The woeful New Jersey Nets (6-53) and the Roni Deutch Tax Center have teamed up on a unique promotion: fans attending Friday's game against the Orlando Magic will receive a coupon to have their state tax returns prepared for free (the customary charge is $29), as well as a coupon for $30 to $50 off the cost of federal tax return preparation.  Upon completion of their returns, Roni Deutch customers also will receive Nets tickets for this season.  Roni Deutch Tax Center's representatives will be at Friday's game to answer tax-related questions before and during the game.

• Nets press release
• Associated Press
• ESPN
• Going Concern
• New York Times
• Tax Girl
• Yahoo! Sports

(Hat Tip: J.D. Kern, Stuart Lazar.)  From Jim Maule (Villanova):

[T]he exam question simply could be, what are the tax consequences to X, a fan, who purchases tickets to Friday's game, asks a tax question, gets advice, gets the state coupon, gets the federal coupon, and gets the entry into the lottery for future tickets?

There appear to be several ways to analyze this. Is it equivalent to a price reduction for the Nets tickets, with the fans being urged to use the savings on tax return preparation fees? Not quite, because the fans get coupons that have separate values. Or does one start with the proposition it is income, and then go through the list of exclusions? (Gift? Working condition fringe? Inheritance? and so on) Is it a prize specifically included under § 74? Or is it a matter of the coupons simply being a coupon, and thus a price reduction not by the Nets but by the Roni Deutch Tax Center?

And what of the free tax advice provided on the spot? Income? Gross income? What is its value? Is it any different from reading "free" tax advice on a web site that is provided by a tax return preparer or other professional as a way of attracting clients? If information has value (assuming the tax advice is correct, because the value of incorrect tax advice is questionable), then is there gross income each time someone obtains information from a library book at a public library (in a town to which the user does not pay taxes) or from a free site on the internet?

Oh, one can argue that the value of being entered into a lottery for future tickets to a Nets game is questionable, but on the other hand, perhaps the tickets will turn out to be for the game where the Nets lose a record-breaking 74th time. Hmmm. So I think this could be a good question to get students to identify possible issues and work through a number of tax doctrines and Code provisions.