Taxation-State and Local Commons^™

Tax Complexity And Technology, David I. Walker

Indiana Law Journal

The Federal Income Tax Code has become increasingly complex over time with the implication that many taxpayers no longer understand the connection between their life decisions and their taxes. Some commentators have suggested that increasing computational complexity may be attributable in part to the proliferation of tax preparation software that renders such complexity manageable at filing time, but otherwise does nothing to mitigate the “black box” nature of the tax system. While such complexity and opacity undercut explicit incentives embedded in the Code, make planning more difficult, and undermine political accountability for taxes, they may also reduce the inefficient distortion …

Phased Mark-To-Market For Billionaire Income Tax Reforms, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this installment of Academic Perspectives on SALT, Gamage and Shanske advocate for phased mark-to-market as a mechanism for reforming the taxation of investment gains of billionaires and megamillionaires.

Front Matter (Letter From The Editor, Masthead, Etc.)

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

The Pain Of Paying Taxes, Gary M. Lucas Jr

Faculty Scholarship

With a few caveats, standard economic models assume that, from society’s perspective, the payment of a tax constitutes a costless transfer from the taxpayer to the government. The financial loss to the taxpayer is exactly offset by the financial gain to the government, which can use the resulting tax revenue for the benefit of its citizens. In other words, paying taxes forces taxpayers to forgo private consumption, but the resulting loss in utility can be counterbalanced by an increase in utility from government spending. In fact, if the government spends wisely on beneficial public goods that are undersupplied by private …

Federally Mandated Online Sales Tax: A Logistical Solution For The Future Of E-Commerce, Daniel O'Connor

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Economic Structural Transformation And Litigation: Evidence From Chinese Provinces, To Economic Change And Restructuring, Doug Bujakowski, Joan Schmit

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The "Business Interruption" Insurance Coverage Conundrum: Covid-19 Presents A Challenge, Paul E. Traynor

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Misalighned Incentives In Markets: Envisioning Finance That Benefits All Of Society, Dr. Ryan Clements

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter (Letter From The Editor, Masthead, Etc.)

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

Monsanto: Creator Of Cancer Liability

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Corporate Response To Controversial Presidential Statements Or Policies

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Weathering State And Local Budget Storms: Fiscal Federalism With An Uncooperative Congress, David Gamage, Darien Shanske, Gladriel Shobe, Adam Thimmesch

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Throughout most of 2020, state and local governments faced severe budget crises as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased demand for state welfare services and rising state expenses related to controlling the spread of COVID-19 stretched state and local budgets to their breaking points. At the same time, layoffs, business closures, and social distancing measures reduced states’ primary sources of tax revenues. The traditional practice of American fiscal federalism is for the federal government to step in to provide aid during a national emergency of this magnitude, because state and local governments lack the federal government’s monetary and fiscal …

Restricting Funeral Expense Deductions, William A. Drennan

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

During the Middle Ages, the wealthy often requested burial in mass graves with their fellow mortals, as a sign of humility. But since the rise of the cult of the individual during the Renaissance, individual burial plots have been an expression of prestige, wealth, and social status for some. For example, Leona Helmsley, real estate baroness and “Queen of Mean,” dedicated $3 million upon her death for the care and maintenance of her 1300 square foot, $1.4 million mausoleum. Respectful disposition of the body is a hallmark of civilization and a common law requirement of estate administration, but an extravagant …

Broken Infrastructure, Del C. Wright Jr.

Faculty Works

This article examines the cryptocurrency-related provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, focusing on amendments to the Internal Revenue Code that expand tax reporting and surveillance obligations for digital assets. Specifically, it analyzes the new “Broker” and “Tax” provisions, which extend reporting requirements beyond traditional financial intermediaries to actors in the blockchain ecosystem who may lack access to the necessary data. The article situates these provisions within the broader regulatory and political context, tracing their roots to prior Treasury rulemaking efforts and exploring their intended role in closing the “tax gap.” It highlights the significant compliance challenges, …

Workplace Transformation And Its Tax Compliance Implications, Jay A. Soled

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Front Matter (Letter From The Editor, Masthead, Etc.)

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

Collecting Medical Debt Through South Carolina's Setoff Debt Collection Program: How It Works And Why It Doesn't, Dixie N. Mccollum

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reframing Taxigration In The Search For Tax Justice, Jacqueline Lainez Flanagan

Journal Articles

The Search for Tax Justice is a Tax Notes State series examining the inequities inherent in state and federal taxes. In this installment, Jacqueline Laínez Flanagan, associate professor of law and director of the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law Tax Clinic, discusses tax challenges faced by immigrants and responds to myths about the undocumented taxpayer community.

The Spirit Is Willing: A Proposal For American Single Malt Whiskey, Raymond Cleaveland

Seattle University Law Review

Over the past twenty-five years, small, independent American distilleries have carved out a new niche in the United States liquor market: craft single malt whiskey. Inspired by the success of single malt Scotch and other single malts, American craft distillers are now fighting for their own shelf behind the bar and in the liquor store aisle. In 2018, a cadre of these distillers petitioned the U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to formally recognize a new category of whiskey in the Code of Federal Regulations: American Single Malt Whiskey. For purposes of consumer protection, the Treasury …

The Carbon Price Equivalent: A Metric For Comparing Climate Change Mitigation Efforts Across Jurisdictions, Gabriel Weil

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Climate change presents a global commons problem: Emissions reductions on the scale needed to meet global targets do not pass a domestic cost-benefit test in most countries. To give national governments ample incentive to pursue deep decarbonization, mutual interstate coercion will be necessary. Many proposed tools of coercive climate diplomacy would require a onedimensional metric for comparing the stringency of climate change mitigation policy packages across jurisdictions. This article proposes and defends such a metric: the carbon price equivalent. There is substantial variation in the set of climate change mitigation policy instruments implemented by different countries. Nonetheless, the consequences of …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Fictitiously Overstating Taxable Income, Stanley Veliotis

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

New York’S Proposed Mark-To-Market Tax Decouples From Federal Tax, Henry Ordower

All Faculty Scholarship

A proposal decouples NY from federal tax computations to tax billionaires on unrealized appreciation. If enacted, the proposal generates basis discontinuities across borders but enhances state revenue and may prove attractive to many states. The article reviews how states seek to enhance revenues and considers issues of cross-border taxation and the fundamental right to travel.

For Richer Or Poorer: Incentivizing Meaningful Investments In Qualified Opportunity Zones, Monica L. Keo

Seattle University Law Review

The wealth disparity in the United States is nothing new. Many have proposed wealth taxes and higher tax rates for large corporations to address income inequality; however, these proposals have been criticized as tax programs that are difficult to administer. Congress passed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017 and created a new investment vehicle known as the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ). The QOZ program incentivizes private investors to invest their capital gains in exchange for a reduction in capital gains tax. The underlying idea of the QOZ program is to utilize a new tool designed to spur …

A Major Simplification Of The Oecd’S Pillar 1 Proposal, Michael J. Graetz

Faculty Scholarship

In this report, Graetz suggests major modifications to the OECD’s pillar 1 blueprint proposal to create a new taxing right for multinational digital income and some product sales that would greatly simplify the proposal. The modifications rely on readily available existing financial information and would achieve certainty in the application of pillar 1, while adhering to its fundamental structure and policies.

How The State And Federal Tax Systems Operate To Deny Educational Opportunities To Minorities And Other Lower Income Students, Camilla E. Watson

Scholarly Works

The importance of education cannot be overstated. Education is a core principle of the American Dream, and as such, it is the ticket to a better paying job, homeownership, financial security, and a better way of life. Education is the key factor in reducing poverty and inequality and promoting sustained national economic growth. But while the U.S. Supreme Court has referred to education as "perhaps the most important function of the state and local governments," it has nevertheless stopped short of declaring education a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution. As a consequence, because education is not considered a fundamental …

Information Matters In Tax Enforcement, Leandra Lederman, Joseph C. Dugan

BYU Law Review

Most scholars recognize both that the government needs information about taxpayers’ transactions to determine whether their reporting is honest, and that third third-party reporting helps the government obtain that information. Given governments’ reliance on tax collections, it would be risky to think that information or third third-party reporting is not needed by tax agencies. However, a recent article by Professor Wei Cui asserts that “modern governments can practice ‘taxation without information.’” Professor Cui’s argument rests on two claims: (1) “giving governments effective access to taxpayer information through third parties does not explain the success of modern tax administration” because, he …

Enough Is As Good As A Feast, Noah C. Chauvin

Seattle University Law Review

Ipse Dixit, the podcast on legal scholarship, provides a valuable service to the legal community and particularly to the legal academy. The podcast’s hosts skillfully interview guests about their legal and law-related scholarship, helping those guests communicate their ideas clearly and concisely. In this review essay, I argue that Ipse Dixit has made a major contribution to legal scholarship by demonstrating in its interview episodes that law review articles are neither the only nor the best way of communicating scholarly ideas. This contribution should be considered “scholarship,” because one of the primary goals of scholarship is to communicate new ideas.

Mandatory Tax Penalty Insurance, Michael Abramowicz

Indiana Law Journal

In a mandatory tax penalty insurance regime, taxpayers would be required to find insurers to certify portions of their tax returns. A certifying insurer would be subject to a governmental auditing regime insurers of randomly selected filings would pay an amount equal to the inverse of the selection probability multiplied by the underpayment, or they would receive money from the government in the case of overpayment. The insurers function as private auditors with no incentive to underestimate their customers' tax liability. Such a regime will consume real resources, ultimately paid by taxpayers, and thus should not be imposed universally. But …

The Case For State Borrowing As A Response To The Current Crisis, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The coronavirus pandemic is a national emergency that requires a national response. Asking states to absorb the budgetary losses caused by the pandemic while they are tasked with providing essential frontline services is comparable to asking states during World War II to pay for the landing in Normandy.

This article is a contribution to Project SAFE: State Action in Fiscal Emergencies. We have already argued, more than once, that the federal government should borrow to prevent steep state and local budget cuts. But because the federal government will apparently not take sufficient action, we offer these ideas to states for …