Taxation & Estate Planning

CBO: College Sports Tax Would Not Yield Much Revenue

Posted on May 20, 2009
The Congressional Budget Office yesterday released Tax Preferences for Collegiate Sports: Long viewed as an integral component of higher education, sports in many universities have become highly commercialized. Successful athletic programs are very rewarding financially: The NCAA men?s basketball tournament...

Mann: The Tax Treatment of Islamic Mortgage Alternatives

Posted on May 20, 2009
Roberta Mann (Oregon) has published Is Sharif's Castle Deductible: Islam and the Tax Treatment of Mortgage Debt, 17 Wm. M. B. Rts. J. 1139 (2009). Here is the abstract: This article examines the tax treatment of Islamic mortgage alternatives and...

CB&PP: States Should Decouple Their Tax Codes From IRC to Avoid $5.5b Revenue Hit

Posted on May 20, 2009
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has published Obscure Tax Provision of Federal Recovery Package Could Widen State Budget Gaps: States Can Avoid Revenue Loss by ?Decoupling?: A federal tax break in the federal recovery package could cost states...

Hesch: Guide to the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program

Posted on May 20, 2009
Joel Hesch (Liberty) has published a new book, Reward: Collecting Millions for Reporting Tax Evasion (Your Complete Guide to the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program) (Liberty University Press, 2009). From the publisher's description: Are you aware... $350 billion in taxes go...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Leiter: The Most "Conservative" Law Faculties

Posted on May 20, 2009
Brian Leiter (Chicago) has a detailed post on The Most "Conservative" Law Faculties: Among the top law schools, Northwestern University and University of Virginia are clearly both the farthest to the right and with the most prominent scholars, but Harvard...

Beyer & Wilkerson: The Tax Treatment of Pet Trusts

Posted on May 20, 2009
Gerry W. Beyer (Texas Tech) & Jonathan P. Wilkerson (J.D. 2009, Texas Tech) have published Max's Taxes: A Tax-Based Analysis of Pet Trusts, 43 U. Rich. L. Rev. 1219 (2009). Here is the abstract: Humans and charities are no longer...

New Issue of Akron Tax Journal

Posted on May 20, 2009
Volume 23 (2008) of the Akron Tax Journal is now available on its web site: Richard Lavoie (Akron), Analysing the Schizoid Agency: Achieving the Proper Balance in Enforcing The Internal Revenue Code, 23 Akron Tax J. 1 (2008) Manahem Pasternak...

17th Birthday in NYC

Posted on May 20, 2009
I just returned from a whirlwind 56-hour trip to New York City to celebrate my daughter's 17th birthday. Jayne, I had a spectacular time -- visiting two colleges, power-walking from Times Square to Battery Park (and then deciding to invest...

The Tax Code For Your iPhone

Posted on May 19, 2009
LawToGo.net offers the complete Internal Revenue Code for your iPhone. From iPhone J.D.: [T]he app seems quite solid. You can use the app many different ways. First, you can just browse through sections, tapping to drill down to a specific...

Ventry: A Primer on Tax Work Product for Federal Courts

Posted on May 19, 2009
Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. (UC-Davis) has posted A Primer on Tax Work Product for Federal Courts, 123 Tax Notes 875 (May 18, 2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article discusses the application of the work product doctrine in...

Marian: The Discursive Failure in Comparative Tax Law

Posted on May 19, 2009
Omri Y. Marian (S.J.D. candidate, Michigan) has posted The Discursive Failure in Comparative Tax Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Tax comparatists tend to bemoan about the grim status of their chosen field of studies. Complaints are aimed both...

TPC Hosts Conference Today on Getting More from Tax Incentives

Posted on May 19, 2009
The Tax Policy Center hosts a conference today on Getting More from Tax Incentives (live webcast available here): The budgetary cost of tax incentives with social policy objectives is large and growing. President Obama?s 2010 budget proposes expanded credits for...

Criticizing Obama's Proposal to Eliminate Deduction for Punitive Damages: Trial Lawyer Earmark?

Posted on May 19, 2009
Page 117 of the Treasury Department's recently-released Green Book explains the Administration's proposal to eliminate the deduction under § 162 for punitive damages. For criticism of the proposal, see: Ted Frank, Trial Lawyer Earmarks: Ending Deductions for Punitive Damage Payments...

CCH Publishes Report on Treasury Department's "Green Book"

Posted on May 19, 2009
CCH has published a 10-page special report, Treasury Releases "Green Book" of Tax Proposals, with articles on: Rate Hikes for Upper-Brackets Dividends Retain Favored Rates Expanded NOL Carrybacks Possible Tax-Free Gain on Small Business Stock Major International Tax Changes LIFO...

Bird: Taxation in Latin America

Posted on May 19, 2009
Richard M. Bird (University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management) has posted Taxation in Latin America: Reflections on Sustainability and the Balance between Equity and Efficiency on SSRN. Here is the abstract: My aim in this paper is simply to...

Syracuse Prof: Bill O'Reilly Cost Me Tenure

Posted on May 19, 2009
I previously blogged controversial statements by Boyce Watkins (Syracuse University, Whitman School of Management), Why Universities are Fundamentally Racist. Professor Watkins was denied tenure by Syracuse last week and blames Fox News' Bill O'Reilly: Inside Higher Ed: Did Bill O'Reilly...

Congratulations, Adam Steinman!

Posted on May 19, 2009
Congratulations to my friend and colleague Adam Steinman -- the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees today approved his promotion to full professor with tenure, effective September 1, 2009. Adam is an amazingly productive and thoughtful scholar in the civil...

Reynolds: Barack Milhous Obama: Presidents Should Not Joke About Using the IRS as Political Enforcer

Posted on May 18, 2009
Op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal: Tax Audits Are No Laughing Matter: A President Shouldn't Even Joke About Abusing IRS Power, by Glenn Harlan Reynolds (Tennessee): Barack Obama owes his presidency in no small part to the power of rhetoric....

Stanford Law Review Debate: The Role of Expert Opinions in the Tax Shelter Problem

Posted on May 18, 2009
William H. Simon (Columbia), The Market for Bad Legal Advice: Academic Professional Responsibility Consulting as an Example, 60 Stan. L. Rev. 1555 (2008): Clients demand bad legal advice when legal advice can favorably influence third-party conduct or attitudes even when...

The Virtual Tax Library: A Comparison of Five Electronic Tax Research Platforms

Posted on May 18, 2009
Katherine Pratt, Jennifer M. Kowal & Daniel Martin (all of Loyola-L.A.) have published The Virtual Tax Library: A Comparison of Five Electronic Tax Research Platforms, 8 Fla. Tax Rev. 931 (2008). Here is the abstract: Improved LexisNexis and Westlaw tax...

Taylor: State Taxation of Tribal Bonds

Posted on May 18, 2009
Scott A. Taylor (University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)) has posted The Importance of Being Interest: Why a State Cannot Impose its Income Tax on Tribal Bonds, 25 Akron Tax J. ___ (2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The exercise...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on May 18, 2009
Saturday: OECD: High Taxes Make People Happy 5th Circuit: BLIPS Tax Shelter Lacks Economic Substance CTJ Report: President Obama's Tax Proposals The State and Local Tax Contributions Made by Undocumented Immigrants Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads Dees: Profits Interests...

Brudney & Ditslear: Statutory Interpretation in Tax Cases

Posted on May 18, 2009
James J. Brudney (Ohio State) & Corey Ditslear (University of North Texas, Political Science Department) have published The Warp and Woof of Statutory Interpretation: Comparing Supreme Court Approaches in Tax Law and Workplace Law, 58 Duke L.J. 1231 (2009)...

WSJ: Soak the Rich, Lose the Rich

Posted on May 18, 2009
Op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal: Soak the Rich, Lose the Rich: Americans Know How to Use the Moving Van to Escape High Taxes, by Arthur Laffer & Stephen Moore: With states facing nearly $100 billion in combined budget deficits...

Kovach: Standards for Inflation Adjustments Under the Tax Code

Posted on May 18, 2009
Richard J. Kovach (Akron) has published Technical and Policy Standards for Inflation Adjustments Under the Internal Revenue Code, 33 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 603 (2008). Here is the abstract: Toward the end of every calendar year, tax professionals scan...

Houston Business & Tax Law Journal Publishes New Issue

Posted on May 18, 2009
The Houston Business & Tax Law Journal has published Vol. 9, No. 1, with these tax articles: Richard B. Malamud (California State University, Dominguez Hills, College of Business and Public Policy) & Richard O. Parry (California State University, Fullerton, Steven...

U.S. News' Response to Brooklyn's Data Error in the Law School Rankings

Posted on May 18, 2009
I previously blogged the controversy surrounding Brooklyn's position in the 2010 U.S. News Law School Rankings: U.S. News to Correct Data, Not Rankings, of Brooklyn, Hawaii, and Nebraska (5/8/09) U.S. News Is Looking Into Possible Errors in 2010 Law School...

Tax Panels at ALEA Annual Meeting

Posted on May 17, 2009
The two-day American Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting concluded yesterday at the University of San Diego School of Law. Here is yesterday's tax-releated panel: Taxation and Social Welfare: Panel Chair: Paul Oyer (Sanford Business School) Dhammika Dharmapala (Illinois) &...

Do Nonprofit Hospitals Deserve Their Tax-Exempt Status?

Posted on May 17, 2009
Laura L. Folkerts (J.D. 2009, Iowa) has published Note, Do Nonprofit Hospitals Provide Community Benefit? A Critique of the Standards for Proving Deservedness of Federal Tax Exemptions, 34 J. Corp. L. 611 (2009). Here is the Conclusion: The community benefit...

Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

Posted on May 17, 2009
This week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads is the same as last week's list: 1. [275 Downloads]: 2008 Developments in Connecticut Estate and Probate Law, by Jeffrey A. Cooper (Quinnipiac) & John R. Ivimey (Reid &...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.