Tax Law Commons^™

Product Nationality And Corporate Identity, Trang (Mae) Nguyen

Seattle University Law Review

Global supply chains have long depended on a deceptively technical device: the attribution of a “nationality” to goods. A trade law principle, rules of origin assign products an “economic passport” that governs how they are treated at the border, including what markets they may enter and which tariff rates apply. In recent years, however, product nationality has taken on a new and far more ambitious role. As U.S. trade policy increasingly intersects with national security and human rights policy, policymakers rely on nationality-based measures to police supply chain linkages, curb geopolitical issues, and discipline firms for their links to forced …

Global Supply Chain Resilience In Emerging Technologies: A Case Study Of Bitcoin Mining, Kishanthi Parella, Carla L. Reyes

Seattle University Law Review

The United States has put into motion bold plans in critical and emerging technologies to bolster its national and economic security.  For example, the federal government created a national bitcoin strategic reserve and a stockpile of other cryptocurrency; while several states have committed to or are considering similar goals.  However, the security of these reserves is dependent on two types of supply chains within the Bitcoin mining industry: analogue supply chains, relating to the physical components needed for Bitcoin mining, and data supply chains, relating to the complex and layered logistical network of actors that create input into the software …

Third-Party Funding: Balancing Transparency, National Security, And Access To Justice, Victoria Shannon Sahani

Seattle University Law Review

Many lawmakers who have recently become aware of the multi-billion-dollar global third-party funding industry are raising new national security concerns that further complicate preexisting, longstanding debates about transparency, disclosure, access to justice, and the best way to regulate third-party funding. In response, this Article briefly asserts three main points relating to the question of how best to regulate third-party funding. First, this Article explains the third-party funding industry, including its global regulatory landscape and how it serves three distinct populations: consumers, businesses, and law firms. Second, this Article explains that third-party funding is one tool that can help expand access …

The Field Of International Business Transactions Law, Kathleen Claussen

Seattle University Law Review

This Article studies the evolution of the scholarly subfield referred to as the law of “international business transactions” (IBT). It reviews data on academic articles, courses, textbooks and other signifiers of the growth of this research area. Beginning around 1960, scholars began to use the term “international business transactions” and by the 1980s, several law schools were offering a course by that title. A handful of dedicated textbooks soon followed. These data reflect a gradual increase in research on the topic of IBT, particularly in the United States, but also considerable diversity of subject matters covered by those works. The …

Kim Gyeong-Seok And The Origins Of Northeast Asia’S Corporate Accountability Movement For War And Colonialism, Timothy Webster

Seattle University Law Review

For the past three decades, a transnational reparations movement has unfolded across Northeast Asia. Hundreds of victims—assisted by attorneys, academics, and activists—seek remedies from Japan for various atrocities committed during World War II, colonialism, and other historical injustices.  They press their claims in street protests, legislative hearings, dramatic performances, and other fora.  The “comfort women” are the best known of these claimants; their global redress campaign ex-tends from noisy protests outside of Japan’s embassy in Seoul, to mute statues in raucous boroughs of Berlin.  More obscure, though larger in number, were the roughly one million Koreans who performed forced labor …

Navigating Compliance In A Geopolitical Era: The Case Of Chinese Multinationals In The United States, Ji Li

Seattle University Law Review

This Article examines how Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) approach compliance in the United States amid deepening geo-political rivalry and intensified regulatory scrutiny. Drawing on original survey data, this Article maps variations in compliance structures, staffing, and governance mechanisms across Chinese firms and identifies key determinants such as industry-specific regulatory intensity, listing status, and organizational imprinting from headquarters. The analysis employs a dual institutional framework to explain how compliance systems emerge from the interplay between host-state regulatory demands and home-state institutional legacies, producing hybrid structures that blend local adaptation with headquarters-driven replication. Findings reveal that while certain compliance features—such as committee …

Volume 49 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 49 Masthead

A Comparative Study Of Chinese And American Approaches To Shaping International Outer Space Law And Norms, Ariel G. Silverman

Seattle University Law Review

This article explores convergences and divergencies in the United States and PRC’s responses to the stalemate in the United Nations over the future of outer space resource governance. I do so by systematically analyzing these leading space-faring nations’ policy-positions and tactics deployed to shape norms around three substantive areas of outer space resource governance: rights of ownership and scope of utilization of space resources, mechanization of the “benefits sharing” principle, and the rights and responsibilities of the private sector. I theorize that these leading space-faring nations have adopted divergent approaches due to their differing historical relationships with international law and …

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Digital Services Taxes And The Wto, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Doron Narotzki

Articles

In an excellent Tax Notes article, Claudio Cipollini argues that the United States has adopted a paradoxical stance regarding digital services taxes. On one hand, the United States has repeatedly characterized DSTs as discriminatory trade barriers that unfairly target U.S. technology firms. On the other, it has systematically obstructed appointments to the Appellate Body of the WTO, leaving the dispute settlement mechanism effectively inoperative and ineffective. Cipollini presents this as a “missed WTO route,” suggesting that a functioning WTO system would primarily serve U.S. interests by disciplining European DSTs under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

This article …

Transformative Technology And Shortening The Statute Of Limitations Applicable To Taxpayers, Jay A. Soled, Leslie Book

Faculty Publications

When it comes to submitting tax returns and paying taxes, most taxpayers understand the nature of their civic duties and do so dutifully, if not willingly. However, many taxpayers fail to grasp why the IRS has such an elongated time period—namely, three years— to audit their tax returns and propose an assessment. Indeed, when the IRS exercises its oversight authority, records may no longer be available, and memories may be dulled.

Since the original institution of the three-year tax assessment limitations period nearly a century ago, tremendous technological strides have been made. Indeed, over ninety percent of income tax returns …

The Taxing Ambiguity: Defining "Return" In Bankruptcy Dischargeability Cases, Elizabeth Tsai

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note examines the circuit split over the dischargeability of tax debts tied to late-filed returns, which has led to inconsistent bankruptcy outcomes and inequitable treatment of debtors across jurisdictions. Some courts, adopting the strict “one-day-late” rule, hold that any tax return filed even a single day past its deadline is not a “return” for bankruptcy discharge purposes, permanently barring relief. Others apply a more flexible standard grounded in the Beard test, considering a debtor’s good-faith compliance efforts. This inconsistency contradicts the fresh start principle of bankruptcy law, disproportionately harms low-income debtors, and fails to serve the government’s tax collection …

Authentication Of Art, Herbert I. Lazerow

Cleveland State Law Review

The authentication of items permeates our law and our markets. While it is important for many consumer goods, authentication is crucial for artworks and artifacts where the value difference between the authentic and the inauthentic is huge. The question is raised most frequently in conflicts between buyer and seller of art where it is claimed that a warranty was breached, or between the owner of artwork and an authenticator where the claim sounds in tort. It also arises in any situation where the value of the art is important, such as tax or antitrust. Authentication of artwork can be difficult …

Can The Eu’S Foreign Subsidy Regulation ‘Discipline’ U.S. Subsidies?, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Jennifer Farrell, Domenico Imparato

Articles

Stress Test for Anti-Subsidy Rules Recently, globalization has taken a markedly different turn in the form of renewed prominence of state intervention in the economy and a resurgence of industrial policy favoring domestic firms. Even the emergency measures deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot serve as a reliable benchmark: These were primarily aimed at keeping businesses afloat or preventing foreign acquisitions through financial assistance (for example, domestic handouts) or “golden power” regulations.

Anatomy Of A Shakedown: The Carried Interest Case, Charlene Luke

UF Law Faculty Publications

A review of Edward J. McCaffery & Darryll K. Jones, The Curiouser and Curiouser Case of Carried Interests, 66 Ariz. L. Rev. 357 (2024).

Volume 14 Masthead

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Current Tax Reading, Jinyan Li, David Duff, Alan Macnaughton, Michael Veall

Articles & Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

A New Tax Shelter Wave, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

There have been two tax shelter waves in recent memory: The first one ended in 1986, and the second in 2006. We are now amid a third one. The first wave lasted from around 1970 to 1986. It was based on mass marketed shelters sold to individuals with nonwage ordinary income like lawyers, accountants, physicians, and dentists, who were subject to high tax rates. The basic structure of the first wave of tax shelters depended on the Supreme Court’s misguided opinions in Crane and Tufts, which held that the amount realized from the sale of encumbered property included nonrecourse debt.2 …

Toddlers, Investors, And Tax Policy, Lauren Shores Pelikan

Faculty Publications

There is a continuing childcare crisis that worsens every year. Congress has historically used tax incentives aimed at parents and employers to try to alleviate the lack of affordable childcare. However, with private equity's increasing investment in the childcare sector, this Article advocates for an entirely new approach: Congress should encourage more people to work in the childcare sector by enacting a tax benefit for the individual childcare service provider.

Childcare is a broken market. The labor-intensive nature of the industry results in razor thin profit margins, and wages remain low due to entrenched racial and gender norms. There is …

Closing The Open Door: Curbing The Corporate Exploitation Of Tax Loopholes, Michael Fouladi

St. Thomas Law Review

Corporate America has long been the standard for business, serving as a beacon of hope to aspiring pioneers, entrepreneurs, liars, cheats, and frauds. With the rise of consumerism, citizens have become increasingly reliant on goods provided by corporations for their survival, as a result of local and familyowned businesses slowly disappearing due to acquisitions, takeovers, or bankruptcy filings. Subsequently, corporations today are more profitable, accounting for inflation, than ever before in American history. Ironically, however, corporate taxes are contributing less to the United States (U.S.) Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) than ever before. Through the current system of tax collection, revenue …

Expert Report On Valuation Of Controlling Shares Of Publicly Traded Companies Under The California Billionaire Tax Act (Cbta), David Gamage, Brian D. Galle, Emmanuel Saez, Darien Shanske

Faculty Publications

This short memo addresses concerns that have been raised under the proposed California Billionaire Tax Act (CBTA or Act) about the valuation of "voting" or "special control" shares, particularly with regard to shares held in publicly traded companies. A misreading of the CBTA is circulating that claims that voting shares of all assets will be taxed in full regardless of their actual value. This is false, as shown by a straightforward reading about the provision relating to voting and special control shares in context.

Tax Laws And Proportionality: Analyzing Implementation And Advocating For Reform, Moshe A. Jaffe

SJD Dissertations

The application of judicial review to tax legislation presents unique challenges and inconsistencies. This study contends that the proportionality doctrine, widely used in numerous legal systems, offers the best framework for reviewing the constitutionality of tax laws. By examining the implementation of proportionality in countries such as Germany, Israel, and Canada, this research argues that adopting this doctrine—excluding the Stricto Sensu sub-test—could provide a more consistent and fair method for judicial review of tax legislation. Specifically, this approach avoids the indeterminacy and subjectivity often associated with open-ended balancing, while still ensuring that tax measures serve legitimate aims and employ means …

Correcting The Record: Responding To Some Legal Arguments About The 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, David Gamage, Brian D. Galle, Darien Shanske

Faculty Publications

If adopted by California voters in November of 2026, the 2026 California Billionaire Tax Act (CBTA) would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California billionaires, payable in five annual installments of 1% over 5 years (plus a small deferral charge). Critics have raised several arguments suggesting that the Act would not bring in the expected $100 billion in projected revenues because, the critics say, key parts of the Act are unconstitutional and would be subject to legal challenge. In fact, the supposed new legal challenges critics identify are mostly just very old arguments that courts have …

Expert Report On The California 2026 Billionaire Tax: Revenue, Economic, And Constitutional Analysis, David Gamage, Brian D. Galle, Emmanuel Saez, Darien Shanske

Faculty Publications

This report summarizes key provisions of the California Billionaire Tax Act. It also answers some frequently asked questions.

Tax As Curator: Tax Incentives And The Mediation Of Acquisition In Uk Museums, Julia Dalton

MA in Art Business Dissertations

Not provided

Taxing Dynasties, David Gamage, Brian D. Galle, Bob Lord

Faculty Publications

The estate tax and the broader wealth-transfer-tax system are even more broken than is commonly understood. Over the past two decades, researchers and policy experts have identified a handful of key tactics that mega-rich families use to pass wealth from generation to generation without paying tax. These tax dodges are notorious enough to be known by their acronyms, such as the IDGT and the GRAT. Scholars and policymakers have proposed reforms to block these tactics, or at least to make them more difficult.

In this Article, we present new analysis, backed by new empirical findings, to show that these proposed …

The Social Promise Of Hybrid Entities, Frederick M. Spight Jr.

American University Business Law Review

Many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are struggling to stay afloat. These historic, and historically underfunded, institutions suffer from a chronic shortage of resources, leading to the notable closures of schools, like Concordia College. Some critics question the modern place of the HBCU as a relic of a bygone era. This article argues, however, that HBCUs are worth sustaining and provides the legal tool to do so: the hybrid entity. 

Hybrid entities arose from the social enterprise movement, which sought to harness the power of both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Operating under the philosophy of “doing well, while doing …

The Forgotten Income-Attribution Power, Alex Zhang

Faculty Articles

Economic inequality stands at record levels, and constitutional law haunts egalitarian reform. In 2024, the Supreme Court decided the latest contest. Moore v. United States rebuffed an attempt to sharply limit the federal taxing power, as a razor-thin majority upheld Congress’s attribution of foreign corporations’ income to domestic shareholders. But four Justices criticized the reasoning of the majority, faulting its use of a fabricated doctrine.

This Feature provides a systematic account of Congress’s income-attribution power. It excavates overlooked litigation materials and case law from the infancy of the current federal income tax. In the 1920s and 1930s, litigants attacked, on …

Pillar 2 As A New International Fiscal Law, Jinyan Li

Articles & Book Chapters

This paper argues that Pillar 2 not only creates a global minimum tax on large multinational enterprises, but also manifests a new international fiscal law regime. Through the lens of a new notion of sovereignty –networked fiscal sovereignty, this paper explains Pillar 2’s raison d’être, technical components and future prospect.