Tax Law Commons^™

Revising The Tax Law: The Tcja And Its Place In The History Of Tax Reform, Jennifer Bird-Pollan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Tax reform in the United States seems like a nearly unending process.

Despite this nearly constant tweaking of the law, there has not been a major

revision of the tax law in the U.S. since the bipartisan efforts that led to the

1986 tax reform. The law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (or "TCJA")

of 2017 (which most commentators continue to call it, and which title I will

use here, although the title was not formally enacted as part of the bill, leaving

the bill without an official name) represents the first major piece of tax

legislation …

Back To The Future: Marriage And Divorce Under The 2017 Tax Act, Mark W. Cochran

Faculty Articles

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the 2017 Tax Act) significantly altered the federal tax consequences of marriage and divorce by mostly eliminating the so-called "marriage penalty" from the individual income tax rates and abolishing the deduction for alimony payments. These changes represent the latest congressional tinkering with issues that have persisted since the earliest days of the modem income tax, turning back the clock with regard to taxation for both married and divorced couples. For the first time, since the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1969, the rate brackets for married taxpayers filing joint returns …

Wealth Accumulation At Elite Colleges, Endowment Taxation, And The Unlikely Story Of How Donald Trump Got One Thing Right, Mae C. Quinn

Journal Articles

President Donald Trump has· declared war on immigrants, diversity, and those who dare to dissent. Rooted in resentments about who people are, where they were born, and what they believe, these executive-led assaults are dangerous developments in the modern era. However, in the course of Trump's many retrograde tirades, he has somehow managed to get one thing right-too many elite private colleges in the United States, considered nonprofit entities, have amassed way too much wealth. This Article recounts this unlikely story, including how the Trump Administration's 2017 endowment tax could work to advance diversity. The new endowment tax penalizes private …

Section 1031 Exchanges And The 20 Percent Business Deduction Under Irc Section 199a, Bradley T. Borden

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Magical Thinking And Trusts, Bridget J. Crawford

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

At a time of monumental economic inequality in the United States, wealthy individuals and their tax-motivated behavior have come under significant scrutiny from all corners. In 2019, the Supreme Court issued its first major ruling in over sixty years on the state income taxation of trusts. In North Carolina Department of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, the Court declined to close what some critics consider to be a major loophole that benefits the trusts that wealthy individuals create for family members. This Article makes two principal claims—one interpretative and the other normative. This Article explains why the …

Identifying Illegal Subsidies, Ruth Mason

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Myth Vs. Reality: Airbnb And Its Voluntary Tax Collection Efforts, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

In this report, Professor Pomp debunks the claims presented in several reports commissioned by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (Hotel Association). Despite hotel profits reaching all time highs, the Hotel Association has continued to attack Airbnb.

Part I serves as an introduction to Airbnb and its solution to an administrative challenge confronted by tax jurisdictions. Airbnb operates a platform that links guests looking for short-term rental opportunities with hosts offering such services.

There are potentially millions of hosts who are unaware that they are subject to municipal taxes on short-term rentals. Municipalities lack the resources required to track down …

The Futility Of Walls: How Traveling Corporations Threaten State Sovereignty, Darren Rosenblum

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Inversions--mergers in which one firm merges with another abroad to avoid taxes in its home country--have spread as globalization has reduced many of the transactional costs associated with relocating. As firms acquire the power to choose the laws that govern them, they challenge the sovereignty of nation-states, who find their ability to tax and regulate firms depleted. States and firms compete in a game of cat and mouse to adapt to this new global reality. The subversion of state power by these firms reveals the futility of walls, both literal and regulatory. This Essay describes the phenomenon of these “traveling …

Ministerial Magic: Tax-Free Housing And Religious Employers, Bridget J. Crawford, Emily Gold Waldman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Religious organizations enjoy many of the same benefits that other non-profit organizations do. Churches, temples and mosques, for example, generally are exempt from local real estate taxes. Economically speaking, a tax exemption has the same effect as a subsidy; freedom from tax liability means that the organization can devote its financial resources to other activities. But where an exemption afforded to a religious employee is broader than the equivalent exemption available to a secular employee, a significant Establishment Clause concern is raised. The parsonage exemption of Internal Revenue Code Section 107 presents such an issue: ministers are permitted to exclude …

Bc Ranch Ii V. Commissioner: A Flexible Approach To Perpetual Conservation Easements, Victoria Wolfe

Indiana Law Journal

Depending on the approach used in enforcement, there is the potential to encourage or discourage charitable donations of conservation easements. In Part I, this Note explores the federal charitable income tax deduction for conservation easements and the legislative purpose in enacting the perpetuity requirements. Part II examines the Fifth Circuit’s decision in BC Ranch II and the flexible approach to perpetuity adopted by the court. Finally, Part III considers the implications of the BC Ranch II decision, specifically authority to monitor conservation easements, valuation gaming of easements in the context of perpetuity, and congressional intent in allowing the conservation easement …

Called To Serve: Elevating Human-Performed Caregiver And Volunteer Work In An Era Of Ai-Robotic Technologies, Hilary G. Escajeda

Journal Articles

Although the status quo of the traditional female caregiver has managed to muddle forward, it may begin to unwind as increasingly capable technologies dislodge humans from full-time employment and compel a redefinition of valuable work. Given this backdrop, this Essay seeks to open a dialogue for developing thoughtful, modem tax policies. Part I outlines the vocational endeavors of historically female community members who serve as caregivers and social volunteers. Next, Part II summarizes the economic value of volunteer and caregiver services. Part III examines whether tax policies should adopt a more expansive definition of beneficial occupations, as artificial intelligence (AI) …

Continuity As The Key To Reform Of Section 355, Charlene Luke

UF Law Faculty Publications

There can be little doubt that Internal Revenue Code (Code) section 355 is overly complex; the piecemeal adjustments spanning multiple decades could serve as exemplars of the potential pitfalls of incremental reform. Revisions to section 355 have tended to be under- or over-inclusive because they are reactive to particular deals, yet they leave largely intact older structures that dealt with different deals. The result is a jumble of provisions that fail to implement a coherent, principled approach to the tax treatment of corporate divisions. In Reform of Section 355, Bret Wells urges changing Code section 355 to focus on the …

Can Gilti + Beat = Globe?, Mindy Herzfeld

UF Law Faculty Publications

The OECD is moving forward with consideration of a minimum tax as part of its solution to taxation of the digital economy. Part of a template for such a minimum tax may be the version enacted by the United States (US) in 2017 as an expansion of its Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) regime, known as Global Intangible Low Taxed Income (GILTI). But the OECD version will undoubtedly be different from the US iteration. It’s likely that it would also include some aspects of a minimum tax being proposed by other OECD members such as Germany and France, namely a tax …

2018 Survey Of Rhode Island Case Law

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: International Tax Policy: Between Competition And Cooperation, Yariv Brauner

UF Law Faculty Publications

The author reviews International Tax Policy: Between Competition and Cooperation. By Tsilly Dagan. Cambridge Tax Law Series, 2018.

This Is Our House! - The Tax Man Comes To College Sports, Kathryn Kisska-Schulze

Marquette Sports Law Review

None

The Religious Roots Of The Progressive Income Tax In America, Joshua Cutler

Catholic University Law Review

I examine the debate over the first peacetime income tax in the United States in 1894 to investigate the role of religion in enacting the tax and providing moral legitimacy. I find that congressional proponents repeatedly and explicitly argued that a progressive income tax was a biblical tax that best conformed to Judeo-Christian teachings on economics and fundraising. I discuss the history of American religious fundraising practices, including the trend leading up to 1894 that advocated for proportionate giving of income as the best method of giving, as well as the related tithing movement. I document that congressional income tax …

Assessing The Potential Impacts Of The Tax Reform For Acceleration And Inclusion And The Build Build Build Program, Caesar Cororaton, Marites Tiongco, Justin S. Eloriaga

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act has prompted key changes in the personal income tax regime through excise taxes on most goods such as petroleum, sugar-sweetened beverages, and automobiles. The TRAIN was implemented to generate funds for the Build Build Build (BBB) program and at the same time to address income inequality and poverty. This paper aims to assess the potential growth, poverty, and distributional effects of the TRAIN Package 1 and the BBB Program using a computable general equilibrium model with poverty simulation. Results suggest that TRAIN I has prompted additional revenue in social programs and …

The Philippine Sin Tax Reform Law: Is It Effective In Reducing Cigarette Consumption?, Jesson A. Pagaduan, Myrna S. Austria

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The Philippine government should continue the increase in excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco products to sustain the impact of the Sin Tax Reform Law (2012) in lowering tobacco consumption in the country. This Policy Brief explains why the policy measure is significant and offers recommendations where the government can further intensify the impact of the tax policy reform.

Current Tax Reading, Robin Boadway, Kim Brooks, Jinyan Li, Alan Macnaughton

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The Canadian Tax Journal publishes research in, and informed comment on, taxation and public finance, with particular relevance to Canada. To this end, the journal invites interested parties to submit manuscripts for possible publication as peer-reviewed articles, and it especially welcomes work that contributes to the analysis, design, and implementation of tax policies.