Taxation-Federal Commons^™

The Tax Exempt Innovation Cycle, University Of Washington School Of Law

Rule of Law Initiative

Executive Summary:

The U.S. innovation ecosystem thrives on a complex interrelationship between tax policy, philanthropic foundations, and entrepreneurial ventures. The tax code, particularly provisions related to private foundations and Program-Related Investments (PRIs), play a critical role in funding high-risk, high-impact innovations that address societal challenges. Wealth funds the foundation, the foundation funds innovation, and innovation enhances the founder’s lasting impact on society.

Key Findings:

1. Tax-Exempt Foundation Structure: Private foundations, established by wealthy individuals and corporations, serve as powerful vehicles for channeling substantial capital into innovation while providing tax benefits to donors.
2. The Innovation Funding Cycle: Private foundations and …

Tax Exempt Research Guide, University Of Washington School Of Law

Rule of Law Initiative

For over a hundred years, organizations have harnessed and relied on tax exempt status to serve the public. Tax exemption is a powerful tool for social, environmental, and community well-being. This Legal Research Guide on Tax Exemption serves as a navigational compass for the public seeking to learn about tax exemption.

Why The Rule Of Law Matters For Nonprofits, University Of Washington School Of Law

Rule of Law Initiative

The Rule of Law is what keeps tax exemption from being a political weapon and allows for nonprofit organizations to provide services the government is not providing our communities.

Rule Of Law – Public Q&A, University Of Washington School Of Law

Rule of Law Initiative

Below are common questions the public may have about the Rule of Law, tax exemption status, the revocation of tax exempt status, and key cases like Bob Jones University. To understand these in more detail, browse the Tax Exempt research guide (History, Rule of Law, Revoking Tax Exemption, Secondary Materials, and Current Awareness).

Bob Jones University And The Rule Of Law, University Of Washington School Of Law

Rule of Law Initiative

The Rule of Law is what keeps tax exemption from being a political weapon.

Bob Jones University shows the Rule of law in action: clear public policy, cross-branch consensus, balanced against constitutional rights, and enforced through transparent procedures and court review.

The case is influential because it lays the foundations for analyzing The Public Policy Doctrine, a key element when courts review tax exempt revocation cases.

The revocation of tax-exempt status is law-driven, not headline-driven; the Bob Jones University v. United States case set an important precedent by creating a narrow and cautious framework that the IRS must follow to …

A Brief History Of Tax Exemption, University Of Washington School Of Law

Rule of Law Initiative

Below is a condensed history of tax exemption. It contains an analysis of tax exemption before statutory codification in 1894. It explains how the law evolved to provide predictability and fairness in the application of an organization’s tax-exempt status.

How Does A Court Determine The Tax-Exempt Purposes Of An Organization?, University Of Washington School Of Law

Rule of Law Initiative

To determine the tax-exempt purposes of an organization, courts and tax authorities primarily examine whether the organization is both "organized" and "operated" exclusively for exempt purposes, as required under 26 U.S.C § 501.

This involves a two-part test: the "organizational test" and the "operational test." The organizational test assesses whether the organization's foundational documents, such as its charter or articles of incorporation, limit its purposes to one or more exempt purposes and do not authorize substantial non-exempt activities.

The Tax Redistribution Gap, Eric Baudry

Fellow, Adjunct, Lecturer, and Research Scholar Works

The tax revenue gap—the difference between how much the IRS collects in tax revenue and how much it should collect based on the text of the Internal Revenue Code—is both well-defined and well-studied. But raising revenue is just one purpose of taxation; the tax code also operates to redistribute wealth. Drawing from the tax revenue gap and redistribution literatures, this article coins a parallel concept, the tax redistribution gap, to map the extent to which the tax system falls short of its redistributive goals.

Introducing a tax redistribution gap measure challenges background assumptions in current tax discourse: first, it would …

Against Monetary Primacy, Yair Listokin, Rory Van Loo

Northwestern University Law Review

To reduce inflation, the Federal Reserve (Fed) raises interest rates. But every month with high interest rates increases the risk of a devastating recession. Recessions impose not only short-term pain in the form of widespread unemployment but also lifelong harm for many, as vulnerable workers and those who start their careers during a downturn never fully recover. Yet hiking interest rates is the centerpiece of U.S. inflation-fighting policy. When inflation is high, the Fed raises interest rates until inflation is tamed, regardless of the consequent sacrifices. We call this inflation-fighting paradigm “monetary primacy.” Despite its great risks, monetary primacy has …

Federal Tax Immunity And The Legal Incidence Of The Maine Sales Tax: Gamage V. Halperin, Maine Law Review

Maine Law Review

Established constitutional doctrine grants the federal government immunity from state taxation. Application of this doctrine ordinarily depends upon the "legal incidence" of the state tax. A state tax imposed directly on the United States or on one of its instrumentalities violates the immunity of the federal government. Gamage v. Halperin raised the issue of whether a sale partly subsidized by the federal government is entitled to constitutional immunity from a state sales tax, at least to the extent of the government's share of the tax. Taxation of a federally subsidized sale presents difficult problems of federal tax immunity. The threshold …

The Federal Income Tax Consequences Of Property Settlements In Common Law States And Under The Uniform Marriage And Divorce Act: A Proposal, Maine Law Review

Maine Law Review

Generally, during marriage, most of the property of husband and wife is held in the husband's name. Then, if there should be a divorce, the husband often finds himself required to transfer some of this property to his wife as a "property settlement." If the transferred property has appreciated in value while held by the husband, this appreciation may be treated as taxable income to the husband. Whether the appreciation is so treated depends on the marital property law of the taxpayer's domicile. In the United States, two different systems of marital property law have developed. Most states have evolved …

Withholding Tax On Wages: Central Illinois Public Service Co. V. United States, Maine Law Review

Maine Law Review

Section 3402 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 requires every employer to deduct and withhold a tax upon wages paid to its employees. The term "wages" is defined in section 3401(a) as all remuneration for services performed by an employee for his employer. Despite apparent simplicity, the process of defining "wages" has generated conflicting interpretations. In Central Illinois Public Service Co. v. United States, the Seventh Circuit confronted the issue of whether meal reimbursements constitute wages for withholding purposes. The meaning of "wages" in section 3401(a) depends upon an assessment of the policy objectives underlying income tax withholding. In …

Against Monetary Primacy, Yair Listokin, Rory Van Loo

Faculty Scholarship

To reduce inflation, the Federal Reserve (Fed) raises interest rates. But every month with high interest rates increases the risk of a devastating recession. Recessions impose not only short-term pain in the form of widespread unemployment but also lifelong harm for many, as vulnerable workers and those who start their careers during a downturn never fully recover. Yet hiking interest rates is the centerpiece of U.S. inflation-fighting policy. When inflation is high, the Fed raises interest rates until inflation is tamed, regardless of the consequent sacrifices. We call this inflation-fighting paradigm “monetary primacy.” Despite its great risks, monetary primacy has …

Borrowing As Realization: Taxing Billionaires' Unlocked Gains, David G. Chamberlain

Buffalo Law Review

Should billionaires be able to live large by borrowing against appreciated assets? By holding and not selling the appreciated assets, billionaires pay no taxes on the wealth unlocked through the borrowing. This feat is accomplished by relying on the interplay of two fundamental principles of the U.S. federal income tax system. First is the principle of “realization.” Whether or not this principle has a constitutional foundation, which is hotly debated, the current tax system requires that, except in very limited circumstances, a gain is taxed only if it is “realized” through a sale, exchange, or other disposition of the asset. …

We The People... Deserve Fair Taxes, Doron Narotzki, Tamir Shanan

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

In a world where economic inequality is deepening, tax law has emerged as one of the most powerful tools for shaping social justice. This Article explores how progressive taxation serves not only as a fiscal mechanism but as a reflection of societal values and the moral obligations of wealth. With legal methodologies such as Purposivism, Originalism, and Living Constitutionalism providing different interpretative lenses, this Article delves into the crucial discourse surrounding income, tax avoidance, deductions, and wealth taxation.

Through an analysis of real-world tax policies and legal precedents, the Article examines how these methodologies either perpetuate or challenge the current …

The Tax Home Doctrine: Fifty-Five Years Of Confusion, Carolyn Grahame Walker

Maine Law Review

Provisions of the Internal Revenue Code have always allowed taxpayers to deduct business expenses from their gross income before a personal income tax is imposed. Under certain circumstances, traveling expenses, such as amounts expended by taxpayers for travel fares, meals, and lodging, are deductible as business expenses. The United States Supreme Court has held that a taxpayer's traveling expenses must meet three conditions to be deductible under this section: the traveling expenses must be reasonable and necessary, directly related to the pursuit of business, and incurred while away from home. The third condition poses the most problems for taxpayers, the …

Get Your Act Together: The Alternative Fines Act In Federal Prosecutions Of Corporate Environmental Crimes, Josiah B. Harmar

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Revving Up Or Stalling Out? Examining The Effectiveness Of Electric Vehicles In Combating Climate Change, Meghan E. Miller Termat

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Re-Imagining Tomorrow: A Technology, Innovation Law, And Ethics Symposium On Addictive Technology And Children, Margaret Chon

Seattle University Law Review

In this Foreword, Professor Margaret Chon introduces Seattle University's Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) program, the 2024 TILE Symposium, and Dr. Gaia Bernstein’s Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies.

Keynote Address: The Movement To Protect Kids From Addictive Technologies, Gaia Bernstein

Seattle University Law Review

In this keynote address, I describe my personal journey starting with a school outreach program I created in 2017 to address technology overuse among kids. While I initially advocated for self-help methods, I grew to recognize that the tech industry bore responsibility. This realization led me to write Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, which focused on collective action to pressure the tech industry to redesign its addictive products.

I then describe the movement to control addictive technologies and protect kids, which has gained momentum since the end of the pandemic. This movement combines grassroots parent activism with legal-political action. …

Moral Panic Or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs And Gambling For “Addictive” Design, Matthew B. Lawrence, Haomin (Kevin) Yan

Seattle University Law Review

Alcohol, automobiles, guns, lottery, loot boxes, meat, music, opioid painkillers, processed foods, prop bets, slot machines, television, tobacco, violent video games. Over the last century each of these has been subject to concerns—some might even say “moral panics”—from parents and policymakers about avoidable harms to kids and adults. In some cases we look back with the benefit of hindsight and dismiss those concerns as naïve or moralistic. In others we look back at them as justified or as having come too late to check an expanding industry before it did unfathomable harm while growing so powerful that it became all …

Responding To Digital Addiction, Ned Snow

Seattle University Law Review

In Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, Professor Gaia Bernstein calls our attention to the growing problem of digital addiction. Digital addiction may sound like something out of a science-fiction novel or something that does not raise the same sort of real-life practical concerns as are present in a physical health crisis or an economic decline. But as Bernstein presents the evidence, we learn that the consequences of digital addiction can be just as harmful as a serious disease or a financial depression. Cognitive development disorders, anxiety, emotional depression, social isolation, and other mental health ills can be debilitating—as much …

The Ai Doppelgänger Dilemma: Cloned Voices In The Music Industry, Elizabeth Shields

Seattle University Law Review

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), there has been an influx of “voice clones”—deep-learning algorithms that create synthetic speech to realistically mimic human voices. Celebrities and, in particular, music artists, have been subjected to the proliferation of AI voice clones on social media platforms like TikTok and streaming platforms such as Spotify. Despite music utilizing AI voice clones having amassed much popularity, this technology can be harmful and highly invasive to musicians whose livelihoods often depend on their distinct voices. While legal scholars have attempted to articulate various rights that could protect a person’s voice, individuals are largely …

Let The Sunshine In: Crafting Constitutional Transparency Regulations For Content Moderation, Caitlin Ring Carlson

Seattle University Law Review

In response to public concern about the impact of social media, legislators in some U.S. states have developed laws to regulate the process of content moderation. Many include mandatory transparency and disclosure requirements, some of which courts have already deemed an unconstitutional infringement on social media platforms’ right to free expression. This article explores the parameters for crafting constitutional social media transparency regulations using existing U.S. media policy and insights from recent legal challenges. The resulting analysis identifies content neutral transparency requirements that mandate the disclosure of purely factual, non-controversial information as those most likely to withstand judicial scrutiny. Specifically, …

This Is Not A Game: The Addictive Allure Of Digital Companions, Nizan Geslevich Packin, Karni Chagal-Feferkorn

Seattle University Law Review

Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents have become an inescapable part of modern childhood, reshaping education, leisure activities, entertainment, and social interaction. From AI-powered tutors that adapt to individual learning styles to emotionally responsive chatbots that simulate human companionship, these systems promise unprecedented personalization, cognitive stimulation, and social support. However, these benefits mask significant risks that remain unregulated and inadequately addressed.

Although adults are also susceptible to forming deep emotional bonds with AI companions—often trusting them as if they possessed genuine understanding and empathy—children are particularly vulnerable. Their misplaced trust can more severely distort social development, weaken critical thinking, and foster unhealthy …

The Samuel & Ronnie Heyman Center On Corporate Governance Invites You To: Taxes Vs Tariffs, Heyman Center On Corporate Governance, Cardozo Business Law Society, Luís Calderón Gómez, Harlan Grant Cohen, Scott Maberry, Maria Celis, Gregory Spak

2025 Event Invitations

Market participants are preparing for the tax and trade policies pursued by the second Trump administration. Regarding taxes, proposals include making expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions permanent, ending green energy subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act, and exempting certain income from taxation. Proposed tariffs range from retaliatory measures-in-kind to targeting Chinese market participation to a universal 20% import tariff. On the campaign trail, the President often presented these proposals as part of a shift of financial burdens from domestic taxpayers to foreign companies. In a panel discussion with tax and trade experts, we will seek to determine the …

Reassessing Corporate Philanthropy From A Tax Perspective, David I. Walker

Faculty Scholarship

U.S. corporations make and deduct charitable contributions in excess of $20 billion annually. This Article reassesses corporate philanthropy from a tax perspective, asking first whether the federal tax subsidy for corporate philanthropy is greater than the subsidy for the alternative stakeholder philanthropy, as some commentators have previously found. The answer: it depends. The relative degree of subsidy depends on corporate and individual tax rates, obviously, but also on the incidence of corporate philanthropy, i.e., who bears the cost, which is generally unclear, as well as other details, such as whether individual stakeholders itemize deductions. At current tax rates, however, any …

Unveiling Injustice: An Analysis Of Irc Section 7430 And The Quest For Fairness In Taxpayer Administrative And Judicial Proceedings With The Irs, Kevin T. White, Tammy W. Cowart, Roger Lirely

Brooklyn Law Review

The American rule and doctrine of sovereign immunity are serious barriers affecting access to justice for individuals and small businesses. In this Article, we explore the legislative history of and evolution of the amendments to section 7430 of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows prevailing taxpayers in tax proceedings who meet certain substantive and procedural requirements to recover their attorneys’ fees and costs. We also examine in depth the requirements under section 7430 for recovering administrative and litigation costs, looking at select judicial decisions at how these requirements have been applied, including decisions applying the statutory limitations on attorneys’ fees …

Free Taxpayer Assistance Offered At Maurer School Of Law Through March, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Qualifying local taxpayers will have a helping hand navigating federal and state tax returns this spring, as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program will once again offer services at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Both U.S. and certain international taxpayers are eligible to utilize the services, which will run on Monday and Tuesdays from 6:30-9:30 p.m. beginning January 27 and running through March 25. Services will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in Room 121 on the first floor of the Law School (211 South Indiana Avenue).

VITA services will not be available the week of …