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Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law

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  • Paul Caron

    TIGTA Slams IRS Employees’ Unauthorized First-Class Travel

    The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Controls Over the Use of Premium-Class Travel Are Generally Effective, but Did Not Detect Some Employees Traveling Without Proper Authorization (2009-10-117):

    The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) today publicly released its review of the unauthorized use of premium-class airline and train travel by IRS employees. …

    TIGTA found that, while the IRS's existing procedures are generally effective in limiting unauthorized premium-class travel, it is still possible for IRS employees to purchase premium-class travel tickets without proper authorization.

    The IRS issued new guidelines in August 2008 limiting the purchase of premium-class airline tickets by its employees, which resulted in a significant decrease in the use of business class travel. …

    TIGTA identified 11 unauthorized instances of first-class air travel by IRS employees between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2009, with a total cost of $50,892. Of these, three were domestic first-class tickets and eight were international business class tickets. …

    TIGTA recommended that the IRS clarify for its employees the conditions under which premium-class travel is appropriate and remind managers that purchasing first-class train tickets requires authorization from the IRS Commissioner.

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  • Paul Caron

    2010 Princeton Review Law School Rankings: Most (and Least) Selective Admissions

    Princeton Review Last week, I blogged the lists of the Top 10 law schools in eleven categories posted on Princeton Review’s web site in connection with its publication of the 2010 edition of Best 172 Law Schools (with the University of Cincinnati College of Law on the cover).  The rankings are the result of Princeton Review’s survey of 18,000 students at the 172 law schools, along with school statistics provided by administrators.


    I have extracted from the individual profiles of the 172 law schools all of the available data to rank the schools in six categories. I will report each day on one of the ranking categories.

    Admissions Selectivity Rating: How competititve admission is at the law school, on a scale of 60 to 99. Several factors determine this rating, including LSAT scores and the average undergraduate GPA of entering 1L students, the percentage of applicants accepted, and the percentage of accepted applicants who enrolled in the law school. We collect this information through a survey that law school administrators completed for the Fall 2009 entering class.

    Here are the law schools that are the most and least selective in admissions among the 172 law schools profiled in the book (an asterisk indicates that the school did not supply the Princeton Review with the requested statistical information):

    School

    Score


    School

    Score


    1

    Harvard

    99

    148

    Nova

    68

    Stanford

    99


    South Dakota

    68

    Yale

    99


    Southern

    68


    4

    Columbia

    98

    151

    Ave Maria

    67

    Pennsylvania

    98


    New England

    67

    UC-Berkeley

    98


    Washburn

    67

    Virginia

    98


    Western New England

    67


    8

    Chicago

    97

    155

    La Verne

    66

    Michigan 


    97


    Roger Williams

    66

    Northwestern

    97

    157

    St. Thomas (Miami)

    65

    NYU

    97


    Widener-Delaware

    65


    12

    Geo. Washington

    96


    Widener-Harrisburg

    65

    Georgetown

    96

    160

    Faulkner

    64

    SMU

    96


    Mississippi College

    64

    UCLA

    96

    162

    Appalachian

    63


    16

    Cornell

    95


    Dayton

    63

    Maryland

    95

    164

    Oklahoma City

    62

    USC

    95

    165

    Thomas Cooley

    61

    Texas

    95

    166

    Alabama*

    60


    20

    Duke

    94


    Colorado*

    60

    Fordham

    94


    Connecticut*

    60

    Vanderbilt

    94


    Phoenix*

    60


    23

    BYU

    93


    Syracuse*

    60

    Georgia 


    93


    Touro*

    60

    Notre Dame

    93


    Washington (St. Louis)*

    60


    For prior years’ rankings, see:

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  • Paul Caron

    ATPI Hosts Conference Today on U.S. Energy Tax Policy

    The American Tax Policy Institute hosts a two-day conference in Washington, D.C. on U.S. Energy Tax Policy.  The conference organizer is Gilbert E. Metcalf (Tufts University, Department of Economics) and will  feature eight original papers:

    • The Social Costs and Benefits of Biofuel Policies in a General Equilibrium Setting, by Harry de Gorter (Cornell University). Discussants: Bruce McCarl (Texas A&M University), Brent Yacobucci (Congressional Research Service).
    • Border Tax Adjustments for Carbon Taxes and under Cap-and-Trade Regimes: Economic, Administrative, Legal and Fiscal Federalism Issues, by Charles McLure (Stanford University).  Discussants: Roseanne Altshuler (Urban Institute), Susan Esserman (Steptoe & Johnson)
    • Distributional and Regional Impacts of a Carbon Tax: A General Equilibrium Analysis, by Gilbert E. Metcalf (Tufts University), Sebastian Rausch, Henry Jacoby and John Reilly (all of MIT), and Tom Rutherford (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Discussants: Larry Goulder (Stanford University), Richard Morgenstern (Resources for the Future)
    • State Taxation of Energy Resources; Impacts on Prices and Production, by Ujjayant Chakrevorty (University of Alberta) & Shelby Gerking (University of Central Florida). Discussants: Curtis Carlson (Office of Tax Analysis), Stephen Salant (University of Michigan).
    • The Future of Fuel Taxes, by Ian Parry (Resources for the Future). Discussants: Dan Greenbaum (Health Effects Institute), Rob Williams (University of Maryland).
    • Nash Equilibrium Tax and Cap Policies with Domestic and Imported Fossil Fuels, by Jon Strand (World Bank). Discussants: Kevin Hassett (American Enterprise Institute),  Geoffrey Heal (Columbia University Business School).
    • Optimal Instrument Choice for Climate Policy, by David Weisbach (University of Chicago Law School). Discussants: Louis Kaplow (Harvard Law School), Eric Toder (Urban Institute)
    • Distributional Effects of Carbon Pricing Policies, by Dallas Burtraw & Margaret Walls (both of  Resources for the Future). Discussants: Terry Dinan (Congressional Business Office), Don Fullerton (University of Illinois).
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  • Paul Caron

    IRS’s Offer of Amnesty For Offshore Tax Evaders Ends Today

    5:00 p.m. today is the deadline for taxpayers to come forward in the IRS's offshore voluntary disclosure program.  As of yesterday, 7,500 taxpayers had agreed to participate in the program (with foreign accounts ranging in size from $10,000 to $100 million) — they are responsible for back taxes, interest, and a 20% penalty, but will not be criminally prosecuted.  The IRS promises to vigorously prosecute anyone who does not come forward by today's deadline.

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  • Paul Caron

    Neat NY Times Article on the University of Cincinnati

    UClogo New York Times, No. 106 on Cincinnati’s Roster: A Matter of Mutual Inspiration:

    The Cincinnati Bearcats are neck-and-neck with Ohio State in the polls, their quarterback is a Heisman Trophy contender and they have surged into the national title conversation. With the country’s hottest coach in Brian Kelly, a devastating offense that is ranked No. 3 nationally in scoring and a revamped defense that replaced 10 starters from last season’s Orange Bowl team, Cincinnati is enjoying a renaissance.

    But players, coaches and support staffers are quick to identify Mitch Stone, a 12-year-old cancer patient, as a key to this special season. He will not line up for the No. 8 Bearcats on Thursday when they play No. 21 South Florida in a showcase game for the Big East. But he has given them a sense of perspective. …

    Cincinnati became the first Football Bowl Subdivision team to “adopt” a child through Friends of Jaclyn, which matches pediatric brain tumor patients with sports teams, mostly from colleges. Friends of Jaclyn has matched 125 youngsters with teams, with 80 others in the works and more than 1,000 teams on a waiting list. The program grew out of the friendship forged in 2005 between the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team and Jaclyn Murphy, then 10, who was being treated for a malignant brain tumor.

    In the Stone family’s relationship with Cincinnati football, it is hard to determine who has benefited more.  

    Read the whole article.

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  • Paul Caron

    Conference Today on Should the Government Prepare Personal Income Tax Returns?

    The Technology Policy Institute presents a program today on Should the Government Prepare Personal Income Tax Returns? at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.:

    British MP Ian Liddell-Grainger will present a new bi-partisan report of the All-Party Parliamentary Taxation Group that examines the UK's experience with "return-free" tax filing, under which the tax authority prepares individuals' income tax returns. Mr. Liddell-Grainger's presentation will be discussed by former Congressman Bill Frenzel, George Washington University economist Joseph Cordes, and Brookings economist William Gale. Frenzel, currently a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution, was ranking minority member on the House Budget Committee and a member of the President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform during 2005. Cordes has held senior positions at both the Treasury Department and the CBO. Gale is co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. …

    Return-free filing is a timely issue, because the Volcker task force on tax reform is expected to consider return-free filing as one of its tax simplification recommendations. Advocates point to hours saved by tax filers in preparing forms and gathering documents and in reduced payments to tax preparers. Critics worry about the potential for new burdens on taxpayers, employers, and the IRS, as well as reduced transparency of the tax code.

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  • Paul Caron

    State & Local Tax Revenues by Source

    The Tax Foundation has examined newly-released Census data to explain Where Do State and Local Governments Get Their Tax Revenue?  The report breaks down state and local tax revenues by six sources for each state (as well as for the U.S. average):

    • General Sales Taxes
    • Selective Sales Taxes (e.g., taxes on gasoline, alcohol, and cigarettes)
    • Property Taxes
    • Licenses and Other Fees
    • Corporate Income Taxes
    • Individual Income Taxes

    Stateline.org converts the Tax Foundation data into this helpful graphic [click on graph to enlarge]:

    State Tax Sources
     

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  • Paul Caron

    Tax Profs Testify at Hearing Today on California Tax Reform

    Several Tax Profs are testifying at today's California State Assembly Committee on Budget hearing on Academic Perspectives on the Tax Recommendations on the Proposed by the Commission on the 21st Century Economy, including:

    • Alan Auerbach (UC-Berkeley)
    • David Gamage (UC-Berkeley)
    • Richard Pomp (UConn)
    • Kirk Stark (UCLA)

    See California Commission Proposes Dramatic Tax Reform (Sept. 30, 2009).

  • Paul Caron

    Jury: Wharton Degree Worth $436k More Than Penn Degree

    Wharton_Logo Philadelphia Inquirer, Putting a Price on Wharton’s Prestige:

    How much is a degree from the prestigious Wharton School worth? How about $435,678 — the amount awarded last week by a federal court jury to a Massachusetts executive who says he was cheated out of one? …

    Frank Reynolds, 45, said he had no doubt he was shortchanged in 2003 when the University of Pennsylvania dropped the Wharton tag from his degree program, called the "Executive Masters in Technology Management."

    So Reynolds, now the CEO of a high-profile biotech start-up, InVivo Therapeutics Inc., filed a lawsuit accusing Penn of breach of contract. Last Tuesday, a U.S. District Court jury in Philadelphia awarded Reynolds the $435,678 in damages — not for the value of a Wharton degree, but for not getting exactly what he expected. …

    In court papers filed on the eve of trial, the Ivy League school denied that it had misrepresented anything to Reynolds or his classmates. While acknowledging that the program was "cosponsored by the Wharton School," Penn said it led to a degree only from its engineering school and a "certificate of completion" cosigned by the deans of the engineering school and of Wharton.

    That wasn't enough, according to Reynolds and his attorney, Richard J. Heleniak, of Center City's Messa & Associates. "At heart, he went into the program because he was interested in obtaining the education and a degree from Wharton, and in being able to represent that he was a graduate of Wharton," Heleniak said.

    Reynolds voted with his feet. Besides declining the Penn degree until this year, Reynolds enrolled in another highly prestigious business program. In 2006, he said, he earned an M.B.A. from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. …

    Reynolds said he wanted to be an alumnus of a "top-tier business school." Though Penn's engineering program is also highly regarded, he said it did not meet his needs. "A management degree from an engineering school just doesn't even make sense," he said.

  • Paul Caron

    Schumacher: Section 6694 Preparer Penalties and Tax Advice

    Scott A. Schumacher (University of Washington) has published Section 6694 Preparer Penalties and Tax Advice: The Latest on the Constantly Moving Target, 23 Pract. Tax Law. 19 (Feb. 2009).  Here is the abstract:

    Tax, business planning, and estate planning attorneys must be familiar with the ethical rules governing practice before the IRS, including the standards applicable to giving tax advice to clients. This paper will provide an overview of the recent changes to the tax advice rules in both the Internal Revenue Code and in Treasury Circular 230. These changes will have an impact on every lawyer practicing in business or estate planning, trust administration, or tax law. The paper will concentrate on the recent amendments to section 6694 and the new proposed regulations interpreting and applying those amendments.

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