Taxation & Estate Planning

ABA Tax Section Webcast Today on The Economic Substance Doctrine

Posted on March 31, 2010
The ABA Tax Section offers a teleconference and webcast today on The Economic Substance Doctrine from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST: The new health care legislation contains a codification or "clarification" of the economic substance doctrine. This teleconference will examine what the new statutory language says and how it came...

Former Arnold & Porter Tax Partner Gets Three Years Probation in Tax Shelter Case

Posted on March 31, 2010
Former Arnold & Porter tax partner Peter Cinquegrani was sentenced Tuesday to three years probation following his guilty plea to marketing fraudulent tax shelters. He was disbarred last year. ABA Journal Bloomberg JD Journal New York Law Journal Reuters

TRAC Issues Annual Report on IRS Operations

Posted on March 31, 2010
From the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University: The latest information about U.S. taxpayer returns is now available on TRAC's web site. New this year is a powerful app that makes it much easier to browse through extensive information on the constantly shifting kinds of income flowing to taxpayers...

Celebrity Tax Troubles

Posted on March 31, 2010
Marion Barry, former Washington, D.C. mayor, IRS tax lien for $15,257 Mel Blount, former Pittsburgh Steeler, IRS tax liens for $652,000 Faith Evans, singer, IRS tax liens for $156,181; New Jersy tax lien for $204,000 Corey Feldman, actor, IRS tax lien for $30,996 Emanuel Steward, boxing trainer, IRS tax lien...

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The Office -- IRS Edition

Posted on March 31, 2010
Following up on my prior post: tax fans of NBC's The Office will be happy to learn that the writer (Brent Forrester) is working on a new workplace comedy show for Fox set in an IRS district office in Fresno, California -- Tax Man. The show is being produced by...

Johnston: Delaware Incomplete Nongrantor Trusts Scream 'Chutzpah'

Posted on March 31, 2010
David Cay Johnston has published Getting Dinged by the DING, 126 Tax Notes 1655 (Mar. 29, 2010). Here is the abstract: In this article, Johnston examines a Delaware asset protection trust that lets wealthy residents of some other states enjoy income free of state-level taxes...

WSJ: Will a Tax LL.M. Cleanse a 4th Tier, Bottom of the Class J.D.?

Posted on March 31, 2010
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog picks up on my post yesterday, Will a Tax LL.M. Cleanse a 4th Tier, Bottom of the Class J.D.?: Let us say that the title to the post is not our own ? it?s the verbatim title of a nice post by University of...

An Empirical Study of Race and Law School Hiring

Posted on March 31, 2010
Ming M. Zhu (J.D. 2009, Harvard; Law Clerk to Harry T. Edwards, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit) has posted An Empirical Study of Race and Law School Hiring on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Does race matter in the law school hiring process? Do minority candidates benefit...

Farewell, Malibu

Posted on March 30, 2010
I am back in Cincinnati after spending spring break in Malibu, California, teaching a one-week course at Pepperdine University School of Law. It was a spectacular week in all respects. The course, Selected Advanced Topics in Federal Income Taxation, went very well...

Joint Tax Committee: IRS Lacks Authority to Enforce ObamaCare's Individual Mandate

Posted on March 30, 2010
Big Government, Joint Committee on Taxation Confirms that ObamaCare Does Not Enforce Individual Mandate: One of the more controversial elements of ObamaCare is the mandate for most individuals to purchase insurance beginning in 2014. There is really no precedent for a federal mandate of this scale requiring individuals to purchase...

Mason: Made in America for European Tax

Posted on March 30, 2010
Ruth Mason (UConn) presented Made in America for European Tax: The Internal Consistency Test, 49 B.C. L. Rev. 1277 (2008), as part of the Lisbon International and EC Tax Law Seminar:

The Flat Tax: How it Works and Why it is Good for America

Posted on March 30, 2010
A new video released yesterday by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P) explains "why a flat tax would be superior to the internal revenue code. Entitled "The Flat Tax: How it Works and Why it is Good for America," the mini-documentary includes a 20-second tutorial showing the simple...

The IRS Administrative

Posted on March 30, 2010
Following up on this morning's post, Joint Tax Committee: IRS Lacks Authority to Enforce ObamaCare's Individual Mandate: Tax Profs Ted Seto and Bryan Camp argue that the Joint Committee on Taxation overstated the limitations on the IRS's ability to enforece ObamaCare's individual mandate: Theodore Seto (Loyola-L...

"The GAAP Conspiracy Against ObamaCare"

Posted on March 30, 2010
The Atlantic, Henry Waxman's War on Accounting: Accounting basics: when a company experiences what accountants call "a material adverse impact" on its expected future earnings, and those changes affect an item that is already on the balance sheet, the company is required to record the negative impact--"to take the charge...

The World's Strangest Tax Laws

Posted on March 30, 2010
Foreign Policy, The World's Strangest Tax Laws -- my favorite: World Cup Tax Exemption Countries: World cup hosts Who's affected: South African residents, nonresidents The bottom line: South Africa is understandably thrilled to be hosting the 2010 World Cup, which opens June 11...

Tax Freedom Day Is April 9 -- Earlier in AK, LA & MS, Later in CT, NJ, NY

Posted on March 30, 2010
The Tax Foundation today announced that April 9 is Tax Freedom Day, the day on which Americans will have earned enough money to pay all federal, state, and local taxes for the year: Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 9 this year, the 99th day of 2010, according to...

Avi-Yonah: Xilinx Revisited

Posted on March 30, 2010
Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Michigan) has published Xilinx Revisited, 126 Tax Notes 1621 (Mar. 29, 2010). Here is the abstract: In this article, Avi-Yonah argues that the original Xilinx panel decision was correct and that the new one was the result of the government's refusal to accept the rationale of that...

TaxProf - Tax Analysts Partnership

Posted on March 30, 2010
I am delighted to announce that Tax Analysts has agreed to partner with TaxProf Blog in making some of its wonderful content available to the broader tax community. In particular, each week I will post three full-text items from Tax Analysts' flagship publication, Tax Notes Today, as well as three...

Law Library Rankings

Posted on March 29, 2010
What Makes a Great Library (National Jurist (March 2010)): Many thought that the digital age would render brick-and-mortar libraries obsolete. But the modern-day law library has emerged as a vital center for learning and research that's busier than ever...

Welcome to the Tax Blogosphere: Tax Blawg

Posted on March 29, 2010
Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin (West Conshohocken, PA) has launched Tax Blawg, describe das "Tax Talk for Tax Pros": A resource for news and analysis of current legal issues facing tax practitioners. Although blawg.com identifies nearly 1,400 active ?blawgs,? including 20 blawgs related to taxation and estate planning, the...

IFA International Tax Student Writing Competition

Posted on March 29, 2010
The International Fiscal Association is sponsoring the 2010 International Tax Student Writing Competition: Subject: Any topic relating to U.S. taxation of income from international activities, including taxation under U.S. tax treaties. Open to: All students during the 2009-10 academic year pursuing a graduate degree with a tax specialty...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on March 29, 2010
Saturday: Tax Lawyer Staged Suicide to Look Like Murder Saturday at the IRS Tax Articles in The Urban Lawyer Court Rejects NYLS Grade Complaint New York's Amazon Tax and the Battle Over Affiliate Nexus Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads President Obama Makes Two Tax Recess Appointments Students Who Visit...

Will a Tax LL.M. Cleanse a 4th Tier, Bottom of the Class J.D.?

Posted on March 29, 2010
New York Law Journal, Advice for the Lawlorn: Question: I graduated from law school last summer. I went to a fourth tier school and graduated near the bottom of my class. ... When I came back to my hometown, I took a few LLM classes as a non-degree student at...

NLJ: The 40 Most Influential Lawyers, 2000-2009

Posted on March 29, 2010
National Law Journal, The Decade's Most Influential Lawyers: These are the lawyers who've defined a decade. For our annual Most Influential Lawyers special report, the editors of The National Law Journal have selected 40 attorneys in a dozen key legal areas whose work between Jan...

NY Times: States Seeking Cash Hope to Expand Taxes to Services

Posted on March 29, 2010
New York Times, States Seeking Cash Hope to Expand Taxes to Services: In the scramble to find something, anything, to generate more revenue, states are considering new taxes on virtually everything: garbage pickup, dating services, bowling night, haircuts, even clowns...

Tax Profs on Chapman's Dean Search Committee

Posted on March 29, 2010
Tax Profs Bobby L. Dexter and Francine J. Lipman are serving on Chapman University School of Law's Dean Search Committee.

Hellerstein & Swain: State & Local Tax Commentary

Posted on March 29, 2010
Walter Hellerstein (Georgia) & John A. Swain (Arizona) have published State & Local Tax Commentary (March 2010): Professors Hellerstein and Swain examine (1) the proper measure of receipts from intangibles for sales factor computation purposes; (2) the proper attribution of receipts from yellow page advertising for apportionment purposes; (3) a...

Chutzpah: Rep. Rangel Offers Tax Advice to His Constituents

Posted on March 29, 2010
Charlie Rangel, who has taken a leave of asbsence from chairing the House Ways & Means Committee while the House Ethics Committee investigates reports that he dodged his taxes, has sent a tax advice flyer to his constituents. DNAinfo, Harlem Rep. Charlie Rangel Offers Tax Advice Despite His Own Tax...

Bank of America, Wells Fargo Pay Zero 2009 Federal Income Tax

Posted on March 28, 2010
Charlotte Observer, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Probably Won't Pay Income Tax for 2009: This tax season will be kind to Bank of America and Wells Fargo: It appears that neither bank will have to pay federal income taxes for 2009. Bank of America probably won't pay federal taxes because...

Feuer: A Former Spouse's Right to Employee Benefits

Posted on March 28, 2010
Albert Feuer (Law Offices of Albert Feuer, Forest Hills, NY) has posted Who is Entitled to Life Insurance Benefits and Top-Hat Benefits from an ERISA Plan Following a Divorce or a Marital Separation?, NYSBA Family L. Rev. Newsletter, Vol. 41, No. 3, p...

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