Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Celebrity Tax Lore
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Candorville Comics on IRS Investigation of Churches
Check out the very funny series of Candorville comics on the IRS’s investigation into the political activities of churches: Oct. 3 Oct. 4 Oct. 5 Oct. 6 (Hat Tip: Ellen Aprill.)
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Tax Code as Aphrodisiac
Funny pice on The Spoof: Tax Code Found to be Safe Yet Powerful Aphrodisiac, by Con Chapman: It’s October, and across the nation women are returning from appointments with their OB/GYN’s with ultrasounds of babies that are due in January. Demographers have noticed that a disproportionate number of the nation’s children are being conceived in…
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Tax Issues Abound in Netflix $1 Million Giveaway
Christine Agnew (Houston) sent in this item as fodder for the basic income tax class from today’s New York Times: And if You Liked the Movie, a Netflix Contest May Reward You Handsomely, by Katie Hafner: Netflix, the popular online movie rental service, is planning to award $1 million to the first person who can…
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Tax and Twitty Burgers
As someone with an extensive collection of tax bric-a-brac, I was crestfallen to hear that I had missed out on the ebay sale of a menu from the defunct Twitty Burger fast-food restaurant chain. Celebrity tax aficionados will recognize the restaurant from the famous case of Harold L. Jenkins (a/k/a Howard Twitty) v. Commissioner, T.C.…
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Colbert 2006 Tax Cruise
Check out this funny video from the Colbert Report on the Colbert 2006 Tax Cruise: (Hat Tip: Kay Bell.)
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Rock ‘n Roll Citation Rankings
Regular readers of this blog know how much I enjoy rankings. So this article by Alex B. Long (Oklahoma City), [Insert Song Lyrics Here]: The Uses and Misuses of Popular Music Lyrics in Legal Writing, caught my eye. Here is the abstract: Legal writers frequently utilize the lyrics of popular music artists to help advance…
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Will Farrell Stars as IRS Agent in Stranger Than Fiction
Will Farrell stars in Stranger Than Fiction, a Sony Pictures movie scheduled to open in theatres November 10, 2006. Here’s part of an early review: One morning, a seemingly average and solitary IRS agent named Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) begins to hear a female voice narrating his every action, thought, and feeling in alarmingly precise…
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Wolk Named “America’s Hottest Male ERISA Lawyer”
Congratulations to Tax Prof Bruce A. Wolk (UC-Davis), named America’s Hottest Male ERISA Lawyer at Above the Law.: Professor Wolk, assuming an odalisque position on the hood of his Camry, proved irresistibly sinuous to the voters. Bruce was the top vote getter among the 12 nominees, with 33% of the vote (481 votes out of…
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ERISA “Hottie” Update
Tax Prof Bruce A. Wolk (UC-Davis) is leading the early voting (at 31%) among the twelve nominess in the male "ERISA Hotties" contest at Above the Law. To cast your vote in the Who is America’s Hottest Male ERISA Lawyer?, go here. On the women’s side, Tax Prof Colleen E. Medill (Nebraska) is one of…
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Isley Brother Sentenced to 3 Years for Tax Evasion
Isley Brother (and Cincinnati native) Ronald Isley was sentenced to three years for tax evasion. From the Associated Press story: Isley Brothers lead singer Ronald Isley has been sentenced to three years and one month in prison for tax evasion. Isley was also ordered to pay $3.1 million in back taxes to the IRS, said…
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Applebee’s Bartender Gets $10,000 Tip
For those teaching the income v. gift issue in the basic tax course this fall, check out this Associated Press story: Bartender Gets $10,000 Tip on $26 Tab: Two weeks ago, one of Cindy Kienow’s regular customers left her a $100 tip on a tab that wasn’t even half that. This week, he added a…
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Tax at the Emmy Awards
The IRS’s new enforcement of the tax rules on Hollywood swag was a major topic of conversation at last night’s Emmy awards: Last night’s most popular subject was the sumptuous gift bags given to Emmy presenters, valued at $30,000 or more, which the federal government now intends to tax as income. Conan O’Brien: "The Bush…
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USA Today on IRS-Hollywood Swag Accord
Following up on our post last week on the accord reached by IRS and Hollywood on the tax treatment of celebrity gift bags: USA Today has a great story, IRS Is Watching Emmy Show of Affection, by Karen Thomas & William Keck: There’s a new word circulating in Emmy circles: taxes. Those stars who pick…
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IRS and Hollywood Reach Accord on Gift Bags
The IRS yesterday launched an outreach campaign to the entertainment industry regarding the taxability of gift bags and promotional items, following its agreement with the.Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences resolving outstanding tax responsibilities with respect to Academy Awards gift baskets: IRS Outreach to Entertainment Industry on Gift Bags (IR-2006-128) Gift Bag Questions and…
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Jon Stewart on the “Pimp Tax”
Funny video from last night’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart on the "Pimp Tax" (previously blogged here):
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Tax Consequences of Hollywood Swag
We previously have blogged the tax consequences of Hollywood gift bags. Today’s New York Post Page Six reports that The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has sent letters to presenters and nominees scheduled to appear on the Aug. 27 Emmy Awards advising them they will be responsible for paying income tax on the freebies…
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Not a Beautiful Day for Ireland: U2 & Bono Bail Out to Avoid Irish Tax
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Irish rock band U2, led by anti-poverty crusader Bono, has transferred part of its music business empire out of Ireland due to changes in tax laws: The band has moved part of its publishing company U2 Limited to the same Dutch finance house used by the Rolling Stones because…
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Gimme Shelter: Rolling Stones Use Offshore Trusts to Pay 1.6% Tax Rate on Their Earnings
Interesting article in The Daily Mail: Stingy Stones Avoid Tax on £240m Fortune, by Katie Hind: The Rolling Stones have paid just 1.6% tax on their earnings of £242million over the past 20 years, it has emerged. Documents published in Holland show that Sir Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards used offshore trusts and…
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David Letterman on Bill Gates
Check out this hilarious David Letterman riff on Bill Gates: (Hat Tip: Alan D. Westheimer.)
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NY Times Pans Anti-Tax Movie America: From Freedom to Fascism
David Cay Johnston pans the new anti-tax movie, America: From Freedom to Fascism in this morning’s New York Times in Facts Refute Filmmaker’s Assertions on Income Tax in "America": [E]xamination of the assertions in Mr. Russo’s documentary, which purports to expose “two frauds” perpetrated by the federal government, taxing wages and creating the Federal Reserve…
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Tax Prof-Musician
Interesting article about Tax Prof-Musician Susan Daicoff Dunn (Florida Coastal): Law by Day, Music by Night, by Liz Daube (Jacksonville FInancial News & Daily Record): By day, paralegal Vanya Arcusa and law professor Susan Daicoff Dunn work with the law. But when the sun goes down and the weekend rolls around, Arcusa and Dunn step…
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Dilbert on the Tax Legislative Process
Check out today’s funny Dilbert comic on the tax legislative process.
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Celebrity Hot Tub Tax Tips
Check out Paul Scheer’s Super Sexy Hot Tub Tax Tips (warning: sophomoric humor): (Hat Tip: taxalicious.)
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The Heart of Tax Law
We previously blogged the great new movie The Heart of the Game, which tells the story of girls high school basketball coach William S. Resler, the Director of the Graduate Tax Program in the University of Washington’s School of Business since its inception in 1992. Check out Bill’s interview yesterday on NPR, in which he…