Taxation-State and Local Commons^™

Residential Tax Exemption Policies: Trends, Impacts And Future Options For Boston, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto

McCormack Graduate School General Publications (active until 2013)

This is an extensive report on residential tax exemption issues in the City of Boston with an evaluation of recently proposed revisions in current policies.

South Dakota Airplane Tax Hangs By A Technical Thread, Jeffrey S. Lehman

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

State And Local Taxation Of Financial Institutions:An Opportunity For Reform, C. James Judson, Susan G. Duffy

Vanderbilt Law Review

Forces at work in both public and private sectors may soon change the way state and local political subdivisions tax financial institutions. The market for financial services is changing dramatically. Governments have expanded substantially the scope of activities in which financial depositories may engage. The competitive environment for financial activities also is changing as general business corporations enter the financial services field, an area previously considered the exclusive domain of financial institutions. Financial institutions have increasing opportunities for interstate activity, which offers both risks and challenges. These changes have occurred during a period in which the extensive framework of state …

Significant Sales And Use Tax Developments During The Past Half Century, Jerome R. Hellerstein

Vanderbilt Law Review

Sales and use taxes have been the great growth taxes of state and local governments during the past half century. The general sales tax, along with selected levies on gasoline, tobacco, and liquor, has had phenomenal growth during the past fifty years. In 1932 only Mississippi imposed a general sales tax. It produced seven million dollars, less than one percent of Mississippi's total tax revenues. Taxes once introduced, however, tend to grow at least until widespread dissatisfaction leads to a taxpayers' revolt,such as California's Proposition 13' or the election of President Ronald Reagan and the ascendancy of political conservatism and …

Selected Issues In State Business Taxation, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

This Article surveys selected issues in state business taxation. The topics were chosen with the hope that they would be of general interest to the conference for which this Article originally was prepared. The Article therefore eschews the detailed case analysis that typifies much of the law review writing about state and local taxation--including my own--and focuses instead on broader policy and economic questions that those concerned with state business taxation should find no less important. Part II of this Article considers business taxes and state tax incentives. Part III discusses federal and state tax conformity. Part IV addresses a …

Legal Perspectives On The Interstate Incidence And Shifting Of State And Local Taxes, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

Lawyers, especially constitutional lawyers, have long been concerned with the problems associated with the interstate incidence and shifting of state and local taxes. The Constitution has frequently been invoked as a restraint on the states' power to levy taxes on persons, property, or activities outside their borders. Yet the lawyer's view of tax incidence embodied in these constitutional disputes often bears little resemblance to the economist's. In recent years, however, lawyers have sought to import economic concepts of shifting and incidence into the legal analysis of the constitutional limitations on the states' power to export tax burdens to residents of …

Political Perspectives On State And Local Taxation Of Natural Resources, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

This article investigates the questions that have dominated the political debate over state and local taxation of natural resources in the federal system. It seeks to identify areas of consensus, clarify points of disagreement, and examine proposals that could provide a basis for reconciling the competing concerns. Part I briefly considers the issues as they arise within the framework of the individual state. Part II addresses interstate and interregional conflict. Part III turns to the dialogue over the role, if any, that the federal government should play in mediating the disputes.

State Tax Reform For The Eighties: The New York Tax Study Commission, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

State And Federal Taxation Of Computer Software: A Functional Approach, 4 Computer L.J. 737 (1984), Christian E. Markey Iii

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Taxation, Wendel B. Turner

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Virginia Tax Laws Affecting Churches, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

This is the second of two articles dealing with external church law in Virginia. The first article was a restatement of all Virginia laws relating to churches except for the tax laws. The subject of taxes was reserved for special treatment at that time because of the volume of tax-related materials. For the most part these materials consist of the various constitutional and statutory taxation provisions relating to religious charities and the opinions of the Virginia Attorney General interpreting and applying these provisions. Attorney General opinions take on a special importance in this study because there is only a handful …

Future Issues Facing Boston: The Assessing Department, Janet L. Hunkel

McCormack Graduate School General Publications (active until 2013)

Taxpayers' opinions of municipal government often focus on the property tax. Taxpayers are stingy, and they are critical as to whether their money is purchasing competent services. For citizens to have faith that government is democratic, taxes must be equitable — everyone must pay their fair share. For government to function efficiently, tax administration must be efficient in order to support city services.

The property tax is a complex, difficult tax to administer; it is vulnerable to misuse. However, there have been recent, dramatic changes to the tax laws. Municipal government in Massachusetts now has the political and legal wherewithall …

Boston's Fiscal Future: Prognosis And Policy Options For 1984 To 1986, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto

McCormack Graduate School General Publications (active until 2013)

The finances of the City of Boston have been variously affected throughout its long history by regional and national economic cycles, by legal constraints and changes in the state-local tax system and by inter-municipal resource and expenditure disparities.

In more recent years, however, a series of tremors converged to propel Boston's seemingly chronic fiscal problem to the crisis stage. As inflation climbed to unprecedented double-digit levels, an overwhelming majority of the state's populace supported specific limits on property taxes, the primary source of municipal revenue. As a result, Boston was forced to reduce property tax levies by $144 million during …

Taxation, Charles D. Dunbar

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is Everyone Paying Their Fair Share--An Analysis Of Taxpayers' Actions To Equalize Taxes, Jane Moran

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Income Taxation Of Multijurisdictional Corporations, Part Ii: Reflections On Asarco And Woolworth, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

The first part of this Article, "State Income Taxation of Multijurisdictional Corporations: Reflections on Mobil, Exxon, and H.R. 5076" [79 Mich. L. Rev. 113], did not contemplate a sequel. The Supreme Court's decisions last term in two state corporate income tax cases, however, created an irresistible opportunity to write one. The Court's opinions in ASARCO and Woolworth picked up where its opinions in Mobil and Exxon left off. Yet the direction taken by these more recent decisions veers sharply from the course ostensibly set by their predecessors. This Article will consider the Court's latest pronouncements in this area in a …

State Income Taxation Of Multijurisdictional Corporations, Part Ii: Reflections On Asarco And Woolworth, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

The first part of this Article, State Income Taxation of Multiurisdictional Corporations: Reflections on Mobil, Exxon, and H A 5076, did not contemplate a sequel. The Supreme Court's decisions last term in two state corporate income tax cases, however, created an irresistible opportunity to write one. The Court's opinions in ASARC0 and Woolworth picked up where its opinions in Mobil and Exxon left off. Yet the direction taken by these more recent decisions veers sharply from the course ostensibly set by their predecessors. This Article will consider the Court's latest pronouncements in this area in a continuing if quixotic effort …

Reflections On Commonwealth Edison Co. V. Montana, Mike Mcgrath, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

On the final day of its 1980-81 term, the United States Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision in Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana, which sustained Montana's coal severance tax over commerce and supremacy clause objections. In a six-to-three decision, the Court upheld the right of the states to set their own tax rates without fear of judicial interference. The Court's conclusion was rooted in its recognition that the determination of the rate or amount of a state tax is fundamentally a political question, which "must be resolved through the political process . . . by state legislatures in …

Federal Limitations On State And Local Taxation, William R. Anderson

Vanderbilt Law Review

Federal Limitations on State and Local Taxation presents a central question about how usefully and how legitimately courts have dealt with the issues of state taxing powers. The United States Supreme Court has assumed a role as the principal architect of this component of federalism. State legislatures and tax officials have, of course, played roles, but they have always operated under the shadow of judicial doctrine. While Congress has not been wholly inactive, its role has been derivative, interstitial, and hesitant. Perhaps Congress' fact-finding role has been larger than its legislative role.'

Federal Tax Concepts As A Guide For State Apportionment Of Dividends, Richard Pomp, Rebecca S. Rudnick

Faculty Articles and Papers

In ASARCO, Inc. v. Idaho State Tax Commission, the Supreme Court rejected Idaho’s definition of income, and limited the apportionability of dividends, interest, and capital gains. The Court held that a unitary business relationship did not exist between ASARCO and the dividend payors, but did not address whether such a relationship was a sufficient precondition or a necessary one.

This article addresses two federal tax doctrines that may provide insight into state taxation of dividends: (1) the “effectively connected” doctrine, and (2) the Corn Products doctrine. The article first provides a detailed examination of the facts in ASARCO, and discusses …

Kentucky Law Survey: Taxation, Frederick W. Whiteside

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Taxation: Tribal Taxation, Secretarial Approval, And State Taxation--Merrion And Beyond, David B. Wiles

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Third Party Standing For Property Tax Assessments: Tug Valley Recovery Center, Inc. V. Mingo Cty. Comm'n, Kenneth P. Simons Ii

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Taxation In The Federal System: Perspectives On Louisiana's First Use Tax On Natural Gas, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

The Louisiana First Use Tax is presently the subject of no less than eleven judicial proceedings in state and federal courts, including an original action pending before the Supreme Court and the Special Master to whom the case has been assigned. Any attempt to evaluate in detail the merits of these various challenges to the Louisiana levy in light of the myriad and complex issues they raise would hardly be possible in this forum. Indeed, at this junction, any such undertaking would probably be premature in light of the fact that many of the legal and evidentiary issues raised by …

The Massachusetts Fiscal System: Structure And Performance, Padraig O'Malley, Raymond G. Torto

Center for Studies in Policy and the Public Interest Publications

On November 4, 1980 the citizens of Massachusetts, by a vote of 59% to 41%, resoundingly endorsed a tax reduction plan known as Proposition 2 1/2. All communities in the Commonwealth were faced with an immediate reduction in their local revenues due to the immediate cut in the excise tax that Proposition 2 1/2 called for, and up to 130 communities will have to implement a 15% reduction in their tax levies for FY 1982.

Already there are protestations from many local officials that they cannot make the required tax cuts without severely reducing the level of local services. The …

Qualifying Gifts Of Fractional Shares Of Illinois Land Trusts For The Present Interest Exclusion, 14 J. Marshall L. Rev. 717 (1981), Wallace J. Wolf

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Continuing Debate Over Tuition Tax Credits, Howard Hunter

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Prior to the end of World War II, the federal government had little involvement in educational matters. Since then it has become a principal benefactor of higher education and has provided substantial financial assistance to public elementary and secondary schools. In addition, the federal government has funded various programs for preschool education, for adult education, for the training of physically or mentally disabled persons, for student loans, for veterans' benefits and for numerous other educational programs. Thus education, once a matter for private control and support and for local and state government regulation has now become a matter of significant …

State Income Taxation Of Multijurisdictional Corporations: Reflections On Mobil, Exxon, And H.R. 5076, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

The state tax field is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. The Supreme court has displayed a renewed interest in the area, handing down an unusual number of significant decisions addressed to the constitutional restraints on state tax power. State courts have exhibited a similar revival of interest in these problems through an outpouring of uncharacteristically thoughtful opinions concerning state taxation of multistate and multinational enterprise. Congress, whose concern with state taxation of interstate and foreign commerce has been sporadic, is again considering legislation that would limit state taxing authority in these domains. Even the executive branch, which seldom intervenes in …

State Income Taxation Of Multijurisdictional Corporations: Reflections On Mobil, Exxon, And H.R. 5076, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

The state tax field is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. The Supreme Court has displayed a renewed interest in the area, handing down an unusual number of significant decisions addressed to the constitutional restraints on state tax power. State courts have exhibited a similar revival of interest in these problems through an out-pouring of uncharacteristically thoughtful opinions concerning state taxation of multistate and multinational enterprise. Congress, whose concern with state taxation of interstate and foreign commerce has been sporadic, is again considering legislation that would limit state taxing authority in these domains.

Even the executive branch, which seldom intervenes in …

Towards Solving The Double Taxation Dilemma Among Florida's Local Governments: The Municipal Service Taxation Unit, Katherine A. Emrich

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.