Author: Paul Caron
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Alstott Presents Why the EITC Doesn’t Make Work Pay Today at Penn
Anne Alstott (Harvard) presents Why the EITC Doesn't Make Work Pay, 73 Law & Contemp. Probs. ___ (2010), at Pennsylvania today as part of its Center for Tax Law and Policy Seminar Series hosted by Chris William Sanchirico and Reed Shuldiner. Here is the abstract: Since 1975, the earned income tax credit (EITC) has transformed from a small,
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Holcomb & Smith: The Post-Cuno Litigation Landscape
Morgan L. Holcomb (Hamline) & Nicholas Allen Smith (J.D. 2009, Minnesota) have published The Post-Cuno Litigation Landscape, 58 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 1157 (2008). Here is the part of the Introduction: [T]here is a sustained and vigorous debate about whether [state tax incentive programs] work. Proponents hope that tax incentives will “attract new and expanding businesses, create thousands
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The Dirty Dozen Tax Policy Scams
Following up on yesterday's post, IRS Releases 'Dirty Dozen' Tax Scams: Joe Kristan blogs the Dirty Dozen Tax Policy Scams: [T]here’s one key difference between tax policy scams and the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams. You can go to jail if you use a Dirty Dozen Tax Scam, but if you use a dirty dozen tax
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Your New Facebook Friend: The IRS
Electronic Frontier Foundation, EFF Posts Documents Detailing Law Enforcement Collection of Data From Social Media Sites: EFF has posted documents shedding light on how law enforcement agencies use social networking sites to gather information in investigations. The records, obtained from the IRS and DOJ Criminal Division, are the first in a series of documents that will
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Drennan: Strict Liability and Tax Penalties
William A. Drennan (Southern Illinois) has published Strict Liability and Tax Penalties, 62 Okla. L. Rev. 1 (2009). Here is the abstract: Taxpayers who fail to pay their fair share cause each honest taxpayer to pay over $2,000 extra in federal income taxes every year. This Article asserts that the current monetary penalty system fails
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WSJ: ObamaCare’s Worst Tax Hike
Wall Street Journal editorial, ObamaCare's Worst Tax Hike: For the First Time, Payroll Levies Will Hit Investment Income: The forced march to pass ObamaCare continues, and all that matters now is raw politics. But opponents should go down swinging, and that means exposing such policy debacles as President Obama's 11th-hour decision to apply the 2.9%
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Ways & Means Chair Favors Retroactive Return of Estate Tax ($3.5m Exemption, 45% Rate), TP Choice of Applying 2009 or 2010 Law
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Sander Levin announced to reporters yesterday that he hopes to begin work on an estate tax bill in the coming weeks that would adopt 2009's $3.5 million exemption and 45% top rate, retroactive to January 1, 2010. But he said the committee is exploring giving estates the choice in 2010 of whether to follow the reinstituted 2009
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Dexter: Rethinking ‘Insurance’ After AIG
Bobby L. Dexter (Chapman) has published Rethinking "Insurance," Especially After AIG, 87 Denv. U. L. Rev. 59 (2009). Here is the Conclusion: In light of general judicial rejection and scholarly criticism, the Service officially abandoned its economic family theory in the captive insurance company arena in 2001. As promised, however, the Service continues to analyze
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Crowdsourcing Helps Diagnose Hospitalized Harvard Law Prof
My colleague Tim Armstrong has a fascinating account of how crowdsourcing helped diagnose hospitalized Harvard Law Prof Jonathan Zittrain's mystery ailment.
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Hoyt Holds Roth IRA Conversion Webinar Today
Christopher R. Hoyt (Missouri-Kansas City) is participating in a live webinar today at 2:00 p.m. EST on Roth IRA Conversions — The Critical Issues: For the first time since the 1998 introduction of the Roth IRA, the playing field has opened up and the restrictions once limiting Roth IRA conversions to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross
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Cincinnati Seeks to Hire Visiting Clinical Professor
The University of CIncinnati College of Law is seeking to hire a Visiting Professor of Clinical Law to direct our Domestic Violence and Civil Protection Order Clinic for the 2010-11 academic year. From the position announcement: Clinic students represent those who have experienced domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault in petitions for civil protection orders. The visiting professor would
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TIGTA: IRS on Track to Meet Goal of Answering 71% of Taxpayer Phone Calls After a 12-Minute Wait
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today released The Internal Revenue Service Is Taking Several Actions to Improve Its Toll-Free Telephone Performance for the 2010 Filing Season (2010-40-031): The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) today publicly released its review of the IRS's plans to improve taxpayer access to its customer service toll-free
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Nina Olson to Testify at House Hearing Today
The Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing at 2:00 p.m. today (webcast here) on The National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2009 Report on the Most Serious Problems Encountered by Taxpayers: The Taxpayer Advocate will highlight key issues and recommendations from her December 2009 Report to Congress. The Taxpayer Advocate’s report
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IRS Releases ‘Dirty Dozen’ Tax Scams
The IRS today released (IR-2010-32) its 2010 “dirty dozen” list of tax scams: Return Preparer Fraud Hiding Income Offshore Phishing Filing False or Misleading Forms Nontaxable Social Security Benefits with Exaggerated Withholding Credit Abuse of Charitable Organizations and Deductions Frivolous Arguments Abusive Retirement Plans Disguised Corporate Ownership Zero Wages Misuse of Trusts Fuel Tax Credit
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Rapoport: Where Have All the (Legal) Stories Gone?
Nancy B. Rapoport (UNLV) has posted Where Have All the (Legal) Stories Gone? (My answer: here.) Here is the abstract: This essay examines whether law schools are doing a good job of teaching the art of storytelling to law students. From the article: Every lawyer who wants to explain to the IRS why a particular
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Cantley Posts Tax Papers on SSRN
Beckett Cantley (Thomas Jefferson) has posted several of his tax papers on SSRN: The U.B.S. Case: The U.S. Attack on Swiss Banking Sovereignty Congress Giveth and Congress Taketh Away: The Slow Death of the SESOP, 20 Akron Tax J. 59 (2005) The New Tax Information Exchange Agreement: A Potent Weapon Against U.S. Tax Fraud?, 4
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Heritage Foundation Hosts Panel Discussion Today on The Wyden-Gregg Tax Reform Bill
The Heritage Foundation hosts a luncheon panel discussion today in Washington, D.C. on Is Wyden-Gregg the First Step to Fundamental Tax Reform? (webcast here), with these speakers: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) Rosanne Altshuler (Co-director, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center) J.D. Foster (Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation) Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
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Law School Names Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusiveness
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law has named Catherine E. Smith Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusiveness. From the Denver press release: During the course of the next year, the newly-appointed Assoc. Dean Smith will work with Dean Katz on several initiatives, particularly those involving (1) pipeline projects for admissions, and (2) outreach
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Philipps: Income Splitting and Gender Equality
Lisa Philipps (York University, Osgoode Hall Law School) has posted Income Splitting and Gender Equality: The Case for Incentivizing Intra-Household Wealth Transfers on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In all countries that use the individual as the basic unit of taxation, tax policy makers must contend with the problem of spousal income splitting and the
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‘The Long Arm of the Law Should Not Extend to the Middle Finger’
Early nominee for legal headline of the year: "The Long Arm of the Law Should Not Extend to the Middle Finger," based on the article by Ira P. Robbins (American), Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law, 41 UC Davis L. Rev. 1403 (2008). Here is the abstract: The middle finger is one of the
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March 15: Where Will Tax Profs Be Next Year?
Today is March 15, the AALS deadline for faculty to accept a lateral offer and for law schools to make visiting offers, for the 2010-11 academic year: Statement of Good Practices for the Recruitment of and Resignation by Full-Time Faculty Members The Association of American Law Schools recognizes that the mobility of law teachers among law
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Lederman: Using Information Reporting to Reduce the Tax Gap
Leandra Lederman (Indiana-Bloomington) has published Reducing Information Gaps to Reduce the Tax Gap: When Is Information Reporting Warranted?, 78 Fordham L. Rev. 1733 (2010). Here is the abstract: A core problem for enforcement of tax laws is asymmetric information. The taxpayer knows the facts regarding the relevant transactions it engages in during the year—or at
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Wegner: The Recession, Practical Legal Education and the New Job Market
Judith W. Wegner (North Carolina) has posted More Complicated than We Think: A Response to Rethinking Legal Education in Hard Times: The Recession, Practical Legal Education and the New Job Market, 59 J. Legal Educ. ___ (2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article is part of an upcoming set of essays in the Journal
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NYS Tax Amnesty Program Ends Today
The New York State tax amnesty program ends today. The program forgives up to 80% of a delinquent New York State taxpayer's penalties and interest. (Hat Tip: Amitai Barth.)
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Ryan: Human Capital and Transfer Taxation
Kerry A. Ryan (Saint Louis) has published Human Capital and Transfer Taxation, 62 Okla. L. Rev. 223 (2010). Here is the abstract: This article addresses the question of whether education and healthcare transfers should be included in the federal gift tax base. It initially frames the issue in two ways: (1) through the lens of