Tax Law Commons^™

Designing A Robust Tax System For Nigeria: Lessons From An International Perspective, Olukemi Tawoju

LLM Theses

This thesis argues that Nigeria can adapt its tax system for better gain from investment and other taxation. It outlines the foundation for a good tax policy, and explores initiatives by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD and the United Nations (UN) regarding harmful tax practices and tax incentives. Their recommendations and those of scholars, conclude that tax incentives are ineffective in attracting foreign direct investment, may result in taxpayer abuse, and erode the revenue base of capital importing countries like Nigeria. Utilizing internationally accepted features on effective tax incentive design, examining the operation of the Nigerian tax …

The New Tax Law In Context, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Efforts must be undertaken to foster stability, even with the likely ongoing reality of substantial policy disagreement, and we absolutely have to face the hard realities of the challenges of debt in our current economic system."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­changes in taxation legislation from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-new-tax-law-in-context/

Fact-Checking Claims About Winners And Losers With New Tax Reform (Part Ii), Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Overall, the impact of the new tax law, judged independently, is not as dire as many public perceptions cast it."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­how taxation legislation affects American citizens from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/fact-checking-claims-about-winners-and-losers-with-new-tax-reform-part-ii/

Fact-Checking Claims About Winners And Losers With New Tax Reform (Part I), Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The changes incentivize more capital investment and less debt-financing."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­how taxation legislation changes will affect Americans from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/fact-checking-claims-about-winners-and-losers-with-new-tax-reform-part-i/

Grading The New Tax Law, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The biggest restructuring of the tax code that the new tax law enacts is a substantial reduction in the corporate income tax rate."

Posting about changes to taxation legislation from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/grading-the-new-tax-law/

The Natural Property Rights Straitjacket: The Takings Clause, Taxation, And Excessive Rigidity, Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

Natural property rights theories have become the primary lens through which conservative jurists and scholars view the Constitution’s main property rights provision, the Takings Clause. One of their most striking arguments is that progressive income taxation — applying higher tax rates to higher incomes — is an unconstitutional taking of wealthy taxpayers’ property. This has become part and parcel of well-established battle lines between conservative property rights advocates and their liberal counterparts. What has gone unnoticed is that the very same argument deployed against progressive taxation also deems regressive taxation — applying lower tax rates to higher incomes — an …

Stamp Duty Issues In Singapore Corporate Practice, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A new dimension to the determination and computation of stamp duties payable in corporate transactions has been introduced due to the Additional Conveyance Duties (“ACD”) Regime. For companies with significant residential property holdings, liability to pay ACD potentially extends to all transactions involving the issuance, transfer or cancellation of equity interests. This paper considers the impact of ACD on several common corporate transactions in Singapore, addressing the risks practitioners may face in being blindsided by potential tax liabilities. Besides highlighting potential pitfalls, this paper explores the use of advance rulings and preferring debt financing over equity financing for tax optimisation.

Brief Of Tax Law Professors As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Edward A. Zelinsky

Amicus Briefs

Amici are professors of tax law at universities across the United States. As scholars and teachers, they have considered the doctrinal roots and practical consequences of judicial limits on state and local taxation. Amici join this brief solely on their own behalf and not as representatives of their universities. A full list of amici appears in the Appendix to this brief.

Limits, Transparency, And Board Independence Against Tax Avoidance, Francis R. Concepcion, Cheri Mae R. Laguinday, Trisha Amber T. Ong Hianghuy

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Taxes are levied by the government primarily for public service purposes (De Leon & De Leon, 2016).However, the high tax rates and narrow tax base imposed in the Philippines become burdensome for taxpayers and also decrease total government revenue collections (Diokno, 2008). It is shown in this study that foreign ownership and customer concentration both increase the levels of corporate tax avoidance practiced by firms while board independence decreases the same. Hence, we do not support the government’s plan to ease foreign ownership restrictions through the amendment of the Constitution (Romualdez, 2017) because easing the current restrictions may entail decreased …

The Future Of The New International Tax Regime, Rosanne Altshuler, Fadi Shaheen, Jeffrey Colon, Michael Graetz, Rebecca Kysar, Susan Morse, Daniel Shaviro, Richard Phillips, Danielle Rolfes, David Rosenbloom, Stephen Shay, Steven Dean

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Abandoning Realization And The Transition Tax: Toward A Comprehensive Tax Base, Henry Ordower

All Faculty Scholarship

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 imposed a tax, the “transition tax,” on as much as 31 years of undistributed, accumulated corporate income. This article focus on that transition tax as it evaluates thefunction and constitutionality of the tax and considers whether the transition tax might serve as a model for addressing the broader problem of deferred income in the United States. The article views the transition taxas joining the expatriation tax and other mark to market inclusion provisions in abandoning any pretext that there is continued vitality in the realization principle as something more compelling than any …

The Definitions Of Income, John R. Brooks

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

What is income? It’s a seemingly simple question that’s surprisingly hard to answer. Income is the basis for assigning tax burdens, for distributing transfers, and for broader normative issues of inequality and justice. Yet we lack a shared conception of income, and a pure, rigorous definition of income is impossible. In this Article I review the intellectual history of the income concept among tax and fiscal theorists to show the difficulty of the problem, and also to show that some important debates about what’s proper under an income tax can be explained instead as arguments over competing income definitions that …

Questioning Quill, Hayes R. Holderness

Law Faculty Publications

The physical presence rule of Quill Corp. v. North Dakota is under increasing attack from the “Kill Quill” movement — a consortium of state tax administrators, industry leaders, and academics opposed to the decision. The physical presence rule prohibits states from requiring many out-of-state vendors to collect taxes on goods sold into the states. Kill Quill states have grown increasingly aggressive, and litigation is well underway in South Dakota and Alabama over those states’ direct disregard for the rule. As a petition to the Supreme Court for certiorari grows closer, the case for overturning the physical presence rule remains cloudy. …

Determining An Asset's Tax Basis In The Absence Of A Meaningful Transfer Tax Regime, Jay A. Soled, Richard L. Schmalbeck

Faculty Scholarship

Until recently, in those circumstances where there was a valuation range with respect to a particular asset, executors faced a choice: among estates subject to the estate tax, declaring a high value would increase the estate tax liability; however, due to the Internal Revenue Code's "basis equal to fair market value" rule applicable at death, declaring a low value would expose heirs to a greater capital gains tax on subsequent asset disposition. Because the estate tax rates were higher and that tax was immediate (as opposed to deferred until a later sale by the heir), executors typically minimized asset values, …

Partnerships, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Partnerships and tax—overview: The statutory definition of a partnership is the “relation which subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view of profit”. Those persons could be natural persons, or other legal entities such as companies or trustees. However, a registered company under the Companies Act (Cap. 50) (2006 Rev. Ed.) is not a partnership.

Can Taxes Mitigate Corporate Governance Inefficiencies?, Noam Noked

William & Mary Business Law Review

Policymakers have long viewed tax policy as an instrument to influence and change corporate governance practices. Certain tax rules were enacted to discourage pyramidal business structures and large golden parachutes, and to encourage performance-based compensation. Other proposals, such as imposing higher taxes on excessive executive compensation, have also attracted increasing attention.

Contrary to this view, this Article contends that the ability to effectively mitigate corporate governance inefficiencies through the use of corrective taxes is very limited, and that these taxes may cause more harm than benefit. There are a few reasons for the limited effectiveness of corrective taxes. Importantly, the …

Taxation, Craig D. Bell

University of Richmond Law Review

This article reviews significant recent developments in the laws

affecting Virginia state and local taxation. Each section covers

legislative activity, judicial decisions, and selected opinions or

pronouncements from the Virginia Tax Department (the "Tax

Department") and the Virginia Attorney General over the past

year.

Taxation And Doing Business In Indian Country, Erik M. Jensen

Maine Law Review

Economic development on the lands of the American Indian nations has been spotty at best. Almost everyone knows the great success stories with Indian gaming, which has been furthered by federal legislation, but those economic benefits have not been felt uniformly. Some tribes have prospered because of this peculiarly favored form of enterprise; others have not and, in many cases, probably cannot. Substantial economic development in Indian country will not occur without significant infusions of outside capital, but investment by non-Indian and nongovernmental sources is risky, or is perceived to be so, which leads to the same practical result. This …

An American Football Team In London: How Tax Consequences For International Athletes Could Affect The Success Of A Potential Nfl Franchise In London, Brett Smith

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Although the NFL has not announced any definite plans to place a team in London, it has taken significant steps in that direction. By 2022, it could be a reality. As the laws in the U.S. and U.K. currently stand, NFL athletes playing for a team in London would face more income taxes than if they played for a U.S.-based team. The extra tax liability the players would face in the U.K. could prevent players from signing with the London team. If the London franchise struggles to field talent, it will struggle on the field as well. Without reform in …

A Progressive Federal Tax Credit For State Tax Payments, Eric Kades

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Taxing Marijuana: Earmarking Tax Revenue From Legalized Marijuana, Armikka R. Bryant

Georgia State University Law Review

This Article provides an overview of the legal, political, and societal landscapes in states that have legalized marijuana and imposed taxes on its sale. The article begins by summarizing the War on Drugs’ origins, its fiscal expenditures, and the social policies that ultimately led to its failure.

Part I briefly details the history of marijuana regulation starting from the early twentieth century up to the Obama administration’s decision to permit recreational marijuana laws to stand in Washington state and Colorado. Part II dives deeper into the social costs of the War on Drugs and outlines the hardships faced by those …

Should Foreign Pension Funds With U.S. Investments Pay U.S. Tax?, Cynthia Blum

William & Mary Business Law Review

U.S. and foreign pension funds are investing heavily outside of their home countries. With the aging of the world’s population, this trend will likely intensify. Most countries, including the U.S., accord a tax exemption to certain qualified pension funds organized within their own country; however, when a foreign pension fund invests in the U.S., the U.S. tax code does not recognize its tax exemption. Responding to the need to attract greater investment in U.S. infrastructure, Congress in 2015 enacted a new provision ameliorating the tax treatment of foreign pension plans investing in U.S. real estate. This Article examines whether the …

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 …

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 …

The Global Fight Against Base Erosion And Profit Shifting Under The Oecd’S Country-By-Country Reporting Rules: A Possible Solution?, Oladiwura Ayeyemi Eyitayo-Oyesode

LLM Theses

The base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) phenomenon continues to create detrimental consequences in states. BEPS is engendered by two fundamental factors, namely, unhealthy fiscal policies of tax havens and preferential tax regimes, and transfer mispricing by multinational corporations (MNCs). The OECD, through its BEPS Project notes that the lack of transparency in the global activities of MNCs is a major cause of BEPS. To close this gap, the OECD released the CBCR Rules. This thesis discusses the severity of the BEPS phenomenon and assesses the anti-BEPS efforts of the OECD. Upon an assessment of these efforts, this thesis argues …

The Illusion Of Fiscal Illusion In Regulatory Takings, Bethany R. Berger

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tax Symposium: Introduction, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Michigan Journal of International Law

This issue of MJIL features four out of the many outstanding papers that were presented at a conference on Taxation and Citizenship held at Michigan Law in October 2015 and co-organized by Allison Christians and myself. The impetus for the conference was the realization that the unique U.S. practice of taxing its citizens on worldwide income, regardless of where they reside, has become a major flashpoint in the relationship between the United States and its citizens living overseas, and sometimes also between the United States and the country those citizens resided in.

Postpartum Taxation And The Squeezed Out Mom, Shannon Weeks Mccormack

Articles

Faced with too-short (or nonexistent) maternity leaves, inflexible work schedules, and the soaring costs of childcare in the United States, many new mothers temporarily leave the workforce to care for their young children. Although media attention has focused on the “opt-out” mom, many more mothers are squeezed out of the external workplace. But mothers that try to return to work may discover that it is difficult to do so, as employers have been shown to be less likely to hire mothers than others. A mother that does reenter may find that even short periods out of work cost (sometimes far) …

Minimalism About Residence And Source, Wei Cui

Michigan Journal of International Law

In this Article, I relate the discomfort with fundamental principles in taxing individuals’ worldwide income to a problem that has attracted greater attention in recent years: the assignment of geographical sources to income. I suggest that there is substantial similarity between critiques of residence rules (of which critiques of citizenship-based taxation are examples) and critiques of source rules. However, I argue that problematic residence and source rules are only symptoms, not causes, of unsatisfactory conceptual paradigms in international taxation. Many scholars portray source and residence rules as inadequate means for achieving purportedly given normative objectives in the age of intense …

Defining Residence For Income Tax Purposes: Domicile As Gap-Filler, Citizenship As Proxy And Gap-Filler, Edward A. Zelinsky

Michigan Journal of International Law

In this paper, I place the United States’ adherence to citizenship-based taxation in the context of the states’ tax systems. Forty-one states impose general income taxes on the worldwide incomes of their respective residents. These state tax systems are important repositories of experience that confirm the administrative benefits of citizenship-based taxation. Domicile today plays an important role in state tax systems as a gap-filler when more objective statutory residence laws fail to assign any state of residence to the taxpayer. Citizenship is an administrable proxy for domicile and serves a similar gap-filling role in the taxation of individuals whose income …