Tax Law Commons^™

Taxation Of Prepaid Tuition Plans And The 1997 Tax Provisions - Middle Class Panacea Or Placebo? Continuing Problems And Variations On A Theme, Eric A. Lustig

Akron Law Review

This article addresses the continuing tax issues and policies attendant to one form of financing the costs of higher education -- prepaid tuition plans. These plans generally allow one to purchase tuition in advance for future use. One attraction of such a plan is that the purchaser can lock in tuition at present rates, thus protecting against inflation and other tuition hikes. Moreover, favorable tax treatment exists as the build up of benefits is generally tax-free to the purchaser, which provides a significant advantage over other savings programs. Although prepaid tuition plans have been in existence for a number of …

Attacking Profit Shifting: The Approach Everyone Forgets, Jeffrey M. Kadet

Articles

No abstract provided.

Taxation Expatrition: Will The Fast Act Stop Wealthy Americans From Leaving The United States?, Beckett G. Cantley

Akron Law Review

In the wake of September 11, 2001, several influential lawmakers have sought to pass tax legislation that would reduce the tax benefits that may result from an American citizen expatriating to a foreign nation. According to these congressional critics, certain wealthy American citizens are willing to relinquish their United States citizenship to save taxes (“tax expatriates”). The last major attempt to prevent tax expatriation was undertaken in 1995 when Internal Revenue Code (“I.R.C.”) § 877 was enacted. Several congressional critics have charged that I.R.C. § 877 is being easily circumvented by tax expatriates and their advisors. To stem the tide …

Standing In The Mud: Hein V.Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc.

Akron Law Review

In 1968, in Flast v. Cohen, the Supreme Court first set forth the requirements that a plaintiff must satisfy to have standing to challenge a government action in federal court solely based on his or her status as a taxpayer. The subsequent history of taxpayer standing is littered with precedents supported by unclear reasoning. Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc. represents the Supreme Court’s latest effort to address the limits of taxpayer standing in an Establishment Clause challenge. Unfortunately, the Court in Hein maintained its tradition of providing perplexing decisions in taxpayer standing cases. In Hein, a plurality of …

Reforming The Regulation Of Political Advocacy By Charities: From Charity Under Siege To Charity Under Rescue?, Adam Parachin

Chicago-Kent Law Review

A newly elected liberal federal government in Canada has pledged to reform the legal distinction between charity and politics. This paper provides context to this reform initiative, linking it to a controversial political activities audit program funded by the former conservative federal government. It identifies three distorting ideas about charity—that charity can be understood as a tax expenditure, economic or neutral concept—that should be eschewed in the reform process. It also identifies three characteristics of charity—the capacity of charities for thought leadership, the pervasiveness of messaging in charitable programming and the distinctiveness of charity and government—that should guide reformers.

Exile To Main Street: The I.R.S.'S Diminished Role In Overseeing Tax-Exempt Organizations, Evelyn Brody, Marcus Owens

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Internal Revenue Service’s post-Citizens United approach to political activity by would-be tax-exempt organizations has threatened the financial health of the entire agency. Suffering from a siege mentality in the best of times, the IRS predictably and understandably responded to the asserted “scandal” by retreating into a shell of bureaucratic reshuffling, management mumbo-jumbo, and paper moving. A fresh cadre of senior management lacking relevant experience has overhauled the exempt-organization function and emphasized granting recognition of exemption now and (possibly) asking questions later. The new self-certification process of exemption for small charities could also be setting the agency up for the …

European Non-Profit Oversight: The Case For Regulating From The Outside In, Oonagh B. Breen

Chicago-Kent Law Review

When it comes to the regulation of non-profits, the European Commission experiences many of the same pressures and constraints faced by national charity regulators. It suffers, however, from an added disadvantage in that, arguably, it lacks jurisdictional competence to regulate non-profits qua non-profits. This article explores the consequences of the Commission’s unsuccessful attempt to secure the passage of its proposal for a European Foundation Statute (“EFS”). Notwithstanding the European Council’s inability to muster the necessary Member State unanimity required to pass the proposal and its subsequent demise, the Commission is still dogged by the problems it identified as giving rise …

Australia – Two Political Narratives And One Charity Regulator Caught In The Middle, Myles Mcgregor-Lowndes

Chicago-Kent Law Review

After two decades of debate about the regulation of the nonprofit sector, Australia established a national charity regulator in December 2012. The creation of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (“ACNC”) had as one of its objectives to reduce red tape, and to increase clarity by enacting a statutory definition of charity. Less than two years later, a new government proposed to abolish the ACNC, also in the name of reducing red tape. There appears to be a paradox—or at least diametrically opposed views about red tape reduction and how it can be achieved. With the government nearly two-thirds through …

The Charity Commission For England And Wales: A Fine Example Or Another Fine Mess?, Debra Morris

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The ability of the Charity Commission for England and Wales to regulate the charitable sector effectively has been repeatedly called into question in recent years. At the same time, public sector funding cuts have led to its budget being almost halved in real terms since 2007/08. Numerous official reviews and inquiries into its effectiveness have highlighted its weaknesses and raised concerns about it failing to take sufficient action to prevent abuses of charitable status. In response to the Commission’s claims that it lacks sufficient legal powers to deal with such abuse, new legislation has been passed which will fill some …

Politics, Disclosure, And State Law Solutions For 501(C)(4) Organizations, Linda Sugin

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, there has been an explosion in section 501(c)(4) organizations active in politics. Unable to effectively process applications, the IRS mishandled organizations with conservative political ties, producing a scandal from which the agency has yet to recover. It proposed regulations that would have helped it more easily determine eligibility for 501(c)(4) exemption, but after massive public outcry, the regulations were withdrawn. No new regulations will be proposed before the 2016 presidential election.

Given the federal government’s inability to address the problem of dark money politicking by 501(c)(4) organizations through …

Fragmented Oversight Of Nonprofits In The United States: Does It Work? Can It Work?, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The United States is well known for its distinctive, although not unique, division of political authority between the federal government and the various states. This division is particularly evident when it comes to oversight of nonprofit organizations. The historical focus of federal government oversight has been limited primarily to qualification for tax exemption and other tax benefits, with more plenary power resting with state authorities. Over time, however, the federal government’s role has come to overlap significantly with that of the states, and many nonprofits have become subject to regulation by multiple states as their operations and donor bases expand …

Profiles - Ucan’S New Campus Construction Project, Chicago, Illinois, James Hagy, Sahar Nikanjam

Rooftops Project

Funding and constructing a new $41 million facility may be a once-in-a-generation, if ever, event, for many social service not-for-profits. Choosing a site that invests directly in the neighborhood and the people served can have ripple effects far beyond the central purpose of the delivery of services the buildings are designed to support. The Rooftops Project’s Sahar Nikanjam and Professor James Hagy walked the site of UCAN’s new campus construction under way in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago.

Se(C)(3): A Catalyst For Social Enterprise Crowdfunding, Dana Brakman Reiser, Steven A. Dean

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Contemporary Tax Journal Volume 5, No. 1 – Spring/Summer 2015

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

Se(C)(3): A Catalyst For Social Enterprise Crowdfunding, Dana Brakman Reiser, Steven A. Dean

Faculty Scholarship

The emerging consensus among scholars rejects the notion of tax breaks for social enterprises, concluding that such prizes will attract strategic claimants, ultimately doing more harm than good The SE(c)(3) regime proposed by this Article offers entrepreneurs and investors committed to combining financial returns and social good with a means of broadcasting that shared resolve. Combining a measured tax benefit for mission-driven activities with a heightened burden on shareholder financial gains, the revenue-neutral SE(c)(3) regime would provide investors and funding platforms with a low-cost means of screening out "greenwashed" ventures.

Realsim Over Formalism And The Presumption Of Constitutionality: Chief Justice Roberts' Opinion Upholding The Individual Mandate, Wilson Huhn

Akron Law Review

In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding vote to uphold the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Speaking for the Court in Part IIIC of his opinion, Roberts found that the individual mandate was properly enacted pursuant to the General Welfare Clause. Two aspects of his opinion in particular drove this result. In deciding whether the individual mandate constitutes a “tax” within the meaning of the Constitution, the Chief Justice engaged in realistic analysis rather than legal formalism. In addition, Roberts reasoned that, if fairly possible, the statute had to be …

It’S Not That Difficult: The Shared Economic Growth Solution To Tax Reform, Matthew Lykken

Pace Law Review

In this article, I outline the latest version of the Shared Economic Growth package proposal and explain how it accomplishes all of its goals, with reference to some of the recent scholarly works that support it. I then walk through the derivation of the numbers to show that it really works, based on conservative assumptions and without any reliance on economic growth or voodoo, and that it would provide a substantial addition to revenue in the coming years. These numbers are based on 2010 data, the most recent comprehensive data available, and thus prove that the proposal works in the …

How The Über-Wealthy Benefit From Investing Outside Retirement Plans (And How You Can Too), Sergio Pareja

Catholic University Law Review

Current law incentivizes the use of traditional retirement plans, but those plans may not actually produce the best long-term tax situation for the taxpayer. The stepped-up basis at death does not apply to what is known as “income in respect of a decedent” (IRD). Generally, IRD is income that cannot be assigned from one person to another for income tax purposes. This includes pre-tax income set aside in a traditional employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan, as well as contributions to a deductible individual retirement account (IRA). Thus, stock held within a traditional employer-sponsored retirement plan or a …

Income Tax Treatment Of Same-Sex Couples: Windsor Vs State Marriage Bans, Samantha Schmid

Marquette Law Review

In 1996 the United States Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which codified the federal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. But in 2013 the United States Supreme Court struck down this definition of marriage and, for the first time, the federal government began recognizing same-sex marriages. However, many states, including Wisconsin, continued to have state bans on same-sex marriage, and many of these bans have recently been challenged in state and federal courts. The effect of this has been a patchwork of laws that provide same-sex couples different rights based upon the state in …

The Development Of Foreign Investment Law In Egypt And Its Effect On Private Foreign Investment, George E. Bushnell Iii

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.