Taxation & Estate Planning

Beer Pong, College Sports Better Predictors of BigLaw Success Than Rank of Law School, GPA

Posted on October 17, 2008
ABA Journal: School Rank and GPA Aren?t the Best Predictors of BigLaw Success, by Debra Cassens Weiss: Law school rank and grade point average aren?t the best predictors of success at large law firms, according to a study of more...

2009 Inflation-Adjusted Tax Tables

Posted on October 17, 2008
The IRS yesterday released the inflation adjusted 2009 federal tax brackets and tables (IR-2008-117; IR-2008-118; Rev. Proc. 2008-66): Standard Deduction: $5,700 single/$11,400 joint (up $250/$500 from 2008) Personal Exemption: $3,650 (up $150 from 2008) Gift Tax Exemption: $13,000 (up $1,000...

U.S. News Responds to Baylor's Rankings Ploy of Paying Admitted Students to Retake the SAT

Posted on October 17, 2008
Robert Morse, Director of Data Research at U.S. News & World Report, responds to Baylor's rankings ploy in paying admitted students to retake the SAT: The bottom line on Baylor's SAT retesting: There's no academic value in asking students already...

Michigan/Peking University Conference on Comparative Tax Administration: Chinese and U.S. Perspectives

Posted on October 17, 2008
The two-day Third Annual University of Michigan/Peking University Tax Conference on Comparative Tax Administration: Chinese and U.S. Perspectives kicks off in Ann Arbor, with these speakers and topics on Chinese Perspectives on Tax Administration: Panel #1: Liu Jianwen (Peking University...

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Manasfi: Fifth Circuit Tax Survey

Posted on October 17, 2008
Julie A.D. Manasfi (Loyola-L.A.) has published Potentially the Last Word in Judicial Review -- A Look at Certain Fifth Circuit Tax Cases, 40 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 787 (2008). Here is part of the Introduction Twelve cases involving tax were...

Joe the Plumber: Should Tax Policy Be Used To "Spread the Wealth Around"?

Posted on October 16, 2008
Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Holland, Ohio, is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. Last week at a campaign swing outside Toledo, he told Barack Obama that he was planning on acquiring the plumbing business he worked for and asked...

Slemrod Presents The Coase Theorem and Tax Law Today at Yale

Posted on October 16, 2008
Joel Slemrod (Ross School of Business, University of Michigan) presents The Coase Theorem and Tax Law (with Kyle Logue (Michigan) at Yale today as part of its Law, Economics & Organization Workshop Series. Here is the abstract: The Coase Theorem...

Hasen Presents Legal Transitions -- Reliance Redux Today at Columbia

Posted on October 16, 2008
David M. Hasen (Michigan) presents Legal Transitions -- Reliance Redux at Columbia today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series. Here is the abstract: The recent literature on legal transitions is noted for its welfarist approach to the analysis...

Kornhauser Presents Hidden Taxes and the 1936 Election Today at Boston College

Posted on October 16, 2008
Marjorie Kornhauser (Arizona State) presents Remembering the "Forgotten Man" (and Woman): Hidden Taxes and the 1936 Election at Boston College today as part of its Tax Policy Workshop Series. Here is the abstract: Hidden (indirect) taxes were a major theme...

Tax Fact Checking the Final Presidential Debate

Posted on October 16, 2008
Tax Foundation: Fact Checking Tax Policy Discussion in the Final Presidential Debate, by Gerald Prante Finally, it's over. It was painful and I would have rather been watching baseball, but honestly, it was not quite as bad as the previous...

Another New Front in the Rankings War: Paying Students to Apply

Posted on October 16, 2008
Following up on this morning's post, Update on LSAT-Free Admissions and LSAT Retesting of Admitted Applicants: the Wall Street Journal Law Blog has uncovered a new front on the U.S. News gaming war: Alabama is offering applicants $20 in free...

KPMG Tax Shelter Trial Begins in NYC

Posted on October 16, 2008
Forbes: Lies or Legal Tax Tactice? KPMG Trial Begins in NYC: Three former executives of accounting giant KPMG and a lawyer used lies and deception to cheat the federal government out of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes owed...

Symposium: Estate Planning for Same-Sex and Transgender Couples

Posted on October 16, 2008
The Western New England Law Review has published Symposium: Issues in Estate Planning for Same-Sex and Transgender Couples, 30 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 671-771 (2008): Jenifer L. Levi, Foreword, 30 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 671 (2008) A. Spencer...

Update on LSAT-Free Admissions and LSAT Retesting of Admitted Applicants

Posted on October 16, 2008
Following up on my recent posts: The Next Front in the Rankings War: Paying Admitted Students to Retake the LSAT? Illinois Offers LSAT-Free Admission to Undergrads With 3.0 GPA LSAT-Free Law School Admissions Can Goose U.S. News Ranking Press and...

Pease-Wingenter: Does the Attorney-Client Privilege Apply to Tax Lawyers?

Posted on October 16, 2008
Claudine Pease-Wingenter (Phoenix School of Law) has published Does the Attorney-Client Privilege Apply to Tax Lawyers?: An Examination of the Return Preparation Exception to Define the Parameters of Privilege in the Tax Context, 47 Washburn L.J. 699 (2008)...

Consumer Reports Should Challenge the U.S. News Law School Rankings Monopoly

Posted on October 16, 2008
Jeff Sovern (St. John's) urges Consumer Reports to challenge U.S. News & World Report's law school rankings monopoly: Consumer Reports should rate law schools, and perhaps other schools too, for the following four reasons: First, the existing U.S. News rankings...

Altshuler Presents Reconsidering Tax Expenditure Estimation Today at Penn

Posted on October 15, 2008
Rosanne Altshuler (Rutgers University, Department of Economics) presents Reconsidering Tax Expenditure Estimation: Challenges and Reforms (with Robert D. Dietz (National Association of Home Builders) at Pennsylvania today as part of its Tax Law and Policy Seminar Series...

McCain and Obama Release New Tax Plans on Eve of Final Debate

Posted on October 15, 2008
McCain: Suspend mandatory distribution rules for IRA and 401(k) Reduce tax rate on withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s to 10% Reduce capital gain tax rate to 7.5% (from 15%) in 2009 and 2010 Increase amount of capital losses deductible against...

Economists Rate the McCain and Obama Tax Plans

Posted on October 15, 2008
The Economist surveyed 142 academic economists (46% Democrats, 10% Republicans, and 44% Independents) on the tax plans of the presidential candidates (The Economist's Poll of Economists: Examining the Candidates). 66.9% of the economists rated the McCain tax plan as bad...

IRS Office of Chief Counsel Seeks 2009-10 Professor in Residence

Posted on October 15, 2008
IRS Chief Counsel Donald L. Korb seeks applications from full, associate, or assistant law professor at ABA-accredited law schools to serve as the 2009-10 Professor in Residence (September 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010): The Professor in Residence Program...

The Estate Tax Under President McCain or Obama

Posted on October 15, 2008
Wall Street Journal: On Death and Taxes ... and the Candidates, by Tom Herman: Although taxes have become a major political battleground in the presidential campaign, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain agree on a couple of estate-tax issues that...

The Next Front in the Rankings War: Paying Admitted Students to Retake the LSAT?

Posted on October 15, 2008
I previously blogged the rankings implications of the new early admission programs at Illinois and Michigan for admitting their undergrads without taking the LSAT. Today's Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed bring news of the next front in...

Johnston: Bailing Out Tax Abusers

Posted on October 15, 2008
David Cay Johnston has published Bailing Out Tax Abusers, 121 Tax Notes 211 (Oct. 13, 2008): Watching as artificially inflated assets collapse, and as Washington makes a vain and costly attempt to defy reality to prevent it, can be really...

The Economist's Poll on the McCain & Obama Economics Plans

Posted on October 15, 2008
The Economist surveyed 142 academic economists (46% Democrats, 10% Republicans, and 44% Independents) on the economic plans of the presidential candidates (The Economist's Poll of Economists: Examining the Candidates). By a 6:1 margin, they said that Obama would field a...

Call for Tax Papers: Law & Society Annual Meeting

Posted on October 15, 2008
Neil H. Buchanan (George Washington) has issued his annual call on the TaxProf Email Discussion Group for Tax Profs to join with him in organizing one or more tax panels for next year's annual meeting of the Law & Society...

Tax Law: Global Perspectives

Posted on October 15, 2008
Tax Law: Global Perspectives (Amicus Books, 2008): Tax Consequences of the Migration of Companies: A Practitioner's Perspective, by Gero Burwitz Tax Opinions in TIC Offerings and Reverse TIC Exchanges, by Bradley T. Borden & Todd D. Keator The Commerce Clause...

Wal-Mart Treats its Part-Time Employees Better Than Universities Treat Adjuncts

Posted on October 15, 2008
Chronicle of Higher Education: University Official Offers Harsh Critique of Policies Toward Adjuncts, by Jeffrey J. Selingo: Wal-Mart, the nation?s largest private employer, long criticized for its workplace policies, is a ?more-honest employer? of part-time workers than colleges that employ...

New U.S. News Tax Rankings

Posted on October 14, 2008
I have received a copy of the U.S. News peer assessment survey for their annual ranking of the top law school tax programs. The instructions state: Identify up to fifteen (15) schools that have the highest-quality tax law courses or...

Treasury Announces Executive Compensation Rules Under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

Posted on October 14, 2008
The Treasury Department today issued HP-1208, Treasury Announces Executive Compensation Rules Under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act: The U.S. Treasury Department today announced the development of three programs under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and corresponding executive compensation and corporate...

Hellwig: On Discounted Partnership Interests and Adequate Consideration

Posted on October 14, 2008
Brant J. Hellwig (South Carolina) has posted On Discounted Partnership Interests and Adequate Consideration, 27 Va. Tax Rev. ___ (2008), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Early cases involving the government's invocation of § 2036(a) to combat the use of...

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