Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Celebrity Tax Lore
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Tax Lawyer Sings Ballad of Timothy Geithner
Tennessee Tax Lawyer Anne M. McKinney sings her Ballad of Timothy Geithner, which has attracted almost 500,000 views on YouTube:
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Marion Barry Owes $277k in Back Taxes; Government Seeks Revocation of His Probation
In a scathing pretrial memorandum, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor alleges that former D.C. Mayor (and current D.C. Council member) Marion Barry owes more than $277,000 in unpaid federal taxes, penalties, and interest. In addition, the memorandum alleges that Barry did not file his 2007 tax return until February 17, 2009, four months after the…
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Wesley Snipes Responds to Government’s Opposition to His Motion to Leave U.S. for 5 Months Pending Appeal of Tax Conviction
Last week, I blogged the Government's opposition to Wesley Snipes' motion seeking permission to travel to Nambia from April 5 to April 29 (to film the movie Gallowwalker) and to Italy from May 4 to August 15 (to film the movie Game of Death while the appeal of his conviction on three misdemeanor tax fraud…
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Survivor Winner Richard Hatch Files Habeas Petition to Get Out of Jail
Richard Hatch, the first winner of the CBS reality TV show "Survivor," has filed a habeas petition seeking to be released from prison where he is serving his conviction for failing to pay taxes on his $1 million prize. United States v. Hatch, No. 06-1902 (1st Cir. 2/1/08): Associated Press How Appealing Providence Journal See…
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Cadwalader Tax Memo: The Manny Ramirez Tax
In a humorous jibe at the AIG bonus tax, Steven D. Lofchie, co-chair of Cadwalader's Financial Services Department, has posted a "Clients & Friends" tax memo on the firm's web site: The Manny Ramirez Lightbulb: Also (2 Ideas in 1 Memo) Putting Pay in Perspective: I am enraged! and outraged! plus morally reprehensibled (did I…
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Government Opposes Wesley Snipes’ Motion to Leave U.S. for 5 Months Pending Appeal of Tax Conviction
I previously blogged the federal district judge's order granting actor Wesley Snipes' motion to travel overseas while the appeal of his conviction on three misdemeanor tax fraud counts is pending in the Eleventh Circuit. The order permitted Snipes to travel to London in April (to help edit his new movie, Gallowwalker) and to Bangkok in…
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WWAMD: What Would Arthur Miller Do?
A second preview (see the first preview here) of this weekend's 2009 NYU Law Revue: (Hat Tip: Above the Law.)
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“Dancing With The Stars” Champ Helio Castroneves’ Tax Evasion Trial
The tax fraud trial of race car driver and Dancing with the Stars champion Helio Castroneves is turning on the application of the constructive receipt doctrine. For a detailed discussion of the transaction at issue, see Sports Illustrated: The Nuts and Bolts of Helio's Complicated Tax Case. For additional commentary, see: Associated Press: Accountant: Castroneves…
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Please Repeat the Question
The NYU Law Revue offers this hilarious take on the laptops in the classroom debate: Please Repeat the Question from Amanda Bakale on Vimeo. (Hat Tip: Volokh Conspiracy, Donald Clarke.)
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Tax Movies
From Robert G. Nassau (Syracuse): The Syracuse University College of Law Tax Society, the Law School’s #1 student organization dedicated to all things tax, has been holding Movie Nights this year, at which it screens tax-related movies. So far it has shown Stranger Than Fiction (2006), in which a charming-though-confused Will Ferrell plays an IRS…
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Faber Law School? The Seven-Year J.D.
One of my favorite lines in Animal House is when John Belushi's Bluto Blutarsky is told that he and his frat brothers are going to be kicked out of Faber College, he says "Seven years of college down the drain!" Arizona State yesterday announced a new flex-time option giving students the opportunity to earn a J.D.…
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Tax Scandals of the Rich and Famous
Boston Globe: Tax Scandals of the Rich and Famous. (Hat Tip: Eric Lustig.)
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Not So Beautiful Day: Bono “Hurt” by Criticism of His Move From Ireland to Avoid Tax on Music Royalties
Irish Times: Bono "Hurt" by Criticism of U2 Move to Netherlands to Cut Tax, by Brian Boyd: U2 singer Bono says he was “stung” and “hurt” by criticism of the band moving part of its business to the Netherlands to lessen its tax burden. … U2’s move was criticised by politicians and some development groups.…
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Stephen Colbert’s Colonoscopy
For those who enjoyed the post on my colonoscopy when I turned 50 (and the subsequent colonoscopy-related material sent in by readers (here, here, and here)): check out Stephen Colbert's colonscopy on Wednesday's Colbert Report: The Colbert ReportMon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Truth From the Gut Colbert Report Full EpisodesFunny Political News Christian Bale ParodyJoke…
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Madoff Investors Face Mounting Tax Troubles
From next week's National Law Journal: Next Headache for Madoff Investors: Tax Troubles, by Pamela A. MacLein. Prior TaxProf Blog posts: More Tax Planning for Madoff Victims (1/13/09) More on Tax Planning for Madoff Victims (12/30/08) Tax Law to Provide Bailout to Madoff's Victims (12/18/08)
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5th Circuit Reverses Tax Evasion Acquittal of Former NBA Player Carl Herrera
The Fifth Circuit yesterday reversed the district court's tax evasion acquittal of Carl Herrera, who averaged 5.3 points per game in eight NBA seasons. United States v. Herrera, No. 08-50028 (5th Cir. Feb. 11, 2009) A jury found Carl Herrera guilty of tax evasion. The district court granted Herrera's motion for judgment of acquittal and conditionally granted his…
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Is Marion Barry Angling for a Cabinet Appointment?
Washington Post: Prosecutors Want Barry Jailed Over Tax Returns, by Del Quentin Wilber: For the second time in two years, frustrated federal prosecutors took aim at Marion Barry's chronic failure to file his tax returns and urged a judge to put him in jail. The move by authorities is the latest act in a long-running…
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Moneyball: The Movie
As regular readers of this blog know, I have long been intrigued by the application of Moneyball principles to law schools, beginning with my article, What Law Schools Can Learn from Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, 82 Tex. L. Rev. 1483 (2004), which helped spawn the Moneylaw blog. Variety reports that Columbia Pictures is working…
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Tax Court Takes Swipe at Daschle-Geithner-Killefer-Solis in Making Koko Taylor Sing the Tax Blues
I previously blogged the sad case of Grammy-winning blues singer Koko Taylor, who is 80 years old and in poor health: Her income has dropped precipitously, her expenses haven’t, and she has little savings or other hard assets besides a house in a Chicago suburb that Zillow.com figures is now worth only $280,000. Nevertheless, the…
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Tax Court Says Comedian Not in Comedy Business (But At Least His Argument Was Funny)
The Tax Court yesterday held that Gabriel Loup, a comedian with a number of appearances in L.A. comedy clubs to his credit, could not deduct $13,761 of claimed business expense deductions on his 2003 return because he failed to prove that he was engaged in the trade or business of comedy during that year. Loup v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-23 (Feb.…
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Is Kwame Kilpatrick’s Lawyer Angling for a Cabinet Appointment?
The Detroit News reports that Willie Gary, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's new lawyer, was the subject of $3.8 million in IRS tax liens for the 1998-2000 tax years: The Web site of the so-called "Giant Killer" is wallpapered with photos of the Stuart, Fla., resident posing outside a mansion, with Bentleys and his custom-designed, 32-passenger Boeing 737…