Taxation & Estate Planning

Judge Sotomayor's Savings

Posted on May 26, 2009
Greg Mankiw (Harvard University, Department of Economics) takes Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to task for saving little ($50,000 - $115,000) of her $179,500 yearly salary as a Second Circuit Judge: I once wrote a short paper called The Savers-Spenders Theory of Fiscal Policy based on the premise that there...

NY Times: The Case for Taxing Email

Posted on May 26, 2009
The New York Times Idea of the Day: The Case for Taxing Email: Today?s idea: A tax on e-mail would stem the deluge of spam ? and both free up and help pay for the bandwidth that the Internet needs to grow. The idea is from the British magazine Prospect:...

Life Insurance Is "Blowing Up" Estate Plans

Posted on May 26, 2009
In today's Wall Street Journal: Keep Tabs on Insurance That Covers Estate Tax, by Arden Dale: Using life insurance to cover the death tax is common practice, but the strategy is blowing up some estate plans now. The policies are imploding because of low interest rates...

Posner, Becker Criticize Proposed Soda Tax

Posted on May 26, 2009
Richard Posner, A Soda or Calorie Tax to Reduce Obesity: Articles in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 30, and in the New York Times on May 19, discuss a proposal now before Congress to impose a tax on sugar-sweetened sodas in order to reduce obesity...

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WSJ State Tax Editorials: Maryland, New Jersey

Posted on May 26, 2009
Maryland's Miilionaires Go Missing: Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6...

Research Productivity Is Highest for Schools with More Autonomy

Posted on May 25, 2009
From the June 2009 NBER Digest: The Governance and Performance of Research Universities: Evidence from Europe and the U.S. (NBER Working Paper No. 14851), by Philippe Aghion (Harvard University), Mathias Dewatripont (Université libre de Bruxelles), Caroline M...

Memorial Day Tax Resources for U.S. Armed Forces (Plus Their Families & Employers)

Posted on May 25, 2009
Continuing a TaxProf Blog Memorial Day tradition (2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005), I want to pass along links to the Tax Information for Members of the U.S. Armed Forces material maintained on the IRS web site: The tax laws provide some special benefits for active members of the U...

Liberty University as Bob Jones University -- Can the IRS Strip Tax-Exempt Status for Revoking Recognition of Democratic Club?

Posted on May 25, 2009
Following up on my earlier post, Liberty University Revokes Recognition of Democratic Club (May 22, 2009): could the IRS strip Liberty of its § 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status under the authority of Bob Jones University v. United States, 461 U.S. 574 (1983): [T]o warrant exemption under § 501(c)(3), an institution must...

Constitutionality of Proposed "Brown Tax"

Posted on May 24, 2009
I previously blogged the proposed "student-impact fee" of $150 per out-of-state student on private colleges in Providence -- Brown University, Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Calvin Massey (UC-Hastings) argues that the tax would be unconstitutional under both the dormant commerce clause and...

The Tax Perspective on Outsourcing

Posted on May 24, 2009
Amar Gupta (University of Arizona, Eller College of Management), Gio Wiederhold (Stanford University, Computer Sciences Department), David Branson Smith (University of Arizona, Eller College of Management) & Devin Sreecharana (University of Arizona, Eller College of Management) have posted Outsourcing from the Perspectives of International Protocols, Law, Intellectual Property, and Taxation...

Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

Posted on May 24, 2009
There is a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a new #1 paper and a new paper debuting on the list at #5: 1. [302 Downloads]: Choice of Entity: Considerations and Consequences, by Ellen P. Aprill (Loyola-L...

Expanding the EITC for Single Workers and Couples Without Children

Posted on May 23, 2009
Daniel P. Gitterman (University of North Carolina, Department of Public Policy), Lucy S. Gorham (MDC, Inc.) & Jessica L. Dorrance (University of North Carolina, Center for Community Capital) have published Expanding the EITC for Single Workers and Couples Without Children: Tax Relief For All Low-Wage Workers, 15 Geo...

Conference on Assessing University Performance

Posted on May 23, 2009
The webcast and podcast are now available from the American Enterprise Institute's conference last week on Assessing University Performance: Each year, prospective college students and university officials eagerly await the publication of the latest college rankings...

Judge Refuses to Revoke Marion Barry's Probation for Continued Failure to File Tax Returns After U.S. Attorney Fails to Call Any Witnesses at Hearing

Posted on May 23, 2009
I previously blogged Marion Barry Owes $277k in Back Taxes; Government Seeks Revocation of His Probation (March 30, 2009): In a scathing pretrial memorandum, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor alleges that former D.C. Mayor (and current D.C. Council member) Marion Barry owes more than $277,000 in unpaid federal taxes, penalties,...

Teenager Who Auctioned Her Virginity for $14k May Lose Half to Tax Man

Posted on May 22, 2009
Daily Mail: Teen Who Auctioned Her Virginity for £8,000 May Lose Half... Because Prostitutes in Germany Are Taxed at 50% of Earnings: Tax authorities in Germany are poised to claim 50% of the money that a teenage student earned for 'auctioning' her virginity because they claim it was "tantamount to...

CTJ: Progressive Tax Options to Fund Health Care Reform

Posted on May 22, 2009
Citizens for Tax Justice yesterday issued a new report, Progressive Revenue Options to Fund Health Care Reform: Politicians and pundits have lately written or spoken of the ?difficult choices? and ?sacrifices? that will be necessary if the United States is to find a way to fund health care reform in...

Lokken: U.S. Income Tax Accounting for Inventories

Posted on May 22, 2009
Lawrence Lokken (Florida) has posted U.S. Income Tax Accounting for Inventories on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper is a chapter from a forthcoming third edition of volume 5 of Boris I. Bittker & Lawrence Lokken, Federal Taxation of Income, Estates and Gifts...

Senate Releases 49-Page Summary of Stimulus Act

Posted on May 22, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee has released a 49-page summary of the tax provisions in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was signed into law (Pub. L. No. 111-5) in February. From Committee Chaid Max Baucus: We are facing an economic storm not seen since the...

Glaxo Battles IRS in $1.9 Billion Earnings Stripping Case

Posted on May 22, 2009
Wall Street Journal: GlaxoSmithKline, IRS Tangle in Tax Court, by Jesse Drucker: GlaxoSmithKline PLC is embroiled in a potential $1.9 billion court battle with the Internal Revenue Service, which says the drug maker owes back taxes, interest and penalties stemming from tax deductions Glaxo generated essentially by making payments to...

Colleges Ignore Admissions Essays

Posted on May 22, 2009
Chronicle of Higher Education: U. of Cambridge Admissions Chief Says Application Essays Are Widely Ignored: Cambridge?s director of admissions has caused an uproar by implying that his institution does not give any weight to personal essays in applications...

Liberty University Revokes Recognition of Democratic Club

Posted on May 22, 2009
Liberty University has revoked recognition of the campus Democratic Party club because its parent organization stands against the conservative Christian school's moral principles. The club, which has about 30 members, will no longer be able to use Liberty's name, hold on-campus meetings, or be eligible for student activities money...

ABA Offers Guidance on LSAT-Free Law School Admissions

Posted on May 22, 2009
I previously blogged the new programs at Alabama, Illinois, and Michigan for admitting selected undergraduates without requiring them to take the LSAT, as well as the rankings implications of such programs (LSAT-Free Law School Admissions Can Goose U...

Providence Proposes Brown Tax

Posted on May 21, 2009
Following up on a prior post: Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, has released details of his plan to allow cities to impose a "student-impact fee" on private colleges of $150 for every full-time out-of-state student, as well as to subject...

Winchester: Parity Lost: The Price of a Corporate Tax in a Progressive Tax World

Posted on May 21, 2009
Richard Winchester (Thomas Jefferson) has published Parity Lost: The Price of a Corporate Tax in a Progressive Tax World, 9 Nev. L.J. 130 (2008). Here is the abstract: The United States has always taxed income at progressive rates, so that...

House Holds Hearing Today on Tax-Exempt and Taxable Governmental Bonds

Posted on May 21, 2009
The Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures of the House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing today on Tax-Exempt and Taxable Governmental Bonds. From the hearing announcement: The hearing will focus on issues relating to tax-exempt and taxable government bonds,...

Court of Appeals Reverses Lower Court: Pringles Are "Potato Chips" Subject to VAT

Posted on May 21, 2009
I previously blogged the July 4, 2008 decision by Britain's High Court (Chancery Division) that Pringles are not potato chips and thus are exempt from Britain's 17.5% VAT. Procter & Gamble UK v. Revenue & Customs, [2008] EWHC 1558 (Ch) (July 4, 2008)...

Rankings Boost For UC-Hastings?

Posted on May 21, 2009
UC-Hastings opens a new parking garage. (Hat Tip: Law School Headlines.)

Call For Nominations: $14k International Tax Paper Prize

Posted on May 21, 2009
Nominations are being accepted for the International Tax Prize from Autónoma University of Madrid, Deloitte, and CISS: The Universidad Autónoma de Madrid/CISS/Deloitte International Tax Prize will be awarded to the best research paper on international tax...

Hymel & Mann: Tax Incentives for Ethanol

Posted on May 21, 2009
Mona L. Hymel (Arizona) & Roberta F. Mann (Oregon) have published Moonshine to Motorfuel: Tax Incentives for Fuel Ethanol, 19 Duke Envtl. L. & Pol'y F. 43 (2009). Here is the abstract: Biofuels have been embraced by supporters from President George W...

Wal-Mart. Save Money Taxes. Live Better.

Posted on May 21, 2009
I previously blogged Wal-Mart's aggressive tax strategy that has saved it hundreds of millions in state taxes in recent years by transferring its stores to REITs owned by Wal-Mart subsidiaries in Delaware and then deducting rental payments to the REITS, which were not taxed on the rental receipts in Delaware...

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