Reducing Information Gaps To Reduce The Tax Gap: When Is Information Reporting Warranted?,
2010
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Reducing Information Gaps To Reduce The Tax Gap: When Is Information Reporting Warranted?, Leandra Lederman
Articles by Maurer Faculty
A core problem for enforcement of tax laws is asymmetric information. The taxpayer knows the facts regarding the relevant transactions it engages in during the year-or at least has ready access to that information. The government is forced to play catch-up, obtaining that information either from the taxpayer or from third parties. Information reporting is routinely used to address this information gap. The government obtains information about the taxpayer's tax situation from a third party and-equally important-the taxpayer knows that the government has received that information. This fosters taxpayer honesty. Information reporting is not a panacea, however. It imposes costs …
Gain From The Sale Of An Income Interest In A Trust,
2010
University of Michigan Law School
Gain From The Sale Of An Income Interest In A Trust, Douglas A. Kahn
Articles
A tax doctrine that is related to the anticipatory assignment of income doctrine, but yet different from that doctrine is variously referred to as the "substitute for ordinary income doctrine" or the "anticipation of income doctrine." This latter doctrine arises on the sale of an item. The test often utilized to determine whether that latter doctrine applies is whether the sale of an item substantively represents the receipt of a substitute for future income - i.e., are the proceeds of the sale given "in lieu of" ordinary income that the seller would have otherwise received at a later date. The …
Recent Developments In Federal Income Taxation: The Year 2009,
2010
University of Florida Levin College of Law
Recent Developments In Federal Income Taxation: The Year 2009, Martin J. Mcmahon Jr., Ira B. Shepard, Daniel L. Simmons
UF Law Faculty Publications
This article discusses, and provides context to understand the significance of, the most important judicial decisions and administrative rulings and regulations promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department during 2008 – and sometimes a little farther back in time if the authors find the item particularly humorous or outrageous. Most Treasury Regulations, however, are so complex that they cannot be discussed in detail and, anyway, only a devout masochist would read them all the way through; just the basic topic and fundamental principles are highlighted. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code generally are discussed to the extent that …
The Misuse Of Textualism: A Further Reply To Prof. Kahn,
2010
Georgetown University Law Center
The Misuse Of Textualism: A Further Reply To Prof. Kahn, Stephen B. Cohen
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Because readers have already endured four articles, two by me and two by Prof. Douglas A. Kahn, debating the meaning of section 67(e)(1), I am reluctant to respond to Prof. Kahn’s rejoinder, which appeared in the January 18 issue of Tax Notes. Nevertheless, our disagreement implicates the judicial craft of two U.S. Supreme Court members, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. I therefore feel it important to answer Prof. Kahn’s latest contentions, recognizing my duty to be as brief as possible.
Foreword: On Publishing Anonymously,
2010
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Foreword: On Publishing Anonymously, Anthony C. Infanti
Articles
In this foreword to the fall 2010 issue of the Pittsburgh Tax Review, I explain the troubling set of circumstances that led to our decision to publish one of the articles anonymously. All of the articles in this issue share a focus on suggestions for state and local tax reform in Pennsylvania. The circumstances surrounding the decision to publish this one article anonymously raise a host of questions regarding the extent to which tax professionals are free to make suggestions for tax reform without being subject to employer censorship.
An Arm's Length Solution To The Shareholder Loan Tax Puzzle,
2010
University of Colorado Law School
An Arm's Length Solution To The Shareholder Loan Tax Puzzle, Wayne M. Gazur
Publications
No abstract provided.
A Comprehensive Theory Of Deal Structure: Understanding How Transactional Structure Creates Value,
2010
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
A Comprehensive Theory Of Deal Structure: Understanding How Transactional Structure Creates Value, Michael S. Knoll, Daniel M. G. Raff
All Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
The Attack On Nonprofit Status: A Charitable Assessment,
2010
University of Michigan Law School
The Attack On Nonprofit Status: A Charitable Assessment, James R. Hines Jr., Jill R. Horwitz, Austin Nichols
Articles
American nonprofit organizations receive favorable tax treatment, including tax exemptions and tax-deductibility of contributions, in return for their devotion to charitable purposes and restrictions not to distribute profits. Recent efforts to extend some or all of these tax benefits to for-profit companies making social investments, including the creation of the new hybrid nonprofit/for-profit company form known as the Low-Profit Limited Liability Company, threaten to undermine the vitality of the nonprofit sector and the integrity of the tax system. Reform advocates maintain that the ability to compensate executives based on performance and to distribute profits when attractive investment opportunities are scarce …
Of Coase, Calabresi, And Optimal Tax Liability,
2010
University of Michigan Law School
Of Coase, Calabresi, And Optimal Tax Liability, Kyle D. Logue, Joel Slemrod
Articles
The Article proceeds as follows. Part II offers a primer on the Coase Theorem, beginning with the classic case of neighbor externalizing on neighbor (farmer and rancher), and it explains the basic invariance propositions. Part III shifts the focus to Coasean situations involving buyers and sellers in a market or contractual relationship, buyers and sellers whose market interactions cause harm to third parties. Using supply-and-demand diagrams, we illustrate (in a new way) some of the most basic findings of the economic analysis of law, including both the Coasean invariance and efficiency propositions and the Calabresian least-cost avoider idea. Also in …
Between Formulary Apportionment And The Oecd Guidelines: A Proposal For Reconciliation,
2010
University of Michigan Law School
Between Formulary Apportionment And The Oecd Guidelines: A Proposal For Reconciliation, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Articles
In the last 30 years, a debate has been raging in international tax circles between advocates of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and the arm’s length standard (ALS) they embody, on the one hand, and advocates of formulary apportionment (FA) on the other. After the adoption of the 1995 regulations and the new OECD Guidelines, the debate became quieter for a while, because everyone was waiting to see whether the issue had been resolved. However, while there have been few decided cases, it is clear by now that the transfer pricing problem is as bad as it ever was. That …
Summary And Recommendations (Symposium On Designing A Federal Vat, Part I),
2010
University of Michigan Law School
Summary And Recommendations (Symposium On Designing A Federal Vat, Part I), Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
Articles
For the past thirty-five years, the debate on fundamental tax reform in the United States has centered on whether some type of consumption tax would replace all or part of the federal income tax. In my opinion, this debate has now been decided. Given recent budgetary developments and the impending eligibility of the baby boom generation for Social Security and Medicare, we cannot dispense with the revenue from the corporate and individual income tax. Moreover, we will need huge amounts of additional revenue, and most informed observers believe that the only plausible source for such revenues is a federal value-added …
Much Uncertainty About Uncertain Tax Positions,
2010
Texas A&M University School of Law
Much Uncertainty About Uncertain Tax Positions, Robert D. Probasco
Faculty Scholarship
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in January 2010 a new initiative to require certain businesses to report “uncertain tax positions” on a new schedule filed with their annual tax returns. Draft schedules and instructions issued in April 2010 clarified some of the mechanical aspects of the new requirement but left many open issues and questions. The IRS proposal built on requirements by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes (“FIN 48”). The standard requires companies, in their financial statements, to reserve some of the benefits from any position taken …
Where Credit Is Due: Advantages Of The Credit-Invoice Method For A Partial Replacement Vat,
2010
Georgetown University Law Center
Where Credit Is Due: Advantages Of The Credit-Invoice Method For A Partial Replacement Vat, Itai Grinberg
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
If a value-added tax (VAT) were chosen to supplement or replace some portion of the revenue from the income tax, a choice would likely be made between the credit-invoice method and the subtraction-method for calculating VAT liability. Credit-invoice method VATs and subtraction-method VATs are, at a conceptual level, very similar taxes. The key substantive difference between most subtraction-method VAT proposals and extant credit-invoice method VATs is that subtraction-method VAT proposals generally do not impose an invoice requirement. The invoice requirement substantially reduces tax avoidance opportunities in the VAT, and also ensures the ability to provide appropriate treatment for exports while …
The Corporate Income Tax And The Competitiveness Of U.S. Industries,
2010
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
The Corporate Income Tax And The Competitiveness Of U.S. Industries, Michael S. Knoll
All Faculty Scholarship
Hit hard by the financial crisis and recession, U.S. auto producers are seeking a massive bailout from the U.S. Congress. Many reasons are given for the U.S. auto industry’s lack of competitiveness including the U.S. corporate income tax. Although it is regularly asserted that there is a direct connection between the corporate income tax and competitiveness, what that connection is has not been carefully spelled out. In this essay, I describe how the corporate income tax directly harms the competitiveness of U.S. industries. I show that the mechanism differs depending upon whether the U.S. industry is defined as the global …
Comparative Income Taxation: A Structural Analysis,
2009
Boston College Law School
Comparative Income Taxation: A Structural Analysis, Hugh Ault, Brian Arnold
Hugh J. Ault
The purpose of this book is to compare different solutions adopted by nine industrialized countries to common problems of income tax design. As in other legal domains, comparative study of income taxation can provide fresh perspectives from which to examine a particular national system. Increasing economic globalization also makes understanding foreign tax systems relevant to a growing set of transnational business transactions. Comparative study is, however, notoriously difficult. Full understanding of a foreign tax system may require mastery not only of a foreign language, but also of foreign business and legal cultures. It would be the work of a lifetime …
Avoiding Misuse Of Donor Advised Funds,
2009
Widener Law
Avoiding Misuse Of Donor Advised Funds, Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey
No abstract provided.
