Tax Law Commons^™

The Kemp-Garcia Enterprise Zone Bill: A New, Less Costly Approach To Urban Redevelopment, Robert W. Benjamin

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article examines the Reagan Administration's practice of creating enterprise zones in blighted urban areas. Enterprise zones are small areas which offer tax abatements and other incentives to to businesses willing to locate within the boundaries of the zone. The author acknowledges that this practice is not new, but argues that the Reagan administration would be the first to offer major incentives to encourage the private sector to undertake the task of rebuilding the nation's most impoverished areas. This article examines the Kemp-Garcia bill, which provides that enterprise zones are to be designated by the Secretary of commerce at the …

A Law In Search Of A Policy: A History Of New York's Real Property Tax Exemption For Nonprofit Organizations, Robert L. Beebe, Stephen J. Harrison

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article examines the problem of the erosion of the New York municipality tax bases due to a proliferation of New York property tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations. It posits that one of the most difficult and sensitive subjects of real property tax administration is the exemption available to property owned by nonprofit organizations, that do work solely for religious, charitable, hospital, educational, moral or mental improvement of men, women or children. It analyzes the effects of these tax exemptions utilizing a four tiered approach. First, it explains the history of an increasingly intense competition between the needs of the …

Tax Certiorari Proceedings And The Present Real Property Tax System In New York City, Mark A. Willis

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article examines the way the tax system in New York City contrasts sharply with the New York state uniform tax system that requires all real property to be assessed at full market value and within a single jurisdiction, taxed at the same statutory rate. The author finds that properties in the city are assessed at differing percentages of market value, resulting in wide differences in effective tax rates, particularly between residential and non-residential properties. The author posits that a switch by the city to a uniform tax system would result in major reallocation of the tax burden among the …

New York's Tax And Debt Limits And Classified Property Tax Assessments: Time For A Constitutional Amendment?, Alan J. Weiss

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Comment addresses the proposed changes in 1981 to New York's Real Property Tax Law, which would change the law that states all property must be assessed for taxation at its full value. The author posits that this change may have the unintended effect on the manner in which local government borrowing and taxing powers are restricted by the state constitution, thus possibly substantially reducing the amount of revenue local governments may obtain by borrowing and taxing. It first analyzes the effect of a modification of the assessment standard on New York's constitutional borrowing and taxing restrictions, which were adopted …

The Kemp-Garcia Enterprise Zone Bill: A New, Less Costly Approach To Urban Redevelopment, Robert W. Benjamin

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article examines the Reagan Administration's practice of creating enterprise zones in blighted urban areas. Enterprise zones are small areas which offer tax abatements and other incentives to to businesses willing to locate within the boundaries of the zone. The author acknowledges that this practice is not new, but argues that the Reagan administration would be the first to offer major incentives to encourage the private sector to undertake the task of rebuilding the nation's most impoverished areas. This article examines the Kemp-Garcia bill, which provides that enterprise zones are to be designated by the Secretary of commerce at the …

The Imposition Of New York City's Water And Sewer Rents On Non-Profit Institutions , Adam Hoffinger

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article focuses on the immunity from real property taxation and charges for the use of water and sewer services that New York nonprofit institutions have historically enjoyed. It first examines the nature of New York City's water and sewer rents and exemptions, and the method by which New York city charges for water and sewer services. It then examines the case law that establishes the liability of nonprofit institutions for the payment of water and sewer rent. It further explores the exemptions from water and sewer rents extended to nonprofit organizations in New York City. Finally, in light of …

A Law In Search Of A Policy: A History Of New York's Real Property Tax Exemption For Nonprofit Organizations, Robert L. Beebe, Stephen J. Harrison

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article examines the problem of the erosion of the New York municipality tax bases due to a proliferation of New York property tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations. It posits that one of the most difficult and sensitive subjects of real property tax administration is the exemption available to property owned by nonprofit organizations, that do work solely for religious, charitable, hospital, educational, moral or mental improvement of men, women or children. It analyzes the effects of these tax exemptions utilizing a four tiered approach. First, it explains the history of an increasingly intense competition between the needs of the …

The Imposition Of New York City's Water And Sewer Rents On Non-Profit Institutions , Adam Hoffinger

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article focuses on the immunity from real property taxation and charges for the use of water and sewer services that New York nonprofit institutions have historically enjoyed. It first examines the nature of New York City's water and sewer rents and exemptions, and the method by which New York city charges for water and sewer services. It then examines the case law that establishes the liability of nonprofit institutions for the payment of water and sewer rent. It further explores the exemptions from water and sewer rents extended to nonprofit organizations in New York City. Finally, in light of …

Book Reviews, Edward C. Brewer, Iii., W. Paul Gormley, Allaire U. Karzon.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

DIRECT INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE U.S.: A GUIDE TO INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, LAWS AND RESTRICTIONS 1980-1981

Raymond Waldmann

Washington D.C.: Transnational Investments, Ltd.; London: Kluwer Publishing, 1980. Pp. viii, 443. $75.00, London £45 plus £1 surface mail.

Reviewed by Edward C. Brewer, III.

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NUCLEAR ENERGY AND NUCLEAR WEAPON PROLIFERATION

Frank Barnaby, Jozef Goldblat, Bhupendra Jasani, and Joseph Rotblat,eds. Published for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. London: Taylor & Francis, 1979. Pp. xxiv, 462.

Reviewed by W. Paul Gormley

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INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF U.S. INCOME TAXATION Vois. I and III

Elisabeth Owens Boston, Mass.: Harvard Law School, 1980. Pp.305. …

Recent Decisions, Kevin P. Hishta, J. Clifton Cox, Shari D. Olenick, Stephen B. Hatcher, Ann M. Bell

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ALIENS--Executive Suspension of Alien's Deportable Status Final as Congressional Veto Mechanism violates Constitutional Doctrine of Separation of Powers

Kevin P. Hishta

--------------------------- Sovereign Immunity--Iranian Immunity from Pre-Judgment Attachments Terminated under International Emergency Economic Powers Act

J. Clifton Cox

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Sovereign Immunity--Government Shipping Company of the People's Republic of China is an "Agency or Instrumentality" for the Purposes of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976

Shari D. Olenick

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State Corporate Income Tax--Foreign Source Dividends Included in State Taxation Base Under Unitary Business Enterprise Test

Stephen B. Hatcher

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Trade Regulation--Use of Registered Mail by Federal Trade Commission to Subpoena …

Domestic International Sales Corporations (Discs): How They Provide A Tax Incentive For Exports, Garrison R. Cox

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note examines the logical and empirical validity of the reasons for the passage of the DISC legislation. Basically, the DISC legislation was prompted by the negative trade balance in 1971, a novel phenomenon in post-World War II United States. Providing a tax break on producers' export income was viewed as a way of reducing trade deficits by stimulating exports. On its surface, using "tax expenditures" to reach this goal seems logical, or at least benign. But when one considers that the primary thrust of the legislation was to encourage small producers to enter the export market, the logic of …

Artists, Art Collectors And Income Tax, Alan L. Feld

Faculty Scholarship

The federal income tax law treats artists and art collectors differently. Similar transactions concerning artworks produce disparate income tax results, depending on whether they involve the artist or the collector. On balance, these results seem to favor the collector over the artist. But notwithstanding the dismay of some artists and their advocates, the differences in result flow, in the main, from the differences in the source of the taxpayer's investment in the work.

The collector buys the work with after-tax income. Any gain is properly treated as an investment return and is eligible for capital gain benefits.' The collector, however, …

Taxation Of Sale And Leaseback Transactions - A General Review, Kenneth L. Stewart

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Note first discusses in detail the operation of a sale and leaseback transaction and delineates its various uses. The Note next points out the tax and financial advantages and disadvantages of the sale and leaseback, sets forth the possible avenues of attack on the transaction by the Internal Revenue Service (Service), and describes the consequences of a successful attack by the Service. The final section of the Note analyzes the judicial treatment of sale and leaseback transactions for tax purposes, focusing both on the traditional tests used by the courts and on changes in the law brought about by …

A New Look At The Section 119 Meals And Lodging Exclusion, Steven Luby

West Virginia Law Review

One of the most problematic areas of income tax law has been the excludability of various employee fringe benefits from taxable income. This article examines the appropriate tax treatment of one type of fringe benefit-meals furnished by an employer to his employee. Prior to 1954 the excludability of the value of meals furnished by an employer was dependent upon whether the factual circumstances of the case satisfied a "convenience of the employer" rule developed by administrative rulings and case law. In 1954 Congress attempted to end the confusion surrounding the excludability of meals furnished by an employer by enacting section …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

THE HOST STATE AND THE TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION: AN ANALYSIS OF LEGAL RELATIONSHIPS

By Juha Kuusi

Farnborough, England: Saxon House, 1979. Pp. 177. $25.25 (Distributed by Renouf USA, Brookfield, Vermont.)

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THE INDIRECT CREDIT Vol. II

By Gerald Ball and Elizabeth A.Owens

Cambridge, Mass.: The International Tax Program, Harvard Law School, 1979. Pp. 406. $40.00.

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JURIDICA: ANUARIO DEL DEPARTAMENTO DEL DERECHO DE LA UNIVERSIDAD IBEROAMERICANA

Edited by Enrique Portilla Osio Mexico City: Universidad Iberoamericano. 1978. Pp. 595.

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LES SANCTIONS PRIVATES DE DROITS Ou DE QUALITE DANS LES ORGANISATIONS INTERNATIONALES SPECIALISEES

By Charles Leben Brussels: Emile Bruylant. 1979. Pp. 410. …

Implementing A Progressive Consumption Tax, Michael J. Graetz

Faculty Scholarship

Much scholarly debate has been devoted to the theoretical merits of using an individual's consumption expenditures as the basis for measuring ability to pay tax. In this Article, Professor Graetz examines the practical problems of implementing and administering a progressive consumption tax as an alternative to the income tax. He concludes that although a consumption tax is feasible, practical implementation difficulties, together with the political unlikelihood of enacting a tax which is both administratively workable and retains the alleged theoretical advantages of a consumption-based tax, argue against its adoption.

Tax Avoidance, Alan Gunn

Journal Articles

Professor Gunn explores the merits of “tax avoidance” approaches in dealing with cases involving unpaid taxes. He describes definitions of the term and also illustrates some alternatives to the tax avoidance approach. Looking at how tax avoidance is dealt with in laws and in judicial decisions Gunn notes that lawmakers should not attempt to formulate authoritative rules on preventing it. This is because taxpayers have a well-known desire to reduce their taxes, and will find ways to get around laws. Authoritative and too well defined rules ignore what taxpayers might do in response to them. Professor Gunn concludes by arguing …

Recent Decisions, William W. Allen, Alexander A. Hassani, Peter A. Schuller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

INCOME TAX--LIQUIDATION OF FOREIGN CORPORATIONS--SHAREHOLDERS IN A LIQUIDATING FOREIGN CORPORATION MUST INCLUDE IN THE CORPORATION'S EARNINGS AND PROFITS ACCOUNT THE AMOUNT OF RECAPTURED EXCESS DEPRECIATION REALIZED UPON THE SALE OF ITS ASSETS

William W. Allen

CUSTOMS DUTIES--ANTIDUMPING ACT OF 1921--THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY HAS No AUTHORITY TO TERMINATE A WITH-HOLDING OF APPRAISEMENT PRIOR TO THE PUBLICATION OF A DUMPING FINDING BASED ON A LIKELIHOOD OF INJURY DETERMINATION BY THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Alexander A. Hassani

INTERNATIONAL BANKING--BANKRUPTCY-FOREIGN BANKS NEITHER REGULATED BY NOR LICENSED To Do BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES MAY FILE FOR VOLUNTARY BANKRUPTCY UNDER THE NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A Practical Guide to U.S. Taxation of Overseas Americans

By Thomas E. Johnson

London: Raftwain Ltd., 1977. Pp. 311. $25.00.

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The Impact of International Organizations on Legal and Institutional Changes in the Developing Countries

New York: International Legal Center, 1977. Pp. 275.

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U.S. Customs Tariffs and Trade

By Eugene T. Rossides

Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1977. Pp. 826. $45.00.

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 Constitutionality Of The Multistate Tax Compact, Robert M. White

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is now firmly established that states have the constitutional power to tax multistate businesses on net income reasonably attributable to activity within the taxing state. Within this legal frame-work, limited only by Public Law 86-272, the states have fashioned separate and diverse rules for the taxation of multistate corporations.'The recently formed Multistate Tax Compact provides an efficient alternative to both the present disarray of state statutes and possible federal regulation of interstate taxation. The principal purposes of the Compact are to establish uniform rules for determining state tax liabilities of multistate taxpayers, to eliminate ineffective tax administration and the …

Bryan V. Itasca County, Minnesota, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

The Great Section 38 Property Muddle, J. A. Cragwall, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Twelve full years have elapsed since section 38 property made its first appearance on the stage of tax law. In those twelve years, a complicated, confusing, ad hoc, and often inconsistent body of rulings and judicial decisions has grown up around the definitional regulation; words and phrases have acquired strange new meanings and connotations in the lush overgrowth of legal reasoning clinging to that regulation. The paradoxes in the regulation (such as that addressed in Weirick) and, more often, the ambiguities resulting from an almost universal failure by the regulations to define, instead of simply illustrate, its terms (such as …

Assessing The Distributional Effects Of Income Tax Revision: Some Lessons From Incidence Analysis, Michael J. Graetz

Faculty Scholarship

In recent years public attention to issues of tax equity has increased dramatically. The testimony in January 1969 of outgoing Secretary of the Treasury Joseph Barr that 154 individuals who had adjusted gross incomes of more than $200,000 in 1966 paid no federal income tax intensified public awareness and concern about the equity of the tax system. Tax reform has remained a central issue of public policy.

At the same time, scholars working in the tax field have refined their methods of analyzing the impact on individuals and classes of individuals of tax laws and tax changes. Theoretical advances in …

The Role Of The Corn Products Doctrine In Foreign Exchange Transactions, Charles H. Manning

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Exchange rate gain or loss may result from fluctuations of exchange rates or from formal governmental action such as revaluation and devaluation. In evaluating the significance of foreign exchange transactions and their tax consequences, the types of transactions that produce exchange rate gain or loss must be distinguished. The first type of transaction is currency speculation in which exchange rate gain or loss is the only profit or loss realized. The second type of transaction involves the purchase and sale of inventory in which the exchange rate gain or loss is ancillary to the monetary gain or loss realized on …

Alternative Gains Tax Treatments Of Decedents' Appreciated Capital Assets, D. Allen Grumbine

Vanderbilt Law Review

The present treatment of appreciated assets under section 1014' of the Code permits a great deal of accrued appreciation to escape the income tax. While decedents pay a greater estate tax because asset appreciation swells their estates, they pay no gains tax at death on this accrued appreciation. Moreover, the recipients of the decedent's property generally take a stepped-up basis for the property equal to its fair market value at the time of death. A great deal of criticism has been leveled at this system, and numerous proposals have been made for remedying the situation: imposition of a capital gains …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

AMERICAN LABOR AND THE MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION

Edited by Duane Kujawa

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973. Pp. xxvii,285. $18.50.

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ASPECTS DU DROIT INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIQUE: ELABORATION CONTROLE--SANCTION.

Societe Francaise pour le Droit International. Paris: A. Pedone, 1972. Pp. 221. n.p. (paper).

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THE BASES OF INTERNATIONAL ORDER

Edited by Alan James

London: Oxford University Press, 1973. Pp. viii, 218 £ 3.50 net.

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CURRENT LEGAL ASPECTS OF DOING BUSINESS IN THE FAR EAST

Edited by Richard C. Allison

Chicago: American Bar Association,1972. Pp. vii, 208. $10.00.

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DOMESTIC TAXATION AND FOREIGN TRADE: THE UNITED STATES-EUROPEAN BORDER TAX DISPUTE

By Michael von …

Deductibility Of Expenses For Child Care And Household Services: New Section 214, Alan L. Feld

Faculty Scholarship

It is increasingly common to find families composed of husband, wife and young children, where both husband and wife are gainfully employed. For some, this pattern is regarded as preferable to the older "ideal" family, where the husband was the sole breadwinner and the wife cared for the children, performed household chores and perhaps engaged in social or charitable activities. Where both spouses are gainfully employed, it is often necessary for the family to employ household help to care for the children and do the housework. These expenditures are "necessary" to the gainful employment of both spouses in the sense …

Editor's Foreword, Harold G. Maier

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This issue of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law includes two presentations to the 1972 Symposium of the Vanderbilt International Law Society and Regional Meeting of the American Society of International Law. First, Henry Harfield of the New York Bar discusses the relevance of international and transnational law to international commercial transactions, with a special emphasis on the usefulness of the Uniform Customs and Practices for Commercial Documentary Credits. Secondly, Sheldon S. Cohen, a member of the District of Columbia Bar and past Commissioner of Internal Revenue, focuses on the United States tax implications of changing currency values. While four …