When professionals and other persons who offer their goods and/or services to the public conduct their businesses through corporations, the Treasury has acknowledged that for federal income tax purposes it must treat those corporations as separate and distinct from their controlling shareholder-employees, even where there is only a single shareholder-employee, provided that the corporation has a business purpose and the taxpayer consistently respects the corporate form. However, the Treasury has refused to accord equal dignity to incorporated workers who offer their services not to the public at large but to a single recipient or a small number of recipients. The …

The Lingering Demise Of Tax Exempt Mutual And Captive Insurance Companies, Darryll K. Jones

Journal Publications

Prior to the enactment of IRC §501(m), the issue of whether a group self-insurance pool was tax exempt generally depended upon an analysis of the "substantial purpose" requirement contained in Treasury Regulation §1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(1) which denies tax exempt status to an entity or organization if "more than an insubstantial part of its activities is not in furtherance of an exempt purpose." In addition, Treas. Reg. §1.501(c)(3)-1(e)(1) allows an entity to operate a trade or business as a substantial part of its activities but only "if the operation of such trade or business is in furtherance of the organization's exempt purpose.... Thus, …

Is Compromise Of A Tax Liability Itself Taxable? A Problem Of Circularity In The Logic Of Taxation., Richard C.E. Beck

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Taxing Times For Lesbians And Gay Men: Equality At What Cost?, Claire Fl Young

Dalhousie Law Journal

In this article I shall briefly review some of those struggles and the current state of the law. This forms the backdrop to an issue that I view as being of fundamental importance to lesbians and gay men in their fight for equality and which has not received much attention; that is the tax system. I shall focus on two aspects. First, I shall analyse the use of the tax system as a spending programme and a tool by which to subsidise particular activities. In this context I shall examine the federal government's refusal to recognise lesbian and gay relationships, …

Paying Back Your Country Through Income-Contingent Student Loans, Evelyn Brody

San Diego Law Review

Governmental subsidies to higher education raise issues of fairness between families and between generations. The partial conversion of the federal guaranteed student loan program into a program of direct governmental lending permits a graduate to pay back the loan with a modest percentage of future income. This Article notes that this income-contingent repayment option provides most graduates with the only insurance they need against a poor job market. Thus, the author argues that this legislation needlessly retains existing federal subsidies, which could be more effectively targeted to the needy.

Constitutional Implications Of Acquisition-Value Real Property Taxation: The Elusive Rational Basis, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

This article is the first in a two-part series addressing the constitutional implications of acquisition-value real property taxation. Acquisition-value real property taxation systems represent a departure from the traditional practice of taxing real property on its current fair market value. In contrast to traditional systems, which are still employed by the vast majority of states, under acquisition- value taxation a real estate owner's property tax liability is determined by the value of the property when the taxpayer acquired it. In periods of rising real estate prices, such a scheme compels later buyers to shoulder a higher annual tax liability than …

The New Rollover Rules And Twenty Percent Withholding Tax On Pension Distributions: Does Good Pension Policy Favor Their Repeal, Leandra Lederman Gassenheimer

St. Thomas Law Review

In July 1992, President George Bush signed into law the Unemployment Compensation Amendments (UCA) of 1992,1 which included provisions substantially changing the treatment of many distributions from qualified plans and section 403(b)3 tax sheltered annuities (TSAs). The provisions affecting qualified plans and TSAs generally became effective January 1, 1993, with a transition rule provided for certain TSAs that could delay the effective date of the provisions for such TSAs until January 1, 1994. The UCA expanded the types of distributions from such plans and annuities eligible for deferral of income tax by rollover6 to another qualified plan, TSA or individual …

Federal Income Taxation Of U.S. Branches Of Foreign Corporations: Separate Entity Or Separate Rules?, Fred B. Brown

All Faculty Scholarship

Foreign corporations conduct U.S. business activities either through U.S. subsidiaries or U.S. branches. A U.S. subsidiary of a foreign corporation generally is taxed as any other domestic corporation, that is, as a separate taxable entity apart from its foreign parent. In contrast, a U.S. branch of a foreign corporation is not treated as a separate taxable entity; instead, the Code and regulations employ a set of special rules that allocate and apportion to the U.S. branch a portion of the foreign corporation's income in order to determine the net income subject to U.S. tax.

The rules used for taxing U.S. …

Miscellaneous Revenue Issues: Hearings Before The Subcommittee On Select Revenue Measures Of The Committee On Ways And Means, House Of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, Charles B. Rangel, Mel Hancock, Stefan F. Tucker, B. Wyckliffe Pattishall Jr., Howard J. Levine, John W. Lee

Congressional Testimony

No abstract provided.

Is An Employment-Discrimination Award Taxable?, L. Scott Stafford

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Revenue Procedure 91-12: The Irs Launches An Information-Gathering Offensive Against International Transportation Operations, Chi K. Cheung, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

Every day, in ports around the country, thousands of oceangoing vessels and aircraft transport passengers and property to and from the United States. In many instances, the international transportation operation is foreign-owned and has neither filed nor paid any U.S. income taxes, relying upon tax exemptions under U.S. law or bilateral tax conventions. Newly issued Revenue Procedure 91- 12 requires all international transportation operations that transport passengers or property to or from the U.S. to file U.S. tax returns. Whether or not a tax is due, a U.S. tax return must be filed and certain information disclosed. Large penalties may …

Installment Method Asset Sales By S Corporations, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

This Article examines the impact of recent developments on a particular category of taxpayer: the S corporation whose shareholders desire to sell some or all of the corporation's assets. While an installment sale of assets has, for many taxpayers, lost much of its previous allure, such sales may still be commercially desirable under certain circumstances—e.g., where a buyer lacks ready cash or adequate borrowing power. In such a case, some S corporations may be able to achieve significant tax savings through proper planning and documentation of an installment sale. Until Congress or the Treasury provides needed clarification, however, …

Howard V. United States: Who Should Be Responsible For The 100 Percent Penalty?, James E. Hungerford

Seattle University Law Review

The 100 percent penalty provision of I.R.C. section 6672 imposes a penalty that can far exceed the maximum criminal penalties for fraud or tax evasion. For this reason, the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) should only assess the 100 percent penalty against persons who are clearly liable for the penalty. As Justice Rehnquist said in his dissent in United States v. Sotelo, the 100 percent penalty provision imposes a potentially crushing liability on corporate officials-a liability that is nondischargeable (in bankruptcy) in its entirety and virtually in perpetuity. This Note will discuss section 6672, including its purpose, history, and specific …

Behind Closed Doors: How The Rich Won Control Of Canada's Tax System... And Ended Up Richer, Faye Woodman

Dalhousie Law Journal

Linda McQuaig is not an expert. Therein lies an important strength of her book on the Canadian tax system, Behind Closed Doors: How The Rich Won Control of Canada's Tax System ... And Ended Up Richer. Because she is not an expert she has not relied on an insider's knowledge of technical points and jargon and neither has she gotten caught up in a particular disciplines's specialist concerns. Rather, as a good journalist, she has provided a lucid critique of the tax system which will be of interest to anyone concerned with how the tax system is or how it …

The Relationship Of Federal Income Taxes To Toxic Wastes: A Selective Study, Richard A. Westin

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

More demanding federal regulation, universal local opposition to waste treatment and disposal facilities, and increased long-term liabilities for waste sites have substantially restricted the supply of licensed waste handlers and have sharply increased the costs of waste disposal. As a result of increased costs and downstream liabilities for cleanup, industrial generators have begun to examine more closely their waste management practices and opportunities they may have to reduce the amount of hazardous waste they generate.

The urgent need to marshal the full range of industrial strategies to achieve significant reduction in the amount and toxicity of hazardous waste and the …

15th Annual Seminar On Estate Planning, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law, Mark T. Macdonald, Gerald P. Johnston, Edward A. Rothschild, Turney P. Berry, Norvie L. Lay, Barry Bond, F. Gerald Greenwell, Marjorie Bassler, Mary Helen Myles, Valerie T. Mayer

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Outlines of speakers' presentations from the 15th Annual Seminar on Estate Planning held by UK/CLE on July 15-16, 1988.

Tax, Patricia L. Rush

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The "Estate Planning" Interviewer, Thomas L. Shaffer

Books

Book Introduction

Professor Shaffer's article The "Estate Planning" Interviewer is the Introduction: Part II, in J.K. Lasser's Estate Tax Techniques on pages INT-25 to INT-51

Application Of Internal Revenue Code Section 103(C) To Variable Rate Demand Bonds: Purging The Profiteering Potential, Troy M. Hellenbrand

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Note analyzes transactions involving VRDBs, to determine whether they comply with the strictures of IRC section 103(c) and, hence, qualify for the tax exemption. Initially, this Note provides an overview of the tax-exempt bond market by examining the factors that led to the development of VRDBs. It then demonstrates how a reasonable interpretation of the language of IRC section 103(c), gleaned from its legislative history and Treasury promulgations, requires that almost all VRDBs lose their tax-exempt status. More specifically, this Note concludes that the inability to calculate the yield for VRDBs creates an impermissible potential to earn arbitrage profits. …

Targeting Tax Dollars More Efficiently: Proposed Modifications To The 421-A Real Property Tax Exemption, Deborah Ann Konopko

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This note discusses Section 421-a of the Real Property Tax Law in New York, which awards a tax exemption to building owners who construct new multi-family housing units under certain conditions. The stated purpose of the statute is to provide safe, habitable dwellings in New York City. This note examines whether 421-a should remain applicable to all multi-family dwellings, including luxury buildings. The author argues that the present standards for granting exemptions represent an inefficient use of tax dollars and that the legislature should limit its application to rental units.

The Marriage Tax Revisited: An Analysis Of The Tax Consequences Of Marriage, Dan Subotnik

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.