Taxation & Estate Planning

TIGTA: Has IRS Achieved Goals of 1998 Restructuring and Reform Act?

Posted on May 27, 2010
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today released its evaluation of whether the goals of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) have been substantially achieved. The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 Was Substantially Implemented but Challenges Remain (2010-IE-R002): RRA 98 was...

DePaul's 'Leona Helmsley Tenure Process'

Posted on May 27, 2010
Inside Higher Ed, 'Leona Helmsley Tenure Process': The late Leona Helmsley doesn't get quoted that much in faculty deliberations, but she was featured prominently in a memo circulated this spring at DePaul University -- a memo that set off an intense debate about the fairness of the tenure process...

BET Founder Says Proposed Carried Interest Tax Increase Would Hurt Minorities

Posted on May 26, 2010
In my lecture, The Costs of Estate Tax Dithering, 43 Creighton L. Rev. ___ (2010), I talked about the curious politics behind the estate tax repeal movement, including the important role played by the African-American and LGBT communities in supporting estate tax repeal (as reflected in a West Wing clip)...

Burke: Fuzzy Math and Carried Interests

Posted on May 26, 2010
Karen C. Burke (San Diego) has posted Fuzzy Math and Carried Interests: Making Two and Twenty Equal 710, 127 Tax Notes 885 (May 24, 2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This report explores proposed § 710 (as modified and reintroduced by H.R. 4213), which would treat the compensatory portion...

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Recidivist Deans

Posted on May 26, 2010
Following up on my post, Tax Prof Richard Gershon Named Dean at Mississippi: the Faculty Lounge blogs the appointment and asks how many folks like Richard (Texas-Wesleyan, Charleston, Mississippi) have been dean at three or more law schools: Rogr Abrams (Nova, Rutgers-Newark, Northeastern) Marty Belsky (Albany, Tulsa, Akron) Allen Easley...

Sugin: Should Art Collections be Treated as Part of University Endowment?

Posted on May 26, 2010
Linda Sugin (Fordham) has posted Lifting the Museum?s Burden from the Backs of the University: Should the Art Collection Be Treated as Part of the Endowment?, 44 New Eng. L. Rev. ___ (2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A few universities in economic straits have recently attempted to sell...

Open CRS Releases Tax Reports

Posted on May 26, 2010
Tax Options for Financing Health Care Reform (R40648) The Role of Federal Gasoline Excise Taxes in Public Policy (R40808) Dependent Care: Current Tax Benefits and Legislative Issues (RS21466)

Tax Liabilities for Sample Families Under Bush & Obama Tax Law

Posted on May 26, 2010
The Tax Foundation today released Taxpayers Face Uncertainty in 2011 as Bush and Obama Tax Cuts Expire: Below are tax calculations for a few sample taxpayers. Since it's not clear how Congress and the President will deal with the expiration of all the tax cuts, we calculate them in three...

Aprill: Tax Issues for Synagogues and Other Religious Congregations

Posted on May 26, 2010
Ellen P. Aprill (Loyola-L.A.) has posted An Overview of Tax Issues for Synagogues (and Other Religious Congregations) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This 9 page document discusses the issues that most often have (or should have) been asked in the many years that I have been giving pro bono...

The $100,000+ Law Review Article

Posted on May 26, 2010
As Law Profs nationwide gear up to write law review articles over the summer,Larry Cunningham (George Washington) calculates the economic value of the articles: What?s the economic value of that scholarly article many law professors will write this summer? For the many schools that award scholars summer research grants, it...

Berg: Tax-Exempt Hospitals and the 'Community Benefit' Standard

Posted on May 26, 2010
Jessica Berg (Case Western) has published Putting the Community Back into the "Community Benefit" Standard, 44 Ga. L. Rev. 375 (2010). Here is the abstract: Disputes about tax-exemption are occurring all over the country. The IRS and CBO are engaged in national studies of non-profit hospitals and community benefits...

Staffer Steals $400k From American University Law Review

Posted on May 26, 2010
National Law Journal, Employee Stole Law Review Receipts: A former administrative assistant at American University Washington College of Law pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing nearly $400,000 from the school over six years. Martine Tavakoli, 49, will be sentenced in September for interstate transportation of stolen property...

Prebble: An American GAAR

Posted on May 25, 2010
John Prebble (Victoria University of Wellington, Faculty of Law) has written An American GAAR for TaxProf Blog. Here is the abstract: The President signed § 7701(o) of the Internal Revenue Code, the first U.S. statutory general anti-avoidance rule, or ?GAAR?, into effect on 30 March 2010...

Do Property Tax Caps Work?

Posted on May 25, 2010
Wall Street Journal, The Tax Caps Cometh: Massachusetts Shows How to Put a Lid on Education Spending Increases, by William McGurn: In Indiana, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has succeeded in lowering property taxes on homes to 1% of assessed value. In New Jersey, another Republican, Gov...

Ventry Presents What to Make of the Supreme Court's Denial of Cert in Textron? Today in D.C.

Posted on May 25, 2010
Following up on yesterday's post, Supreme Court Denies Cert in Textron Tax Work Papers Case: UC-Davis Tax Prof Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. presents U.S. v. Textron: What to Make of Attorney Work Product for Regulatory Lawyers After the Supreme Court's Cert...

Virginia Tax Review Publishes New Issue

Posted on May 25, 2010
The Virginia Tax Review has published Vol. 29, No. 1 (Summer 2009): Edward A. Zelinsky (Cardozo), The Aftermath of the Cash Balance Controversy: Defining Age Discrimination for Traditional Defined Benefit Pensions, 29 Va. Tax Rev. 1 (2009) Calvin H. Johnson (Texas), Why do Venture Capital Funds Burn Research and Development...

Judge Dismisses Sexual Harassment Case Against George Mason

Posted on May 25, 2010
Following up on my prior posts: Prof. Rotunda Sues George Mason for Sexual Harassment (Oct. 5, 2009) Prof. Rotunda's Sexual Harassment Case Against George Mason Goes to Trial in June (Apr. 30, 2010) The Blog of Legal Times, Judge Dismisses Most of Sex Harassment Case Against George Mason Law (May...

Shell Oil Law School Rankings

Posted on May 25, 2010
From Above the Law: Shell Oil is currently advertising for an in-house position. Shell is willing to accept applications for graduates from all four tiers ... but the lower down your school is on the U.S. News rankings, the closer to the top of your class you have to be...

SALT Calls for U.S. News Rankings Boycott

Posted on May 25, 2010
The Society of American Law Teachers has called on law schools to boycott the U.S. Newsz rankings Each spring U.S. News & World Report issues its rankings of American law schools, exerting enormous pressure on deans and faculties to reshape admissions practices and divert scarce resources...

Kagan Got an "A" in Tax

Posted on May 25, 2010

50-State Ranking: Mortgage Interest Deduction

Posted on May 25, 2010
Tax Foundation, Tax Savings from Mortgage Interest Deduction Vary Significantly from State to State: Mortgage Interest Deduction by State, Tax Year 2008 State Percentage of Returns Claiming Deduction Rank Average Deduction (all returns) Rank Average Deduction (for returns claiming one) Rank United States 26...

Johnston: Behind the Cigarette Tax Evasion Crackdown

Posted on May 24, 2010
David Cay Johnston has published Behind the Cigarette Tax Evasion Crackdown, 127 Tax Notes 927 (May 24, 2010): Johnston examines the motives behind increased enforcement of cigarette excise taxes and how tax policy can be used to stop price gouging by manufacturers...

District Court Allows 1st Amendment Challenge to § 107 Parsonage Allowance to Proceed to Trial

Posted on May 24, 2010
A federal district court in California on Friday denied the Government's motion to dismiss a First Amendment establishment clause challenge to the § 107 parsonage allowance, but granted the Government's motion to dismiss a challenge to the § 265(a)(6) deduction of interest and property taxes paid with § 107 funds...

Law Grads Urged to Consider Alternative Paths

Posted on May 24, 2010
Connecticut Law Tribune, Law School Grads Urged to Consider Alternative Paths: It's the month when law school graduates soon are walking across stages during ceremonies throughout Connecticut and across the country. And as they proudly hold that well-earned J...

Chronicle: Kagan, Obama, and the Postradical Legal Generation in Elite Law Schools

Posted on May 24, 2010
Chronicle of Higher Education, The Postradical Legal Generation: Elite Law Schools, and the Court Nominees Who Come From Them, Have Changed, by David Fontana (George Washington): When President Barack Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court last week, he described her appeal in much the same way he...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on May 24, 2010
Saturday: Did Church's 'Tweets' Violate § 501(c)(3)? An Unwelcome Guest at Stetson's Graduation Ceremony 'No Taxation Without Representation' in the American Woman Suffrage Movement The Strict Liability Standard and the Economic Substance Doctrine Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads Ex-IRS Agent's Reality TV Show: IRS Hitman Waggoner: Critique of U...

Supreme Court Denies Cert in Textron Tax Work Papers Case

Posted on May 24, 2010
The Supreme Court today denied certiorari in United States v. Textron, Inc., No. 07-2631 (1st Cir. Aug. 13, 2009) (en banc), which held that Textron's tax accrual work papers were not protected under the work product doctrine and thus had to be turned over to the IRS in its tax...

50-State Ranking: Filers With $0 Tax Liability

Posted on May 24, 2010
The Tax Foundation today released States Vary Widely in Number of Tax Filers with No Income Tax Liability: One of the most reported topics during the latest tax filing season was the record number of Americans who filed an income tax return but had no income tax liability after taking...

Hire Your Kids, Get HIRE Tax Breaks

Posted on May 24, 2010
Wall Street Journal, Hire Your Kids, Get a Tax Break, by Laura Saunders: Would you like a tax break for hiring a worker?say, a student, or even your spouse or child? Then Uncle Sam may have a deal for you. In March, Congress passed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment?or...

Taxing Arizona: IRS Refuses TIGTA's Recommendation That it Verify Citizenship of 200,000 e-File Providers

Posted on May 24, 2010
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) today released The Screening and Monitoring of E-File Providers Has Improved, but More Work Is Needed to Ensure the Integrity of the E-File Program (2010-40-042): The primary means by which the IRS regulates electronic filing (e-file) Providers are the application screening process...

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