Taxation & Estate Planning

Shultz & Zedeck: Predicting Lawyer Effectiveness -- A New Assessment for Use in Law School Admission Decisions

Posted on September 02, 2009
Following up on my earlier post, UC-Berkeley -- Testing for Empathy as an LSAT Alternative?: Marjorie M. Shultz UC-Berkeley, Law) & Sheldon Zedeck (Vice Provost, UC-Berkeley) have posted Predicting Lawyer Effectiveness: A New Assessment for Use in Law School Admission Decisions on SSRN...

Luppino: The McCain and Obama Tax Plans

Posted on September 02, 2009
Anthony J. Luppino (Missouri-Kansas City) has published A Little of This, a Little of That: Potential Effects on Entrepreneurship of the McCain and Obama Tax Proposals, 31 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 717 (2009). Here is part of the Conclusion: There are certainly many aspects of both the McCain and...

"What Inspired Me to Go to Law School"

Posted on September 02, 2009
The Access Group, a nonprofit graduate loan company, sponsored a law student video contest on What Inspired Me to Go to Law School. A panel of celebrity judges watched the 113 entries and selected ten finalists, which were posted on YouTube, with the winner of the $10,000 law school scholarship...

Walker: Evolving Executive Equity Compensation and the Limits of Optimal Contracting

Posted on September 02, 2009
David I. Walker (Boston University) has posted Evolving Executive Equity Compensation and the Limits of Optimal Contracting on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Executive equity compensation in the U.S. is evolving. At the turn of the millennium, stock options dominated the equity pay landscape, accounting for over half of the...

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Diane Ring Interview on International Tax Issues

Posted on September 02, 2009
Jefferson P. VanderWolk (Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong) hosts a two-part interview with Diane Ring (Boston College) "on current international tax issues including tax havens, transfer pricing, and pending US legislation":

College Rankings by "Contributions to Society"

Posted on September 02, 2009
Washington Monthly has released its annual college rankings, "which rate schools not based on crude and easily-manipulated measures of money and prestige, like certain other magazines do, but rather on their contributions to society." The methodology is: Community Service (33...

Court Allows Former IRS Agent, Fired for Bringing Dagger to Work, to Sue Secretary Geithner

Posted on September 02, 2009
Following up on my previous post, IRS Agent, Fired for Wearing Knife to Work, Sues Claiming Religious Discrimination: U.S. District Judge Sim Lake has dismissed a claim filed by former IRS agent Kawaljeet Tagore under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act against the IRS, the Treasury Department, Secretary Tim Geithner and...

Government Reports on Mortgage Interest Deduction

Posted on September 01, 2009
Government Accountability Office, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction: Despite Challenges Presented by Complex Tax Rules, IRS Could Enhance Enforcement and Guidance Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Mortgage Interest Data Could Be Used to Pursue More Nonfilers and Underreporters

Subscribing to TaxProf Blog

Posted on September 01, 2009
We offer two ways for you to have TaxProf Blog content automatically delivered to your computer, cell phone, or mobile device, as explained in the left column of the blog under the banner, "Subscribe to TaxProf Blog Via RSS Feed or Email": RSS Feeds: You can subscribe to one of...

More Celebrity Tax Woes

Posted on September 01, 2009
Julio Cesar Chavez (former Mexican boxer): IRS $12,770,685 tax lien Miguel Ferrer (actor (RoboCop); cousin of George Clooney: IRS $289,800 tax lien Jerry Koosman (former New York Mets player): plead guilty to failure to pay $90,000 of federal income taxes for 2002-2004 Blake Lewis (former American Idol contestant): IRS $124,798...

Allgood: Charity, Impure Altruism, and Marginal Redistributions of Income

Posted on September 01, 2009
Sam Allgood (University of Nebraska, Department of Economics) has published Charity, Impure Altruism, and Marginal Redistributions of Income, 62 Nat'l Tax J. 219 (2009). Here is the abstract: Warm?glow utility mitigates concerns that public giving crowds?out private giving dollar?for?dollar...

The Polish Tax System

Posted on September 01, 2009
Rados?aw Piwowarski has posted The Polish Tax System ? What Has Been Achieved Thus Far? What Should Be Done in the Future? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The paper briefly discussed the main parts of the Polish tax system underlining its important bad points and problems...

Physics/Math, Economics Majors Ace the LSAT; Criminal Justice, Prelaw Majors Bomb the Test

Posted on September 01, 2009
Michael Nieswiadomy (University of North Texas, Department of Economics) has posted LSAT Scores of Economics Majors: The 2008-2009 Class Update on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Using 1994-1995 and 2002-2003 data, Nieswiadomy (1998, 2006) found that economics majors scored well on the LSAT...

Law Firm Commentary on the Textron Tax Work Papers Case

Posted on September 01, 2009
Following up on my prior post, En Banc First Circuit Reverses Panel, Gives IRS Access to Textron's Work Papers: here are some law firm commentaries on the decision: Morgan Lewis Nixon Peabody

The Clock Is Ticking on Tax Cheat Charlie Rangel

Posted on September 01, 2009
The Clock Is Ticking on Tax Cheat Charlie Rangel, by Byron York: It hasn?t gotten much attention amid news of Ted Kennedy, Obamacare and the worsening outlook in Afghanistan, but an extraordinary situation is developing in the House of Representatives...

OECD Releases Report on Global Tax Transparency

Posted on September 01, 2009
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development yesterday released its fourth annual assessment of tax transparency and information exchange in 87 countries, Tax Co-operation 2009: Towards a Level Playing Field, by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information: The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information conducts...

Masur Presents Well-Being Analysis Today at Loyola-L.A.

Posted on August 31, 2009
Jonathan Masur (Chicago) presents Well-Being Analysis (with John Bronsteen (Loyola-Chicago) & Christopher J. Buccafusco (Chicago-Kent)) today at Loyola-L.A. today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series. The commentator is A.J. Julius (UCLA, Department of Philosophy)...

Can Attending a Cheaper Law School Lead to a Big-Firm Job?

Posted on August 31, 2009
The American Lawyer: Can Attending a Cheaper Law School Lead to a Big-Firm Job?, by Brian Baxter: Times are tough for today's law students. Big law firms are reducing the size of their summer classes and even graduates of top-ranked law schools are having a tough time finding a job...

Knoll: Taxation and the Competitiveness of Sovereign Wealth Funds

Posted on August 31, 2009
Michael Knoll (Penn) has published Taxation and the Competitiveness of Sovereign Wealth Funds: Do Taxes Encourage Sovereign Wealth Funds to Invest in the United States?, 83 S. Cal. L. Rev. 703 (2009). Here is the abstract: Sovereign wealth funds (?SWFs?) control large amounts of capital and have made, and are...

Ault: The Role of the OECD in Developing International Tax Norms

Posted on August 31, 2009
Hugh J. Ault (Boston College) has published Reflections on the Role of the OECD in Developing International Tax Norms, 34 Brook. J. Int'l L. 757 (2009). Here is part of the Introduction: In this paper, I would like to focus on the process through which the OECD works, as reflected...

Bill Bradley: Tax Reform?s Lesson for Health Care Reform

Posted on August 31, 2009
New York Times op-ed by Bill Bradley, Tax Reform?s Lesson for Health Care Reform: The chance of bipartisan agreement on health care seems to be waning as August draws to a close and ideologues mount increasingly vitriolic attacks on President Obama?s health care initiative...

Fellowships for Aspiring Law Professors (2009-10 Edition)

Posted on August 31, 2009
For practitioners and others contemplating joining the law professor ranks, many law schools offer wonderful opportunities to transition into the legal academy with one- or two-year fellowships which allow you to enter the AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference (the "meat market") with published scholarship (and in many cases teaching experience) under...

LaLumia: The EITC and Self-Employment Income

Posted on August 31, 2009
Sara LaLumia (Williams College, Department of Economics) has published The Earned Income Tax Credit and Reported Self-Employment Income, 62 Nat'l Tax J. 191 (2009). Here is the abstract: The EITC subsidizes earnings from both wages and self?employment...

Does the Incentive Effect of the Charitable Deduction Vary Across Charities?

Posted on August 31, 2009
Michelle H. Yetman & Robert J. Yetman (both of University of California-Davis, Graduate School of Management) have posted Does the Incentive Effect of the Charitable Deduction Vary Across Charities? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: We examine how taxes affect the amounts of donations given to charities and, in particular,...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on August 31, 2009
Saturday: CT AG Demands Access to 4,450 Taxpayer Names to be Released by UBS to IRS AICPA Urges Civil Tax Penalty Reform The 'Good Enough' Law Teacher VanderWolk Posts Tax Papers on SSRN Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads UBS Tax Case Web Site District Court Rejects $690m Assignment of...

Dems/Unions Push New Investment Taxes

Posted on August 31, 2009
Reuters: Dems/Unions Push New Wave of Investment Taxes, by James Pethokoukis: American equity investors have suffered a lost decade of portfolio performance ? the S&P 500 is about where it was back in 1998 ? and trillions of dollars of lost net worth, so it may seem a terrible time...

District Court Rejects $690m Assignment of Future Income Tax Shelter

Posted on August 30, 2009
The U.S. District Court on Friday rejected a $690 million assignment of future income tax shelter in a 91-page opinion. Schering-Plough Corp. v. United States, No. 05-2575 (D. N.J. Aug. 28, 2009) (citations omitted): The Court holds that the 1991 and 1992 swap-and-assign transactions into which Schering-Plough entered should not...

Tax Regimes for Private Pension Savings

Posted on August 30, 2009
Koen Caminada (Leiden Law School, Department of Economics) & Kees Goudswaard (Leiden University, Department of Public Finance) have posted Budgetary Costs of Tax Facilities for Pension Savings: An Empirical Analysis on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A wide variety of tax regimes for (occupational) private pension saving are in place...

Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

Posted on August 30, 2009
There is quite a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a new #1 paper and new papers debuting on the list at #2 and #5: 1. [284 Downloads] Ghosts of 1932: The Lost History of Estate and Gift Taxation, by...

UBS Tax Case Web Site

Posted on August 30, 2009
UBS has set up this web site with documents and other information concerning its settlement agreement with the United States and the disclosure of the names of 4,450 U.S. taxpayers with offshore accounts. (Hat Tip: Alan E. Weiner.)

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