Taxation-Federal Commons^™

Taxing Political Donations: The Case For Corrective Taxes In Campaign Finance, David Gamage

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Command-and-control regulations are generally thought to be inferior to incentive-based alternatives. This essay proposes an incentive-based approach for regulating campaign finance. In place of our current regime of contribution ceilings, the essay calls for a graduated system of contribution taxes. Rather than capping the size of political donations at a specified dollar level, we should tax donations based on a schedule of graduated rates - the larger the size of a contribution, the higher the level of taxation.

Contribution taxes generate two primary advantages over contribution ceilings. First, contribution taxes preserve more total surplus. This surplus can be shared by …

The Interplay Between Norms And Enforcement In Tax Compliance, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

What will increase individuals' compliance with the federal income tax? There are rich legal, economic, and sociological literatures examining this question. The traditional answer that increased enforcement will increase compliance is supported by both economic modeling and a number of experiments. However, studies show that appeals to normative beliefs about honesty in taxpaying play an important role as well.

A number of scholars have suggested that vigorous enforcement of the tax laws may be counterproductive because it may suggest that noncompliance is the norm. This article argues, in part, that enforcement and a compliance norm are not inconsistent but rather …

Tax Compliance And The Reformed Irs, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 directed the IRS to transform itself into an agency focused on "customers." What affect will such a focus on service have on compliance? This article analyzes not only the post-IRS reform statistics on enforced compliance but also considers the more important question of the likely impact of IRS friendliness on so-called "voluntary compliance."

Although some have suggested that a kinder IRS might prompt increased voluntary compliance, this article argues that it likely will not, based on the literature examining the impact on voluntary compliance of tax collector service to taxpayers …

Federal Tax Collection Controversies In The Era Of Drye, Steve R. Johnson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

By "tax collection controversies," I mean cases in which it has been established that the taxpayer owes additional taxes, those taxes remain unpaid, and the IRS is attempting to enforce collection out of the taxpayer's assets. Such cases are numerous and involve attorneys in general legal practice as well as tax specialists. For example, the taxpayer may be your client for non-tax matters, and may expect you to handle her tax collection controversy as well. Or, your client may not be the taxpayer herself, but instead someone who co-owns property with the taxpayer. Your client expects you to make sure …

Are There Procedural Deficiencies In Tax Fraud Cases? A Reply To Professor Schoenfeld, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Equity And The Article I Court: Is The Tax Court's Exercise Of Equitable Powers Constitutional?, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Article I courts are the other federal courts, infrequently studied despite their important role in the judiciary. This article focuses on the United States Tax Court, an Article I court that hears approximately 95 percent of litigated federal tax cases. The article argues that the Tax Court's current tendency to apply equitable doctrines when necessary to avoid harsh outcomes dictated by statute lacks constitutional authority. First, the article examines the role of Article I courts in the federal judicial system and under the Constitution. Next, it considers the historical and modern meanings of equity and equitable powers in the context …

Unfinished Business On The Taxpayer Rights Agenda: Achieving Fairness In Transferee Liability Cases, Steve R. Johnson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Dangers Of Symbolic Legislation: Perceptions And Realities Of The New Burden-Of-Proof Rules, Steve R. Johnson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

One provision of the 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act is new I.R.C. sec. 7491. That section purports to alter the long established rule that the burden of proof in civil tax litigation generally is on the taxpayer. It was enacted with considerable fanfare as a taxpayer-protection measure. However, to minimize the serious effects that a genuine and general burden reversal would occasion, sec. 7491 contains many exceptions and limitations. I argue that these conditions largely swallow the rule, such that the burden of proof will shift in very few actual cases. But ineffective does not mean innocuous. Section 7491 …

Targets Missed And Targets Hit: Critical Tax Studies And Effective Tax Reform, Steve R. Johnson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Phoenix And The Perils Of The Second Best: Why Heightened Appellate Deference To Tax Court Decisions Is Undesirable, Steve R. Johnson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In our judicial structure, both courts of general jurisdiction and specialized courts are empowered to adjudicate federal income tax controversies. A proper relationship among those courts has proved difficult to forge and maintain. Absent an enduring intellectual and political consensus, institutional arrangements have been subject to recurring question and challenge.

The Excludability Of Employment Discrimination Awards Under Code Section 104(A)(2) After Burke V. United States And Commissioner V. Schleier, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

"Civil"Lzing Tax Procedure: Applying General Federal Learning To Statutory Notices Of Deficiency, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Tax procedure has been rather isolated from the main currents of civil procedure. Using the statutory notice of deficiency as an exemplar, the article explores how viewing tax procedure issues from the perspective of general civil litigation can facilitate procedural regularity and foster fairness to United States Tax Court contestants. The statutory notice is the document by which the IRS forewarns a taxpayer of impending assessment of tax greater than the amount reported on the taxpayer's return. The article identifies three functions of the notice and their general civil litigation analogues. First, like legal process, it provides the taxpayer with …

Fog, Fairness, And The Federal Fisc: Tenancy-By-The-Entireties Interests And The Federal Tax Lien, Steve R. Johnson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

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

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Redemptions Incident To Divorce: Reconciling Section 1041 And General Tax Principles, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Enforcing The Fundamental Premises Of Partnership Taxation, Rebecca S. Rudnick

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Commentary: The Tax Legislative Process -- A Critical Need, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Taxpayer's Duty Of Consistency, Steve R. Johnson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Who Should Pay The Corporate Tax In A Flat Tax World?, Rebecca S. Rudnick

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article reviews the corporate tax system within the context of the historical bias and current effects of the current system of taxation of corporations and shareholders. Drawing on public finance theory, financial markets microstructure research, and perspectives on corporate governance, Professor Rudnick proposes a profits tax on the liquid equity of firms. She finds this to be a normative rationale for a double tax system under optimal tax principles due to the inelasticity of demand for and supply of liquidity and the economic rent it produces. The value of liquidity in different capital markets is the crucial determinate. Under …

Taxing Personal Insurance: The Case Of Tax Audit Insurance, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Equitable Adjustments: A Survey And Analysis Of Precedents And Practice, Michael D. Carrico, John T. Bondurant

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Deep Structure Of Capital Gains, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The capital gains preference has been viewed as a means by which taxpayers are spared being taxed fully in a single year for income earned over a number of previous years. This Article argues that the tax preference for capital gains was intended to provide economic incentives by encouraging transferability, risk, and investment, not to achieve equity by a crude form of income averaging. This Article critically evaluates judicial doctrine in light of these economic policies and concludes that courts have not effectively bridged the gap between policy and the statutory language and structure. The author explains how the tax …

The Taxation Of Employee Fringe Benefits, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Reducing Legal Noise: A Comment On Clark, The Morphogenesis Of Subchapter C: An Essay In Statutory Evolution And Reform, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Deduction Of Traveling Expenses By The Two-Worker Family -- An Inquiry Into The Role Of The Courts In Interpreting The Federal Tax Law, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Professor Popkin urges that courts interpret section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code, which permits a deduction for business expenses, also to permit a two-worker family to deduct that part of their transportation costs and living expenses attributable to a second job. After tracing the current state of the law, he contends that the implicit assumption of the Code-that married taxpayers live together and constitute a single consumption unit-should allow deduction of some commuting costs and living expenses, much as a single taxpayer is allowed a deduction for transportation to and living expenses at a secondary place of business. Last, …

The Negative Income Tax: An Alternative Solution, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Personal Vs. Business Expenses: A Comment On Professor Klein's Approach, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Administration Of A Negative Income Tax, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Tax Treatment Of Condemnation Proceeds: An Analysis And Some Proposals For Reform, A. James Barnes, Jonathan A. Small

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Taxation Of Foreign Incorporated Pocketbooks With Nonresident Alien Shareholders, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.