Taxation-State and Local Commons^™

Sparks Nugget: State Tax Exemption Of Food Used By Casinos For Comped Meals, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Proposition 13 And The California Fiscal Shell Game, Colin H. Mccubbins, Mathew D. Mccubbins

Faculty Scholarship

We study the effects of California’s tax and expenditure limitations, especially Proposition 13. We find that Proposition 13 was indeed effective at reducing both ad valorem property taxes per capita and total state and local taxes per capita, at least in the short run. We further argue that there have been unintended second- ary effects that have resulted in an increased tax burden, undermining the aims of Proposition 13. To circumvent the limits imposed by Proposition 13, the state has drastically increased nonguaranteed debt, has privatized the public fisc, and has devolved the authority to lay and collect taxes and …

Foreword: Rights, Remedies, And Rose, Scott R. Bauries

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In this Foreword to the University of Kentucky’s “Rose at 20” Special Feature, I seek to introduce the three featured articles, as well as to identify two major paradigm shifts in school finance litigation that grew out of the Kentucky Supreme Court’s decision in Rose v. Council for Better Education. The Rose decision is commonly thought of as a bridge between prior education litigation strategies founded primarily on theories of equity or equality and subsequent litigation strategies founded primarily on theories of adequacy. Although the distinction between these two strategies is well-worn, it obscures two important changes to …

Beyond Batsa: Getting Serious About State Corporate Tax Reform, Quinn T. Ryan

Washington and Lee Law Review

The state corporate income tax system is broken, and only Congress can fix it. The current state of affairs is problematic for states, burdensome for multistate corporations,2 and unfair to smaller, local businesses.3 States are unable to resolve these problems themselves; federal intervention is the only solution.

Preventing State Budget Crises: Managing The Fiscal Volatility Problem, David Gamage

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Forty-nine of the U.S. states have balanced budget requirements, and every state acts as though bound by such constraints. These constraints create fiscal volatility - the states must either cut spending or raise taxes during economic downturns, while doing the opposite during upturns. This paper discusses how states should cope with fiscal volatility on both the levels of ordinary politics and of institutional-design policy. On the level of ordinary politics, the paper applies principles of risk allocation theory to conclude that states should primarily adjust the rates of broad-based taxes as their economies cycle, rather than fluctuating public spending. States …

Managing Fiscal Volatility By Redefining "Tax Cuts" And "Tax Hikes", David Gamage, Jeremy Bearer-Friend

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This report analyzes how states should cope with fiscal volatility at the level of institutional-design policy. We propose that states reconsider how they define terms like ‘‘tax cuts’’ and ‘‘tax hikes.’’ By adopting a new baseline for defining those terms, states can increase the likelihood of using tax rate adjustments to cope with fiscal volatility rather than more harmful spending fluctuations.

Minimizing The Harm Of State Fiscal Volatility, David Gamage, Jeremy Bearer-Friend

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This report’s primary concern is how U.S. state governments should respond to the fiscal volatility created by their balanced budget constraints. Applying the principles of risk allocation theory to this recurring problem, we conclude that states should primarily adjust the rates of broad-based taxes as their economies cycle, rather than fluctuating public spending.

The Difficulty Of Getting Serious About State Corporate Tax Reform, Charles E. Mcclure

Washington and Lee Law Review

In his Note, Beyond BATSA: Getting Serious About Corporate Tax Reform,1 Quinn Ryan examines several common defects of state corporate income taxes that, in isolation or in combination, create distortions, inequities, and complexity, and argues for federal legislation that would substantially reduce the problems he describes. I will expand a bit on Ryan's analysis, review some history, and argue that neither multilateral state action nor federal legislation-especially legislation that would not make matters worse-is likely to occur.

Beyond Batsa: State Taxation Without State Boundaries?, Neil V. Birkhoff

Washington and Lee Law Review

In his Note, Beyond BA TSA: Getting Serious About State Corporate Tax Reform, Quinn Ryan provides us with the following: (1) an overview of the problem of diminishing state corporate tax revenues;2 (2) the basic legal principles applicable in administering state corporate income taxes;3 and (3) a history of the development of state tax nexus standards.4 Ryan uses the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2009 (BATSA) to point out where reform is necessary and argues that BATSA is not the answer.6 While Ryan notes the myriad of problems with corporate income tax apportionment statutes 7 he leaves the mechanics …

The Unfulfilled Promise Of The Indian Commerce Clause And State Taxation, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

The Constitution gives Congress the right to “regulate Commerce . . . with the Indian tribes.” Has the Indian Commerce Clause achieved its purpose? Have the Courts interpreted the Clause consistent with Congressional intent? I argue that the answer is, disappointingly, “no.”

The Supreme Court has emasculated and denigrated the Indian Commerce Clause, preventing implementation of the Founders’ vision. The Court has refused to use the Clause as a shield against state taxation.

Chief Justice John Marshall had the opportunity in 1832 in Worcester v. Georgia to shape the Clause into a powerful doctrine. As a ratifier, he was privy …

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 False Modesty Of Department Of Revenue V. Davis: Disrupting The Dormant Commerce Clause Through The Traditional Public Function Doctrine, Edward A. Zelinsky

Articles

No abstract provided.