Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Celebrity Tax Lore
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I’ll Sue Ya, by Weird Al Yankovic
Great commentary on the legal profession — I’ll Sue Ya, by Weird Al Yankovic:
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Conan O’Brien’s Graduation Speech
Those of us in the education biz hear a lot of graduation speeches. Conan O’Brien’s speech to the Stuyvesant High School graduates is the best I have ever seen: To read the text of the speech, see here. (Hat Tip: Greg Mankiw.)
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Leona Helmsley’s $12m Bequest to Her Dog
Gerry Beyer (Texas Tech) of our sister Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog has an extensive post on Leona Helmsley’s will. The $12 million bequest to her dog has gotten a lot of press attention. Here is Gerry’s analysis of the will: Her dog, Trouble (a white Maltese shown in the photo) will benefit from…
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Irwin R. Schyster’s Top 10 Tax Tips
WWF wrestler Irwin R. Schyster (IRS) offers his Top 10 Tax Tips:
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NY Times: Businessman Pleads Guilty to Engaging in Tax Fraud to Recoup Losses in Patent Case
Guilty Plea Is Arranged in Tax Plot, by David Cay Johnston: The owner of the nation’s largest maker of machine tools agreed yesterday to plead guilty to conspiracy in cheating the government out of $34.3 million in taxes through what the IRS called “deceptive and elaborate tax evasion schemes.” The businessman, Gene F. Haas, 55,…
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NY Times: CBS Agrees to Pick Up CEO’s NY Taxes
Getting Too Big for His Own Taxes?, by Patrick McGeehan: Leona Helmsley may be dead but her oft-quoted sentiment that “only the little people pay taxes” lives on at CBS. In an amendment to his contract as C.E.O. of CBS, Leslie Moonves obtained the company’s promise to pay any state or local taxes he might…
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More on Tax Consequences to Fan Catching Barry Bonds’ 756th Home Run
Continuing TaxProf Blog’s coverage of the tax consequences to the fan who caught Barry Bonds’ 756th home run: Matt Murphy called a news conference to say he will sell the ball online, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 15, through an auction house that expects it to fetch at least $500,000. Murphy said his hand had…
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Korb in Baseball’s Hall of Fame
A few weeks ago, I blogged the Wall Street Journal Law Blog’s account of IRS Chief Counsel Donald Korb’s July 2006 speech to the NYSBA Tax Section at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on The 10 Most Significant Tax Events in the History of Baseball: Mark McGwire’s 62nd Home Run Ball Atlanta Braves…
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Can Bicycle Couriers Deduct Cost of Food as Business Expense?
Taxalicious unearthed this great ABC News video of a Canadian bicycle courier’s successful attempt to deduct the cost of the food he ate as a business expense (like a delivery company’s deduction of the cost of fuel): For an update on the case, see: The IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel sent this letter explaining that…
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More on the Pope’s Condemnation of Tax Evasion
Following up on this morning’s post: Pope Benedict to Condemn Tax Evasion: Rick Garnett (Notre Dame) notes on the Catholic legal theory blog Mirror of Justice: I hope this document attends carefully to the non-trivial challenge of defining "tax evasion." I hope it does not suggest that there is a general moral obligation to avoid…
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Pope Benedict to Condemn Tax Evasion
From the Times of London: Pope Set to Declare Income Tax Evasion "Socially Unjust" by Richard Owen: Pope Benedict XVI is working on a doctrinal pronouncement that will condemn tax evasion as “socially unjust”, according to Vatican sources. In his second encyclical – the most authoritative statement a pope can issue – the pontiff will…
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Government Sues Darryl Strawberry for Back Taxes
From the Associated Press: The government on Friday filed suit against former New York Mets baseball star Darryl Strawberry in federal district court in West Palm Beach, FL to collect nearly $500,000 in back taxes. Strawberry was indicted in 1994 along with his agent Eric Goldschmidt on federal tax evasion charges for failing to report…
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International Tax Guy
Check out International Tax Guy — a spoof on the Family Guy TV show created created for the Spring 2007 International Tax class of Gary A. McGill (Director, Fisher School of Accounting, University of Florida, Warrington College of Business Administration):
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More on Tax Consequences to Fan Catching Barry Bonds’ 756th Home Run
Last month, I blogged the tax consequences to the fan catching Barry Bonds’ 756th home run. Bonds’ record-setting home run on Tuesday night has unleashed additional commentary on the tax consequences to Matt Murphy, the fan who caught the ball. From the Associated Press: Man Could Face Big Tax Bill on Bonds’ Home Run Ball,…
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Ron Paul Discusses the Ed Brown Tax Protestor Case
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul discusses the Ed Brown tax protestor case and the right of citizens to stop paying income tax on Neil Cavuto’s TV show on FOX TV:
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Keith Olbermann: Tax Policy to Blame for Minneapolis Bridge Collapse?
Keith Olbermann’s Countdown asks: Is Tax Policy to Blame for Minneapolis Bridge Collapse?:
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Brokeback Star’s Dad Is Tax Deadbeat
Associated Press: Movie Star’s Dad Loses Appeal, Faces Extradition to US on Tax Fraud: Michelle Williams’ father, a prominent stock market trader, lost a court appeal Friday against a second U.S. attempt to extradite him on tax evasion charges. Three federal court judges dismissed the attempt by Larry Williams, 64, to stop the U.S. and…
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Family Guy Debates the Flat Tax
Funny flat tax debate between Brian and Stewie on the Family Guy: (Hat Tip: Taxalicious.)
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Korb on The 10 Most Significant Tax Events in Baseball History
Interesting post on the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog: The 10 Most Significant Tax Events in Baseball History, by Peter Lattman, which follows up on last week’s post on Tax Consequences of Catching Barry Bonds’ 756th Home Run by recounting IRS Chief Counsel Donald Korb’s speech last year at Cooperstown on “the 10 most significant…
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Tax Lawyers and Jane Austen
Marsha E. Huff, Of Counsel at Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee, is President of the Jane Austen Society of North America.
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Bar Exam, The Movie!
For folks struggling through the bar exam this week (and the people who love them): check out the trailer for A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar, scheduled for DVD release in September: A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar is a lurid tale of lawyers and lawsuits and America’s fascination with both. … The documentary explores…
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Tax Consequences of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Idaho Chapter
Yet more on the tax consequences of ABC’s TV show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition — this time, a press report on an Idaho resident: Stockdales Get "Makeover" House Tax-Free, But Their Property Tax Will Likely Rise: Some call it a questionable loophole. Others just call it a good idea. The producers of ABC’s "Extreme Makeover:…
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Tax Court Trial Begins on Deductibility of Sex-Change Operation
Last week, I blogged the background of a Tax Court case raising the issue of whether male-to-female gender reassignment surgery qualifies as a deductible medical expense under § 213. The trial began yesterday in Boston. For press and blogosphere reports, see: 365gay.com: Transsexual’s Landmark Lawsuit Against IRS Begins Gay Business World: Trans Tax Challenge Trial…