Taxation & Estate Planning

Duff Presents Rethinking the Concept of Income in Tax Law and Policy Today at Michigan

Posted on March 26, 2008
David Duff (Toronto) presents Rethinking the Concept of Income in Tax Law and Policy at Michigan today as part of its Tax Policy Workshop Series. Here is part of the Introduction: This paper reconsiders the Haig-Simons definition of income, critically...

TurboTax, But Not TaxCut, Allows Civil-Union Returns

Posted on March 26, 2008
Last week, I blogged several rankings naming TurboTax the #1 tax preparation software, over TaxCut and its other competitiors. Today's news brings another reason to favor TurboTax: it allows civil-union returns by gay and lesbian couples, while TaxCut does not...

KPMG Tax Shelter Prosecutors Take Appeal to Second Circuit

Posted on March 26, 2008
Associated Press: US Government Tries to Revive KPMG Case, by Larry Neumeister Bloomberg: KPMG Prosecutor Asks Court to Reinstate Charges, by Carlyn Kolker & David Glovin National Law Journal: No Coercion in KPMG Case, Prosecutor Says, by Mark Hamblett Reuters:...

Georgetown Hosts Careers in Tax Law Panel Today

Posted on March 26, 2008
Georgetown hosts a Careers in Tax Law Panel for Washington, D.C. area law students and tax LL.M. candidates today from 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. "Guests representing the government and private sectors will talk about their career experiences, and share...

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State & Local Tax Edition of The Tax Lawyer

Posted on March 26, 2008
The ABA Tax Section has ceased publication the State & Local Tax Lawyer and instead will have an annual State & Local Tax Edition of The Tax Lawyer, beginning with the current issue (Vol. 60, No. 4 (Summer 2007)) with...

More Coverage of Obama's Tax Returns

Posted on March 26, 2008
Following up on yesterday's post on Barack Obama's release of his 2000-2006 tax returns, today's New York Times picks up the story in Obamas? Tax Returns Show Donation Spike, by Leslie Wayne. The article links to the returns posted on...

ABA Journal on the U.S. News Law School Rankings

Posted on March 26, 2008
Check out the cover story in the April 2008 ABA Journal: The Rankings Czar: Law Deans Hate Bob Morse's Rankings; He'd Like Their Help to Make Them Better, by Lynda Edwards: [Houston Dean Nancy Rapoport's] tears at a meet­ing with...

IRS Examines <1% of Exempt Organizations Each Year

Posted on March 25, 2008
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released Performance Measures and Improved Case Tracking Would Help the Exempt Organizations Function Better Allocate Resources (2008-10-057): There has been significant growth in the number of entities recognized as tax-exempt, with more...

Please Help a Newly-Blind Tax Prof

Posted on March 25, 2008
I received a request for help from a colleague of a Tax Prof who suddenly lost his sight. Please post in the comments any "information/tips/advice from others who teach or practice tax law and who have already successfully coped (or...

Former Senate Finance Committee Staffer Discusses Curbing Charity Abuses Today at Noon

Posted on March 25, 2008
The Chronicle of Philanthropy hosts a one-hour Q&A today at noon with Dean A. Zerbe, former aide to Senate Finance Committee Chair Charles Hrassley: As a top aide to Sen. Charles Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee,...

Obama Releases 2000-2006 Tax Returns

Posted on March 25, 2008
Barack Obama today released his 2000-2006 tax returns: 2006 Return 2005 Return 2004 Return 2003 Return 2002 Return 2001 Return 2000 Return Here is a summary of the figures: What is surprising, given the recent controversy over Obama's membership in...

Rosenberg Posts Papers on SSRN

Posted on March 25, 2008
Joshua D. Rosenberg (San Francisco) has posted a number of papers on SSRN: One Law School Course You Should Not Miss, The Complete Lawyer, Vol. 3, No. 6, 2007 There are No Straightforward Conversations, The Complete Lawyer, Vol. 3, No....

Yagman to Begin Three Year Sentence for Tax Evasion on Monday

Posted on March 25, 2008
The National Law Journal reports today that a federal district judge in Los Angeles has ordered civil rights lawyer Stephen Yagman to begin serving his three-year sentence for tax evasion on Monday, March 31. See below the fold for prior...

7th Circuit: KPMG Not Liable for Client's Bad Merger Decision

Posted on March 25, 2008
The Seventh Circuit, in a decision by Judge Posner, held that KPMG was not liable for malpractice to a former audit client that collapsed a year after it acquired a much larger firm. In Maxwell v. KPMG, No. 07-2819 (7th...

Cincinnati Seeks Director for Law Library and Information Technology

Posted on March 25, 2008
The University of Cincinnati College of Law is looking to hire a Director for Law Library and Information Technology. As the position announcement explains, this is an exciting opportunity to join our small public law school at a wonderful point...

Advance Copy of 2009 U.S. News Law School Rankings?

Posted on March 25, 2008
The 2009 U.S. News law school rankings are due to be released March 29, but purported advance copies are already circulating on the Internet. Here is a purported copy of the Top 100 (104 with ties), along with the data...

2008 Tannenwald Tax Writing Competition

Posted on March 24, 2008
The Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship and American College of Tax Counsel are sponsoring the 2008 Tannenwald Writing Competition: Named for the late Tax Court Judge Theodore Tannenwald, Jr., and designed to perpetuate his dedication to...

Death of Alan J. Aronsohn

Posted on March 24, 2008
I am sorry to bring you the news of the death of Alan J. Aronsohn, former tax partner (and managing partner) of Bryan Cave. He was a name partner in the New York City law firm of Robinson, Silverman, Pearce,...

Maxwell: How Banning Laptops in the Classroom Made Me a Better Law School Teacher

Posted on March 24, 2008
Nancy G. Maxwell (Washburn) has posted From Facebook to Folsom Prison Blues: How Banning Laptops in the Classroom Made Me a Better Law School Teacher, 14 Rich. J. L. & Tech. No. 2 (2007), on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup

Posted on March 24, 2008
Saturday: TIGTA Criticizes IRS's Physical and IT Security The Impact of Children on Lawyer Productivity Golf Course Conservation Easements Littriello and the Federal Tax Personality of Disregarded LLCs Sunday: Easter: Resurrection, Race, Politics, and Taxes Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads...

Is Wesley Snipes' Conviction by All-White Jury Vulnerable After Snyder?

Posted on March 24, 2008
I previously blogged Wesley Snipes scheduled April 24 sentencing on his conviction on three misdemeanor counts of failure to file tax returns. Ellen Podgor (Stetson) asks whether the denial of Snipes' change of venue request on the ground of the...

Avi-Yonah & Uhlmann: Why a Carbon Tax is a Better Response to Global Warming than Cap and Trade

Posted on March 24, 2008
Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Michigan) & David M. Uhlmann (Michigan) have posted Combating Global Climate Change: Why a Carbon Tax is a Better Response to Global Warming than Cap and Trade on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The leading proposal in...

Summer Associate Hiring Wilts at BigLaw

Posted on March 24, 2008
Summer Hiring for '08 Wilts (National Law Journal), by Leigh Jones: Summer associate ranks look thinner for the upcoming season as many of the nation's law firms have pulled back from the record-breaking hiring of 2007. A sampling of summer...

IRS Issues Whistleblower Regs

Posted on March 24, 2008
The IRS today released temporary (T.D. 9389) and proposed (REG-114942-07) relating to the disclosure of tax return information under § 6103(n) by a Treasury Department employee to a whistleblower or its representative.

Prof Demoted After Refusing to be on Campus from 8-5

Posted on March 24, 2008
A Department Chairman Loses His Post Following a Dispute Over Hours Spent on the Campus (Chronicle of Higher Education), by Robin Wilson: The chairman of the philosophy department at the University of Akron was removed from his position earlier this....

IRS Publishes Economic Stimulus Payments (Guide for Benefit Recipients)

Posted on March 24, 2008
The IRS has released Publication 4665, Economic Stimulus Payments (Guide for Benefit Recipients): This guide is for individuals who receive Social Security, Railroad Retirement, and/or certain Veterans? benefits who must file a 2007 return in order to receive a payment...

U.S. States Lead the World in High Corporate Tax Rates

Posted on March 24, 2008
The Tax Foundation has released U.S. States Lead the World in High Corporate Taxes: Many states impose state corporate income taxes at rates above the national average of 6.6%. Iowa, for example, imposes the highest corporate tax rate of 12%,...

All Saints Church, § 501(c)(3), and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Posted on March 23, 2008
Zachary Cummings (J.D. 2008, Regent) has published Note, Prophetic Speech and the Internal Revenue Code: Analyzing I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) in Light of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 20 Regent U. L. Rev. 151 (2008). Here is the Conclusion: Currently, under...

Taxes and Climate Change

Posted on March 23, 2008
Eben Albert-Knopp (J.D. 2008, Vermont) has published Note, The California Gas Charge and Beyond: Taxes and Fees in a Changing Climate, 32 Vt. L. Rev. 217 (2007). Here is the Conclusion: California's proposed charge on gasoline is a proper application...

Easter: Resurrection, Race, Politics, and Taxes

Posted on March 23, 2008
Obama Talk Fuels Easter Sermons (New York Times), by Laurie Goodstein & Neela Banerjee: This Easter Sunday, the holiest day of the Christian calendar, many pastors will start their sermons about the Resurrection of Jesus and weave in a pointed...

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