Taxation & Estate Planning

University of California Faculty Face 8% Pay Cut

Posted on June 19, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that all University of California faculty would face a 8% reduction in salary under a proposal by President Mark Yudof to address the system's $800 million budget shortfall.

Obama Digs in on Smith Nomination to Head DOJ Tax Division

Posted on June 18, 2009
Following up on Sunday's post, Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Mary Smith to Head DOJ Tax Division Over Fierce Republican Opposition: the Blog of Legal Times reports that Justice Department Says Tax Nominee is Qualified: The Department of Justice is defending President Barack Obama's contentious nominee to head its Tax Division,...

The Death Tax: Another Obama Tax Hike Target

Posted on June 18, 2009
Curtis S. Dubay (Heritage Foundation) has published The Death Tax: Another Obama Tax Hike Target: President Barack Obama recently unveiled yet another round of tax hikes. This latest one, which would increase the death tax on family farms and small businesses, would raise $60 billion more over 10 years for...

Schneider: Use of Judicial Doctrines in Federal Tax Cases Decided by Trial Courts

Posted on June 18, 2009
Daniel M. Schneider (Northern Illinois) has published Use of Judicial Doctrines in Federal Tax Cases Decided by Trial Courts, 1993-2006: A Quantitative Assessment, 57 Clev. St. L. Rev. 35 (2009), . Here is the abstract: This paper examines the use of judicial doctrines in federal tax trial controversies...

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Hanna: Corporate Tax Reform -- Listening to Corporate America

Posted on June 18, 2009
Christopher H. Hanna (SMU) has posted Corporate Tax Reform: Listening to Corporate America, 35 J. Corp. L. ___ (2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the last few years, academics, practitioners and government officials have engaged in serious discussions in reforming the U...

Dees: Time Traveling to Strangle Strangi

Posted on June 18, 2009
Richard L. Dees (McDermott, Will & Emery, Chicago) has posted Time Traveling to Strangle Strangi (and Kill the Monster Again): Part 1, 116 Tax Notes 563 (Aug. 13, 2007) Part 2, 116 Tax Notes 657 (Aug. 20, 2007) Part 3, 117 Tax Notes 161 (Oct. 8, 2007)

Off to the CALI Conference on Tools For Change

Posted on June 18, 2009
Although I hate to leave the paradise of San Diego, I am spending the next three days at the 2009 CALI Conference for Law School Computing on Tools for Change at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder. I will be attending many of the wonderful sessions, including my...

State Income Tax Revenues Plummet 28%

Posted on June 18, 2009
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government reports that state individual income tax revenues fell 26.0% in January - April 2009, compared with the same period in 2008. The 10 states with the biggest declines are: Arizona: -54.9% South Carolina: -38...

(Not) Selling the Code and Regs at a Yard Sale

Posted on June 18, 2009
Check out Sarah Lawsky's (George Washington) photo essay on her unsuccessfull effort to move the 8-volume complete CCH tax code and regs at a yard sale -- she first asked $1 for the $270.50 set, and then couldn't even give it away! (Hat Tip: Law Librarian Blog...

Call for Tax Papers: The Income Tax, Bankruptcy, and the Bailout

Posted on June 17, 2009
The Barry University Law Review has issed a call for papers for its forthcoming paper symposium issue, The Income Tax, Bankruptcy, and the Bailout, which will examine the legal issues raised in the current economic situation and the federal government?s response: The Symposium will bring together the works of legal...

Schlunk: Why Every State Should Have an Income Tax and a Sales Tax

Posted on June 17, 2009
Herwig J. Schlunk (Vanderbilt) has published Why Every State Should Have an Income Tax (and a Retail Sales Tax, Too), 78 Miss. L.J. 637 (2009). Here is the abstract: This paper examines the general relationship between state tax policy and state spending policy and concludes that states that rely solely...

Ryesky: A Jewish Ethical Perspective to American Taxation

Posted on June 17, 2009
Kenneth H. Ryesky (CUNY) has published A Jewish Ethical Perspective to American Taxation, 10 J.L. & Relig. (2009). Here is the Introduction: Several recent newspaper headlines and official press releases have reported instances of tax fraud or tax evasion involving rabbis and others who nominally or purportedly identify as religious...

GAO: Information Reporting for Charitable Cash Contributions Won't Close Tax Gap

Posted on June 17, 2009
The Government Accountability Office has relased Requiring Information Reporting for Charitable Cash Contributions May Not Be an Effective Way to Improve Compliance (GAO-09-555). Here is the Summary: Individual taxpayers who misreport charitable cash contributions they deduct on their tax returns contribute to the tax gap...

Funding Health Care by Taxing Cialis Ads

Posted on June 17, 2009
Bloomberg News: House Considering $37 Billion Drug Tax, Rangel Says, by Ryan J. Donmoyer: The House is considering imposing a $37 billion tax on drugmakers by denying deductions for prescription-drug advertising, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said...

California Tax Reform Proposals

Posted on June 17, 2009
Following up on yesterday's post, California Commission on the 21st Century Economy Meets Today at UCLA: here are copies of two presentations posted on the commission's website: Analysis of a Business Net Receipts Tax, by Robert Cline, Council on State Taxation Tax Structure Alternatives, by the staff of the Commission...

7th Circuit Affirms District Court in Valero Tax Workpapers Case

Posted on June 17, 2009
The 7th Circuit today resoundingly affirmed the district court in Valero Energy Corp. v. United States, No. 08-3473 (7th Cir. June 17, 2009): In this appeal, Valero Energy Corporation asks us to take a close look at the tax practitioner-client privilege...

Smartphone Buyer's Guide

Posted on June 17, 2009
For those in the market for a new smartphone, Gizmodo has a wonderful Smartphone Buyers Guide: The Best of the Best: As the dust settles from the last two weeks of mobile madness, one question remains unanswered: Which of the new generation of smartphones should you actually buy? We've collected...

Silencing the Inner Voice That Says You're a Fraud

Posted on June 17, 2009
Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal: Silencing the Voice That Says You're a Fraud: A physician starts playing a harsh mental tape in her head every time a new patient calls: What if I make the wrong diagnosis? I'm a terrible doctor. How did I get into medical school?...

Senate Holds Hearing Today on Climate Change Legislation: Tax Considerations

Posted on June 16, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Climate Change Legislation: Tax Considerations. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Gary Hufbauer (Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington D...

California Commission on the 21st Century Economy Meets Today at UCLA

Posted on June 16, 2009
The California Commission on the 21st Century Economy meets today at UCLA. Among the panelists is Tax Prof Richard D. Pomp (UConn). For the full agenda, see here.

Taxation Is Not a Hate Crime

Posted on June 16, 2009
Jim Maule (Villanova) decries Massachusetts Representative Stephen Lynch's characterization of a proposed increase of the tax on beer as "a hate crime": There are people who hate taxes, and there are people who think that this nation's labyrinth of tax systems is a crime, but this is the first time...

Why Are Tax Forms Blue?

Posted on June 16, 2009
From Web CPA: Changes should be made in the layout and typeface of 1040 individual tax forms, including more use of boldface, colors and explanations, to help reduce taxpayer errors, recommends a new government report. The Treasury Department?s Inspector General for Tax Administration noted in the report that each year,...

Use of 529 Plan Assets for Technology

Posted on June 16, 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 amended § 529(e)(3)(A) to add new clause (iii): (iii) expenses paid or incurred in 2009 or 2010 for the purchase of any computer technology or equipment (as defined in section 170(e)(6)(F)(i)) or Internet access and related services, if such technology, equipment, or...

Morse: Using Salience and Influence to Narrow the Tax Gap

Posted on June 16, 2009
Susan Cleary Morse (Santa Clara) has published Using Salience and Influence to Narrow the Tax Gap, 40 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 483 (2009). Here is the abstract: Most self-employed and small business taxpayers cheat on their taxes. In fact, in the aggregate, they fail to pay about half the tax...

Congress Asks IRS to Suspend Tax Shelter Penalties on Small Businesses

Posted on June 16, 2009
The House Ways & Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee yesterday issued this press release: Bipartisan lawmakers from the Senate Finance Committee and House Committee on Ways and Means sent a letter Friday to IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman, requesting assistance while Congress works to address certain penalties assessed on...

Stanford Law Grad-Call Girl Lacks Resources to Satisfy Guilty Plea in Tax Evasion Case

Posted on June 16, 2009
I previously blogged (here and here) the case of 2001 Stanford Law Grad Cristina Schultz (now Cristina Warthen after her marriage to David Warthen, co-founder of the online search engine Ask Jeeves, now known as Ask.com), who pled guilty in January 2009 in California federal district court to failing to...

Albany Trumpets 94% Employment Rate; Unemployed Grads Disagree

Posted on June 16, 2009
From Law School Headlines: Albany Law School recently released the following statement: Albany Law Has Beaten National Average for 25 Years Albany Law School today announced a 94% employment rate in legal positions for its 2008 graduating class, outpacing the national average of 90% percent for all law schools...

IRS Bails on Proposal to Tax Employee Cell Phone Use

Posted on June 16, 2009
Following up on my prior posts (here, here, and here): the IRS today issued a statement bailing on last week's issuance of Notice 2009-46, which proposed three alternative methods for taxing an employee's personal use of an employer-provided cell phone: This month, the IRS asked for comments on ways to...

Crawford & Blattmachr: Estate Tax on Gift Tax

Posted on June 15, 2009
Bridget J. Crawford (Pace) & Jonathan G. Blattmachr (Milbank, New York) have posted Estate Tax on Gift Tax: The Liability Conundrum, 123 Tax Notes 1264 (June 8, 2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article addresses the specific question of who -- as between the beneficiaries of the estate...

Cui: Section 892 and Sovereign Wealth Funds

Posted on June 15, 2009
Wei Cui (China University of Political Science and Law) has posted Is Section 892 the Right Place to Look for a Response to Sovereign Wealth Funds?, 123 Tax Notes 1237 (June 8, 2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: At a superficial glance, Internal Revenue Code Section 892 appears to...

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