Tax Law Commons^™

Tax Morale, Erzo F. P. Luttmer, Monica Singhal

Dartmouth Scholarship

There is an apparent disconnect between much of the academic literature on tax compliance and the administration of tax policy. In the benchmark economic model, the key policy parameters affecting tax evasion are the tax rate, the detection probability, and the penalty imposed conditional on the evasion being detected. Meanwhile, tax administrators also tend to place a great deal of emphasis on the importance of improving "tax morale," by which they generally mean increasing voluntary compliance with tax laws and creating a social norm of compliance. We will define tax morale broadly to include nonpecuniary motivations for tax compliance as …

Heal The Suffering Children: Fifty Years After The Declaration Of War On Poverty, Francine J. Lipman, Dawn Davis

Scholarly Works

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the War on Poverty. Since then, the federal tax code has been a fundamental tool in providing financial assistance to poor working families. Even today, however, thirty-two million children live in families that cannot support basic living expenses, and sixteen million of those live in extreme poverty. This Article navigates the confusing requirements of an array of child-related tax benefits including the dependency exemption deduction, head of household filing status, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child Tax Credit. Specifically, this Article explores how altering the definition of a qualifying child …

How Should Governments Promote Distributive Justice?: A Framework For Analyzing The Optimal Choice Of Tax Instruments, David Gamage

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A particular methodology derived from public finance economics has become very influential in the legal literature on taxation and related topics. Sometimes called the “double-distortion” approach, this methodology forms the heart of Louis Kaplow’s book “The Theory of Taxation and Public Economics” and is also the foundation of prominent work by other leading tax legal scholars such as David Weisbach and James Hines.

This Article develops an extended critique of how the double-distortion approach has been used to make legal policy arguments. In doing so, this Article constructs a framework for analyzing how governments can optimally raise revenues and promote …

A Way Forward For Tax Law And Economics? A Response To Osofsky's "Frictions, Screening, And Tax Law Design", David Gamage

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Essay responds to Leigh Osofsky's, "Who’s Naughty and Who’s Nice? Frictions, Screening, and Tax Law Design." Osofsky’s analysis suggests that tax rules might be designed so as to take account both of heterogeneity in taxpayers’ tax planning proclivities and of taxpayer characteristics relevant for distribution. By designing tax rules so as to create frictions that differentially impose higher costs on those taxpayers who are more successfully circumventing existing taxes we can perhaps reform our tax system so as to better achieve equitable distribution at lower efficiency costs. This Essay argues that Osofsky's analysis is generally correct and that it …

A Technological Approach To Reforming Japan's Consumption Tax, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

Significant change has been forecast for the Japanese Consumption Tax. Revenue needs are pressing, and the Consumption Tax appears to be underutilized. Should the rate be doubled from 5% to 10%, or more? If so, will rate increases necessitate further structural changes – recasting this annual credit-subtraction levy into a European style credit-invoice VAT? These options have not proven to be politically palatable, but they are directions that have been under active consideration.

On October 1, 2013 the Japanese Cabinet Office announced that the Consumption Tax would rise from 5% to 8% effective April 1, 2014. The rate will increase …

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ira Administration For High Net Worth Clients And Their Beneficiaries -- Unique Challenges And Best Practices For Financial Institutions, Svetlana V. Bekman

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Killing Your Chances Of Inheriting: The Problem With The Application Of The Slayer Statute To Cases Of Assisted Suicide, Ryan Konsdorf, Scott Alden Prulhiere

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How To Draft Trusts To Own Retirement Benefits, Keith A. Herman

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Intermediary Clat Alternative To The Residuary Estate Family Foundation Gift, Richard S. Franklin, Jennifer A. Birchfield Goode

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Eliminate State Tax On Trust Income: A Comprehensive Update On Planning With Incomplete Gift Non-Grantor Trusts, Kevin R. Ghassomian

ACTEC Law Journal

Private letter rulings dating back to 2001 affirm various tax attributes of incomplete gift non-grantor trusts, known popularly as "DING Trusts," which have been used by taxpayers to relocate investments from high-tax states to no-tax states. In 2007, the Internal Revenue Service questioned the integrity of its rulings on the DING Trust and cast doubt on its continuing viability for tax planning purposes. After nearly six years of indecision, a flurry of favorable new rulings was released in March of 2013, restoring widespread confidence in the DING Trust as an option for taxpayers seeking relief from rising income tax rates. …

State Taxation Of Trusts And Their Beneficiaries When There Are Multiple State Contacts, John Mcgown Jr.

ACTEC Law Journal

This article examines the state income taxation of testamentary trusts and individual trust beneficiaries when there are multiple state contacts. For matters of illustration, the focus is on states comprising the Northwest Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Utah. Since three of these states have no individual income tax, essence of the inquiry is limited to the state income tax systems of Idaho, Utah, Montana, and Oregon. Although the focus is on states in the Northwest, the concept applies nationwide. Before moving on to an examination of the state taxation topic, a review of the basic federal system of …

Who's Naughty And Who's Nice? Frictions, Screening, And Tax Law Design, Leigh Osofsky

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Shrouded Remedy: Increasing Transparency In The Irs Advance Pricing And Mutual Agreement Program By Releasing Redacted Advance Pricing Agreements And Increasing Administrative Disclosures, Blake L. Currey

San Diego Law Review

This Comment examines the current state of the IRS’s handling of pricing agreements within the APMA Program, arguing that the IRS should improve the Program by increasing its transparency to coincide with the additional resources being devoted to the Program, the IRS’s elevating transfer pricing enforcement, and the modern valuation challenges in transfer pricing. Part II further introduces transfer pricing and the arm’s length standard, and Part III examines the recent performance of the APMA Program. Part IV explores the Program’s troubling lack of transparency. Part V analyzes the legal and financial interests implicated by improving the Program’s transparency, arguing …

Partnership Current Developments, Robert J. Crnkovich, Steven M. Friedman

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

Representing Clients In Audits And Controversies In Today’S Tax Enforcement Environment, Craig D. Bell, William L.S Rowe

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

I Want Out – Tax Considerations In Exiting A Partnership, James B. Sowell

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

Tax Reform In The 113th Congress: Insights And Analysis, Russell W. Sullivan

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

2013 Tax Conference Forms

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

2013 Tax Conference Speakers

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.