Taxation-Federal Commons^™

A Review Of International Business Tax Reform, Alexander M. Lewis

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Corporate Tax Reform: A Debate, Deborah A. Geier, Omni Y. Marian, David S. Miller, Adam H. Rosenzweig

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Professor Geier participated in a Lincoln-Douglas style debate, where the debaters were assigned different roles, so the opinions expressed were not necessarily their own. On the first point debated, Professor Geier was assigned to argue: The Affirmative: We Need to Tax Corporationsat the Entity Level. Others argued the negative: The United States Should Repeal the Corporate Income Tax. On the second point debated, Professor Geier argued the negative, that Dividend Exemption Is NOT the Best Method of Corporate/Shareholder Integration, and is in fact the worst method. On the third point, Professor Geier argued in the affirmative, that the corporate tax …

The End Of Cash, The Income Tax, And The Next 100 Years, Gregg D. Polsky, Jeffery H. Kahn

Scholarly Works

The income tax is technologically very similar to the way it was in its early years, and technological developments have been at the margins of the income tax and have not affected its core elements. Still, technological improvements have made third-party reporting and withholding more efficient, which has allowed these mechanisms to become more pervasively used. Technology has also made it easier for taxpayers to substantiate their activities. These changes have facilitated the evolution of the incometax from its original class tax to the mass tax it is today.

While further technological advances might improve the federal income tax, it …

Graev: Conditional Facade Easement, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

In Graev v. Commissioner, the Tax Court decided whether the taxpayers’ donations of a facade easement and cash contributions were conditional gifts and therefore disallowable as charitable deductions under the requirements of the regulations. The court reviewed the facts to determine whether the condition was allowed because it was “so remote as to be negligible.” The taxpayers argued that case law at the time of the donation allowed for a donation of between 10 and 15 percent of the value of the property, and that they had deducted a value constituting 11 percent of the property’s appraised value; that the …

Koons: Interest Deduction And Flp Valuation Practice Pointers, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

The Tax Court's Koons decision explains the rules for allowing an estate to deduct interest payments, and it details how the court arrived at a determination of the value of a family limited liability company interest.

Tax Constitutional Questions In “Obamacare”: National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius In Light Of Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission And Speiser V. Randall: Conditioning A Tax Benefit On The Nonexercise Of A Constitutional Right, John R. Dorocak

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “The phrase “Tax Constitutional Questions” may seem to be an oxymoron or at least an interesting juxtaposition somewhat akin to the phrase “passive activity” derived from Section 469 of the Internal Revenue Code, which is familiar to tax practitioners, professors, and perhaps others. It has been noted elsewhere that it is seemingly normal that tax professors (and tax practitioners) are somewhat isolated from such weighty issues as constitutional questions.

…

Despite what may be the tax bar’s seeming reluctance to engage in constitutional questions, those questions are nevertheless thrust upon tax practitioners and professors. Perhaps nowhere has the intersection …

Valuing Fractional Interests In Art For Estate Tax Purposes, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

It is difficult to value fractional interests in art because there is virtually no market in those interests. Nevertheless, the Tax Court in Estate of Elkins valued the decedent’s fractional interests in multiple artworks, which the decedent and his children highly cherished. First, the court addressed the restricted agreements under section 2703 and then the court determined the value of decedent’s interests in the art.

The Transfer Pricing Regs Need A Good Edit, Susan C. Morse

Pepperdine Law Review

The U.S. government has broad discretion to change the transfer pricing regulations as they apply to corporate multinationals, and these regulations need changing because they give too much leeway to taxpayers and will continue to serve an important function in the division of international tax jurisdiction regardless of the fate of pending reform proposals. Xilinx and Veritas illustrate that taxpayers whose transfer pricing is challenged can successfully defend themselves using arm’s length definitions in the government’s own regulations. U.S. tax administrators should write revised transfer pricing rules that afford taxpayers less contracting freedom. They should incrementally add formulaic elements to …

Putting The Reign Back In Sovereign, Allison Christians

Pepperdine Law Review

In its first term, the Obama administration enacted two pieces of legislation, each designed to protect an increasingly vulnerable income tax base, and each of which had the potential to set a new and unprecedented course for no less than the regulation of the global economy by the nation-state. The first, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), sought to end global tax evasion through tax havens. The second, a little-noticed two-page addendum to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), sought to end the contribution of American multinationals to corruption in governance by codifying the transparency …

Passthrough Entities: The Missing Element In Business Tax Reform, Karen C. Burke

Pepperdine Law Review

Reform of the U.S. corporate tax system is again on the agenda. Despite important differences, many current proposals share two common goals: (1) reducing the statutory corporate tax rate to improve U.S. international competitiveness and (2) broadening the corporate tax base by reducing or eliminating business expenditures to offset revenue losses. Given the significance of the passthrough sector and the relationship between individual and corporate taxes, however, such reforms need to be considered within a broader context. Part I of this article discusses the growing significance of the passthrough sector, which now accounts for roughly half of net business income. …

Access To Tax Injustice, Francine J. Lipman

Pepperdine Law Review

Every morning, Monday through Friday, school children across the United States raise their voices in unison and pledge allegiance to America, with liberty and justice for all. America, in turn, pledges to these children and the world that it is a nation of liberty, justice, and laws. Laws drafted by representatives intended to follow through on America’s promise of liberty and justice for all. Yet for more than 16 million of these children and 30 million adults living in poverty in 2011, America does not deliver on its promise of justice. In a recent global study, America ranked 27th out …

Tax Reform And The American Middle Class, Kirk J. Stark, Eric M. Zolt

Pepperdine Law Review

This essay examines how concern for the economic plight of the middle class should influence debates over federal tax reform. It begins with an overview of data on two key developments in American economic life over the past quarter century. The first is the deteriorating economic position of the middle class, a long-term trend illustrated by stagnant income growth, job polarization, and more limited economic opportunities as compared to earlier eras. The second development is the declining federal tax burden of the American middle class, including historically low average tax rates and relative tax shares, not just for the federal …

The 535 Report: A Pathway To Fundamental Tax Reform, Dorothy A. Brown

Pepperdine Law Review

This Essay argues that current tax policies that include special tax rates, loopholes and deductions disadvantage most Americans in favor of income received by a select few – especially members of Congress. The majority of taxpayers of color as well as white taxpayers are not eligible for the loopholes and special tax breaks that currently exist in our tax laws. Tax reform that eliminates special deals as a means to lowering tax rates for all is the best way forward towards a fairer and simpler tax system. Such reform is unlikely to occur in the absence of a “focusing event” …

E-Verify Can Stop Refund Fraud, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Andrew Shact

Faculty Scholarship

Two issues in the current Washington debates need to be linked. E-Verify, the Internet-based database that allows employers to verify an employee’s work eligibility that is at the center of the immigration debate, is the ideal tool for stopping tax refund fraud. All that is needed is a digital signature of the E-Verify result, and the mandatory inscription of this signature on tax documents to make them self-authenticating.

The central features of this proposal have been made before. The technology it requires is tried and proven. The processes and procedure it advocates are in place and effectively deployed in foreign …

Taxation Without Representation: The Illegal Irs Rule To Expand Tax Credits Under The Ppaca, Jonathan H. Adler, Michael F. Cannon

Faculty Publications

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provides tax credits and subsidies for the purchase of qualifying health insurance plans on state-run insurance exchanges. Contrary to expectations, many states are refusing or otherwise failing to create such exchanges. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule purports to extend these tax credits and subsidies to the purchase of health insurance in federal exchanges created in states without exchanges of their own. This rule lacks statutory authority. The text, structure, and history of the Act show that tax credits and subsidies are not available in federally run exchanges. The IRS rule is …

When Sommers Are Winters: Do Blanks Denote Revocability?, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

In Sommers, ruling on both parties’ motions for partial summary judgment, the Tax Court dealt with claims of issue preclusion and collateral estoppel, equitable apportionment, the completion of gifts of limited liability company interests, and retained powers that would cause estate tax inclusion.

Two aspects of Sommers held particular interest for me. The first is that the parties appear to be arguing their opponent’s conventional position. The second is that the court grappled with whether the blanks left in the gift documents were immaterial to gift completion; however, the court did not address whether the decedent’s completed gifts qualified for …

Tax Planning For Marijuana Dealers, Benjamin Leff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In recent years, many states have legalized marijuana while the federal government continues to consider all marijuana sales and use illegal. But marijuana industry insiders consider not federal criminal law but federal tax law to be the biggest impediment to the development of a legitimate marijuana industry. State-sanctioned marijuana sellers are required to pay federal income taxes pursuant to § 280E, a formerly largely symbolic provision that Congress enacted to punish drug dealers, but which now could potentially drive legitimate marijuana sellers underground.

This paper proposes a tax strategy that enables state-sanctioned marijuana sellers to avoid the impact of § …

Fringe Benefits, Proposed Section 84, And Tax Policy , Gregory M. Fowler

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The New Starker: A Nonsimultaneous Exchange Expands Section 1031/ Collateral Estoppel Clarification, Robert B. Paysinger

Pepperdine Law Review

The new Starker decision addresses the issue whether a nonsimultaneous exchange qualifies for section 1031 nonrecognition treatment. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in addressing this issue, also had to determine the appropriateness of the collateral estoppel "separable facts" doctrine under the facts in the case. The author provides an in-depth examination of the court's clarification of collateral estoppel and expansion of section 1031. The author, in agreeing with-the decision, welcomes the added flexibility the case lends to the real estate finance field.

Horse Syndication: A Sure Footed Winner In The Investment Sweepstakes, Thomas R. Catanese

Pepperdine Law Review

Recent changes in the scheme of federal taxation coupled with increasing interest in the equine industry has propelled that industry into the forefront of tax sheltered investments. In this article the author takes an in-depth look at the federal securities and tax law aspects of a typical equine syndication as a tax sheltered investment.

The Professional Corporation—Has The Death Knell Been Sounded?, Forest J. Bowman

Pepperdine Law Review

The favorable tax reasons for incorporating a professional practice have been substantially reduced by the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act. The retirement benefits of the professional corporation have effectively been eliminated by TEFRA. In addition, the new allocation of income powers provided by TEFRA may have eliminated the tax incentive for forming a professional corporation. The professional's decision whether to incorporate his practice will now rest with his desires as to how he wishes to carry out that practice. This article discusses the changes that TEFRA has wrought, and its impact on the professionals' decision to incorporate.

Go Abroad, Young Man, Go Abroad: The Economic Recovery Tax Act Of 1981'S Changes In The Treatment Of Foreign Earned Income, Sheldon J. Fleming

Pepperdine Law Review

The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 made major revisions in the taxation of foreign earned income. The former tax provisions of sections 911 and 913failed in their purpose of equitably compensating individuals for the increased costs of working abroad, and have been replaced with a new section 911. The new law encourages Americans to go abroad by according them the most liberal tax benefits in over fifty years.

Zappers & Employment Tax Fraud, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

Beyond the grey area of worker misclassifications and general employment tax irregularities there are darker employment relationships where workers are intentionally paid in cash “off-the-books” or “under-the-table.” Grey employment relationships present civil enforcement issues that may become criminal; darker-relationships are criminal from the beginning. Zappers are found on the dark side.

Zappers are fraud-technologies that automatically (and remotely) skim cash from electronic cash registers (ECRs) or back room point of sales (POS) systems. Globally, tax auditors are finding that Zappers frequently provide the cash that is used to compensate “under-the-table” workers. In fact, a Zapper appears to be at the …

Wimmer Wins Flp Annual Exclusions, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

In Wimmer, the Tax Court held that the income stream from a taxpayer’s gifts of family limited partnership interests was eligible for the annual exclusion. By comparing the income interest in the partnership’s dividend paying marketable securities to the income interest in a trust, the court made Wimmer a winner. But does the opinion logically lead to that conclusion?

Justice For All: Reimagining The Internal Revenue Service, David J. Herzig

Law Faculty Publications

The ability of the Internal Revenue Service to both collect the tax and enforce the initial determination of tax liability in a neutral and fair manner has been compromised by a February 2011 pronouncement issued by the Department of Justice stating that the President and the Department of Justice believe that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and that the Department of Justice will no longer defend the statute in courts. The pronouncement results in a disparate treatment of similar taxpayers based solely on the forum of litigation. Through this lens, I examine whether it is …

Those Who Know, Those Who Don't, And Those Who Know Better: Balancing Complexity, Sophistication, And Accuracy On Tax Returns, Michelle Lyon Drumbl

Scholarly Articles

Refundable credits, particularly the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax credit, serve an important anti-poverty measure for low-income taxpayers. Annually, millions of taxpayers who do not owe any federal income tax must file a tax return in order to claim these credits that are in the nature of social benefits. The eligibility requirements for refundable credits are complex, and these returns are particularly prone to audit: EITC audits comprise one-third of all individual income tax audits. Because of the large dollar amounts at stake, a taxpayer’s mistaken understanding of the eligibility requirements for these refundable credits can …

Reforming Federal Tax Litigation: An Agenda, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

King Vertigorn, it is said, wished to build a castle to defend Britain against invaders. Each day, his mason raised and set the stones. Each night, however, the earth would rumble, bringing the work crashing to the ground. Vexed, Vertigorn asked Merlin for an explanation. Merlin’s mystical divination revealed that, in a cavern far below the surface, there resided two foes, a red dragon and a white dragon. In their perpetual struggle for dominance, first one dragon then the other would gain temporary ascendancy. Their jostling unsettled the ground, rendering all construction temporary.

In federal tax procedure, the red dragon …

Omg! Esd Codified!: The Overreaction To Codification Of The Economic Substance Doctrine, Monica D. Armstrong

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Auer/Seminole Rock Deference In The Tax Court, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Recent Irs Guidance Provides A Degree Of Certainty For 403(B) Plans, Gregory L. Needles, Christina Payne-Tsoupros

Journal Articles

The IRS has released long-awaited guidance expanding the availability of self correction for 403(b) plans and opening the pre-approved plan program. On Dec 12, 2012, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2013-12, 2013-4 IRB 313, which expanded its self-correction program -- the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) -- for 403(b) plans. On 3/28/13, the IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2013-22, 2013-18 IRB 985, opening its 403(b) pre-approved plan program. The broader scope of correction under Rev. Proc. 2013-12 is a welcome relief to 403(b) plan sponsors, who may now take advantage of EPCRS to remedy mistakes and avoid plan disqualification in …