Author: Paul Caron
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Average Retirement Plan Account = $62,600
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released Statistical Trends in Retirement Plans (2010-10-097): Retirees may not have enough income from retirement plans alone to cover their financial needs during retirement. … , TIGTA found that: (1) a higher percentage of American workers are participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans; and (2) the value of
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ObamaCare’s 1099 Reporting Requirement & The Coming Dividend Tax Increase
Curtis S. Dubay (Heritage Foundation) has published two reports: Health Care Bill’s 1099 Reporting Burdens Businesses: "One the most troubling policies in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a new requirement that businesses report more information on their activities to the Internal Revenue Service. This new requirement will force businesses to divert scarce
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China’s Golden Tax Project: Using Technological to Reduce VAT Fraud
Jane K. Winn (Washington) & Angela Zhang (University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law) have posted China's Golden Tax Project: A Technological Strategy for Reducing VAT Fraud on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Unlike the United States, where sales tax is a common form of indirect tax, almost all countries around the world — both developed and
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Bills to Force Members of Congress, Government Employees to Pay Their Taxes
Washington Post, Bill Would Force U.S. Lawmakers to Disclose Owed Taxes, Have Wages Garnished: As senators debate tax legislation this month, Sen. Tom Coburn wants to make sure that senators themselves are paying taxes. Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced legislation Wednesday night that would require U.S. lawmakers to disclose any money they owe in delinquent taxes and
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More on the Bush Tax Cuts
Jonathan Allen (Politico), Nancy Pelosi Keeps Losing Democrats on Tax Cuts Bruce Bartlett (Fiscal Times), Bush Tax Cuts Had Little Positive Impact on Economy Neil H. Buchanan (George Washington), The Bush Tax Cuts and Uncertainty Mike Dorf (Cornell), Boehner v. McConnell on Taxes Howard Gleckman (Forbes), Mitch McConnell, the Bush Tax Cuts, and the Future of
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IRS Files $350k Tax Lien Against Fashion Designer Vera Wang
The IRS has filed a $350,000 tax lien against fashion designer Vera Wang. Don't Mess With Taxes New York Observer The Smoking Gun
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Two Accounting Firms Included in U.S. News Ranking of the Top Tax Law Firms
Following up on Wednesday’s post on the new U.S. News/Best Lawyers ranking of nearly 9,000 law firms in 81 practice areas into three tiers: the ranking of the 119 firms with the top tax practices includes two of the Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young (among 36 Tier 1 firms) and KPMG (among 47 Tier 2 firms). Going Concern, KPMG,
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CBPP: Cutting State Corporate Income Taxes Is Unlikely to Create Many Jobs
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has published Cutting State Corporate Income Taxes Is Unlikely to Create Many Jobs, by Michael Mazerov: Corporate income taxes are important sources of revenue that states use to fund public services, including services essential to long-term economic growth like education, infrastructure, health care, and public safety. Nonetheless, a
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Capital Seeks to Hire Tax Prof
Capital University Law School is seeking to fill a tenure-track position for the 2011-12 academic year with a candidate who would like to teach both the Basic Income Tax and Business Tax (Corporate, Partnership, etc.) classes. Primary consideration will be given to entry-level candidates and junior-level (currently untenured) candidates. Interested candidates should contact Daniel Kobil, Faculty Appointments Chair.
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A CPA’s Advice for Professors Wanting to Deduct Research Expenses
Following up on my posts (here and here) on last week's Tax Court decision denying a professor's claimed deductions for research expenses: Joe Kristan, Tax Traumas of the Tenured: Some academics are choking on their brie and wine over a case we mentioned last week. The case involved a professor who was not allowed Schedule C deductions for some
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TIGTA: IRS Should Issue More Timely PLRs and More Published Guidance
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Chief Counsel Can Take Actions to Improve the Timeliness of Private Letter Rulings and Potentially Reduce the Number Issued (2010-10-106): [T]he IRS can take additional actions to more timely provide taxpayers with responses to their requests for PLRs. TIGTA determined that Chief Counsel personnel did not always timely
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Law Schools Flamed in Graduates’ ‘Scam Blogs’
Connecticut Law Tribune, Law Schools Flamed in Growing Number of Graduates' 'Scam Blogs': There's nothing like a scorned law school graduate with mounting debt and a niche in cyberspace to stir up a great debate about the merits of a legal education. At a time when hundreds of junior associates have been laid off and
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Fleming & Peroni: Tax Expenditure Analysis and the Normative Tax Base
J. Clifton Fleming, Jr. (BYU) & Robert J. Peroni (Texas) have posted Can Tax Expenditure Analysis Be Divorced from a Normative Tax Base?: A Critique of the “New Paradigm” and its Denouement, 30 Va. Tax Rev. 135 (2010). Here is the abstract: Tax expenditure analysis (TEA) requires a baseline for identifying tax provisions that provide
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State Winners and Losers if Bush Tax Cuts Expire
Stateline, States Face Fiscal Consequences If Bush-Era Tax Cuts Expire: As Congress debates whether to let tax cuts passed during the Bush administration expire, there’s a lot of talk about how the decision would impact the federal budget deficit. But there are fiscal implications for many states riding on the decision, as well. In more
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Only 11 of 199 Law Schools Agree to Provide Employment Data to Support Transparency Project
National Law Journal, Law Schools Give Cold Shoulder to Transparency Project: The Law School Transparency project's push to collect better data about how well recent law school graduates are doing in the job market has gotten off to a slow start. The nonprofit organization in July asked the 199 law schools accredited by the American
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Knauer: Gay and Lesbian Estate Planning
Nancy J. Knauer (Temple) has posted Gay and Lesbian Elders: Estate Planning and End-of-Life Decision Making on SSRN. Here is the abstract: At a time when gay men and lesbians enjoy an unprecedented degree of acceptance, many gay and lesbian elders are facing the challenges of aging in silence, isolated from the gay and lesbian
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Fleischer Presents Equality of Opportunity and Charitable Giving at BC
Miranda Perry Fleischer (Colorado) presented Equality of Opportunity and the Charitable Tax Subsidies at Boston College yesterday as part of its Tax Policy Workshop Series. Here is the abstract: Americans cherish the notion of equality of opportunity, believing that it protects a commitment to liberty and neutrality. Despite the importance of equal opportunity principles in our society,
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Jon Stewart: Robert Gibbs and John Boehner on the Bush Tax Cuts
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
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Avi-Yonah: The Redemption Puzzle Redux
Following up on my prior posts: Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Michigan), The Redemption Puzzle, 128 Tax Notes 853 (Aug. 23, 2010) Jeffrey M. Trinklein & David A. Siffert (both of Gibson Dunn, New York), Letter to the Editor, 128 Tax Notes 1082 (Sept. 6, 2010) Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Michigan), Redemption Puzzle Redux: Avi-Yonah Responds, 128 Tax Notes
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Merit Scholarship Website
A new website, MeritAid.com, provides a comprehensive list of merit scholarships and academic scholarships available from colleges across the country. (Hat Tip: Tom Smith.)
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Kaye: Direct Taxation in the European Union
Tracy A. Kaye (Seton Hall) has published Direct Taxation in the European Union: Past Trends and Future Developments, 16 ILSA J. Int'l & Comp. L. 423 (2010).
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Burke & McCouch: Castle Harbour Revisited
Karen C. Burke (San Diego) & Grayson M.P. McCouch (San Diego) have posted Snookered Again: Castle Harbour Revisited, 128 Tax Notes 1143 (Sept. 13, 2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this special report, the authors examine the Castle Harbour transaction, which used a partnership financing structure to shift substantial amounts of taxable rental
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Alesina: Spending and Tax Cuts, Not Spending Increases, Drive Economic Recovery
Wall Street Journal op-ed, Tax Cuts vs. 'Stimulus': The Evidence Is In, by Alberto Alesina (Harvard University, Department of Economics): Politicians argue for increased stimulus spending, as opposed to spending cuts, on the grounds that it would speed up economic recovery. This argument might have it exactly backward. Indeed, history shows that cutting spending in
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ABA Seeks Nominees for 2010 ABA Blawg 100
The ABA Journal is seeking nominations for its fourth annual list of the Top 100 legal blogs: We’re working on our list of the 100 best legal blogs, and we’d like your advice on which blawgs you think we should include. Use the form below to tell us about a blawg—not your own—that you read regularly
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Senate Tax Showdown
Wall Street Journal editorial, Senate Tax Showdown: Five Democrats Have Already Said No: While Nancy Pelosi can probably pass whatever she wants in the House—she's already written the Blue Dogs off as losers in November—the real tax action this fall will be in the Senate. That's where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is working to gather