Author: Paul Caron
-
Johnston: Behind the Cigarette Tax Evasion Crackdown
David Cay Johnston has published Behind the Cigarette Tax Evasion Crackdown, 127 Tax Notes 927 (May 24, 2010): Johnston examines the motives behind increased enforcement of cigarette excise taxes and how tax policy can be used to stop price gouging by manufacturers. All Tax Analysts content is available through the LexisNexis® services.
-
District Court Allows 1st Amendment Challenge to § 107 Parsonage Allowance to Proceed to Trial
A federal district court in California on Friday denied the Government's motion to dismiss a First Amendment establishment clause challenge to the § 107 parsonage allowance, but granted the Government's motion to dismiss a challenge to the § 265(a)(6) deduction of interest and property taxes paid with § 107 funds. Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Geithner, No.
-
Law Grads Urged to Consider Alternative Paths
Connecticut Law Tribune, Law School Grads Urged to Consider Alternative Paths: It’s the month when law school graduates soon are walking across stages during ceremonies throughout Connecticut and across the country. And as they proudly hold that well-earned J.D., they should be ready to figure out new and creative ways to use it. Two years
-
Chronicle: Kagan, Obama, and the Postradical Legal Generation in Elite Law Schools
Chronicle of Higher Education, The Postradical Legal Generation: Elite Law Schools, and the Court Nominees Who Come From Them, Have Changed, by David Fontana (George Washington): When President Barack Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court last week, he described her appeal in much the same way he has described his own: as
-
TaxProf Blog Weekend Roundup
Saturday: Did Church's 'Tweets' Violate § 501(c)(3)? An Unwelcome Guest at Stetson's Graduation Ceremony 'No Taxation Without Representation' in the American Woman Suffrage Movement The Strict Liability Standard and the Economic Substance Doctrine Sunday: Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads Ex-IRS Agent's Reality TV Show: IRS Hitman Waggoner: Critique of U.S. House Bill 2454 on Climate
-
Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads
This week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads is the same as last week's, with the #4 and #5 papers switching positions: 1. [1419 Downloads] Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Why and When?, by Paul L. Caron (Cincinnati), Jennifer M. Kowal (Loyola-L.A.) & Katherine Pratt (Loyola-L.A.) 2. [416 Downloads] Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Where?, by Paul L. Caron
-
Ex-IRS Agent’s Reality TV Show: IRS Hitman
IRS Hitman Reality TV Show Press Release, Wanted by America, the IRS (+) Hitman Reality TV Show is Here Going Concern, Just So You're Aware, An Ex-IRS AGent has a Reality TV Show
-
Waggoner: Critique of U.S. House Bill 2454 on Climate Change
Michael Waggoner (Colorado) has published Critique of U.S. House Bill 2454 on Climate Change, 2 Amsterdam L. Forum 61 (2010). Here is the abstract: This article criticizes the recently-passed House Bill 2454 on climate change for: (a) its harms to U.S. industries competing with competitors not subject to cap and trade; (b) weakness of cap and trade as
-
Christensen: Lawyering Skills Grades as the Strongest Predictor of Law School Success
Leah M. Christensen (Thomas Jefferson) has published The Power of Skills: An Empirical Study of Lawyering Skills Grades as the Strongest Predictor of Law School Success (or in Other Words, It’s Time for Legal Education to Get Serious About Integrating Skills Training Throughout the Law School Curriculum If We Care About How Our Students Learn.),
-
Did Church’s ‘Tweets’ Violate § 501(c)(3)?
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has sent a letter to the IRS asking it to investigate whether Oasis Church in Los Angeles violated § 501(c)(3) by participating in a political campaign on behalf of a candidate for elective public office by using Twitter and its website to support Alex Jones-Moreno, the church's Director of Social Justice, in his reelection
-
An Unwelcome Guest at Stetson’s Graduation Ceremony
Following up on my post on over 100 law school commencement speakers: Chronicle of Higher Education, An Unwelcome Guest at Graduation: [A]t the Stetson University College of Law [graduation ceremony], …students were on the stage, presenting the class gift, when a ripple of activity passed through the faculty section. A snake was slithering through their
-
‘No Taxation Without Representation’ in the American Woman Suffrage Movement
Juliana Tutt (J.D. 2010, Stanford) has published Note, "No Taxation Without Representation" in the American Woman Suffrage Movement, 62 Stan. L. Rev. 1473 (2010). Here is the abstract: "No taxation without representation" has lasting appeal as a political catchphrase. But the impact of the motto is limited if it is not accompanied by striking actions
-
The Strict Liability Standard and the Economic Substance Doctrine
Mik Shin-Li (J.D. 2011) has published Note, Strictly Wrong as a Tax Policy: The Strict Liability Standard in Noneconomic Substance Transactions, 78 Fordham L. Rev. 2009 (2010). Here is the abstract: This Note analyzes the propriety of using a strict liability standard to assess tax penalties for transactions lacking economic substance. Noneconomic substance transactions lack
-
Atlanta Tax Partner Arrested for Putting Surveillance Camera Under Woman’s Desk
James Frederick Tenney, 57, a tax partner at the Atlanta law firm of Merritt & Tenney, has been charged with putting a surveillance camera under the desk of a woman who worked at his firm. The ABA Journal notes that "[h]is law firm biography says he is married with three children and enjoys photography." ABA
-
Call for Papers: Jurisprudential Perspectives of Tax Law
John Prebble (Victoria University of Wellington) and Marco Greggi (L’Università degli Studi di Ferrara) have invited colleagues to attend and to submit proposals for a colloquium in Ferrara, Italy, on Jurisprudential Perspectives of Taxation Law on September 7-8, 2010: The colloquium will focus on analytical and descriptive legal philosophy as applied to income tax law,
-
LSAT = Law School Affluence Test?
The Huffington Post, LSAT: The Next "Wealth Test" of College Seniors, by Noah Berry (Class of 2011, Columbia University): [W]hen I looked online to sign up for one of these lauded [LSAT] prep courses, I found that their cost ranged from $1200 to over $9000 — with in-class hours ranging from eighty-some to over three-hundred! This
-
Richard Gershon Named Dean at Mississippi
Following up on my prior post: the Associated Press reports that Tax Prof I. Richard Gershon (former Dean of Texas-Wesleyan and founding Dean of Charleston) has been named Dean at the University of Mississippi School of Law, effective July 1. (Hat Tip: Dan Filler.)
-
U.S. News Responds to TaxProf Blog Post by Preventing Law Schools From Gaming Employed at Graduation Data
U.S. News & World Report has responded to my post last week, Did 16 Law Schools Commit Rankings Malpractice?, in U.S. News Takes Steps to Stop Law Schools From Manipulating the Rankings: The problem with being totally transparent about key methodology details about U.S. News's America's Best Law Schools Rankings is that it's clear—based on our
-
ABA Invites Comments on Proposal to Include Student Learning Outcomes in Accreditation Standards
The Standards Review Committee of the ABA Section on Legal Education invites comments on proposed revisions to Chapter 3 of the Standards for Approval of Law Schools dealing with student learning outcomes. Comments are due July 1 to Charlotte (Becky) Stretch. Prior TaxProf Blog coverage: ABA Proposal to Include Student Learning Outcomes in Accreditation Standards (Dec. 31, 2009)
-
Conference on The Effects of the Housing Crisis on State and Local Governments
The Tax Policy Center and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy host a two-day conference beginning today on Effects of the Housing Crisis on State and Local Governments: This conference will explore how state and local governments are responding to the severe budgetary shortfalls precipitated by the sharp decline in housing values and the subsequent economic
-
NY Times: Hedge Funds Buy Tax Whistle-Blower Claims
New York Times, Whistle-Blowers Become Investment Option for Hedge Funds, by David Kocieniewski: Hedge funds have found a new market to invest in: whistle-blowers. Informants who turn in tax cheats have to wait years to get their share of any reward from the IRS’s recently expanded whistle-blower program. So hedge funds, private equity groups and
-
CBPP Criticizes Proposed Estate Tax Deal
Following up on my recent posts: Estate Tax Deal in the Works? (May 12, 2010) Senate Estate Tax Deal Falls Apart (May 19, 2010) Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Stalled Proposal to Cut Estate Tax Further Is Deeply Flawed and Should Not Be Revived: A proposal that several senators were developing — before negotiations
-
NALP Reports Class of 2009 Employed at 9 Months Data: 88.3%
NALP today released employment data for the Class of 2009: 88.3% of the 40,833 graduates were employed as of February 1, 2010. ABA Journal, Have JD, Now What? Many Law Grads Get Jobs, But Not Dream Careers Above the Law, New NALP Numbers Are Out — and as Bad as Ever American Lawyer, NALP Employment
-
Johnson: Intermountain, Interpretive Regulations, and Brand X
Steve Johnson (UNLV) shares his thoughts on Intermountain Insurance Service of Vail, LLC v. Commissioner, 134 T.C. No 11 (May 6, 2010), in Intermountain, Interpretive Regulations, and Brand X. Here is the Introduction: On May 6, the Tax Court unanimously, but on divided rationales, invalidated temporary Treasury regulations retroactively extending the six-year limitations period to income
-
Law School Graduation Honors Requirements
Check out this interesting chart on law school graduation honors requirements at the Top 68 law schools in the U,S. news law school rankings.