Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Celebrity Tax Lore
-
Tax Issues in Good Night, and Good Luck
There are at least two tax issues in the acclaimed new movie, Good Night, and Good Luck: 1. From Gail Levin Richmond (Nova): There is a scene in which Edward R. Murrow or Fred Friendly offers to cover potential sponsor losses ($3,000 a week?). Are payments an ordinary and necessary business expense? What are the…
-
Tax Consequences of State-Financed Road Trip for Rutgers Students to Attend Insight Bowl
275 Rutgers students who accompanied the football team to the Insight Bowl in Phoenix for last night’s game against Arizona State may have a tax headache next April 15. From the Philadelphia Inquirer: In a new twist on financial aid, acting Gov. Dick Codey pledged $25,000 in taxpayer funds to send Rutgers University students to…
-
Tax Consequences of Survivor’s Car Challenge
Andrew Mitchel blogs the tax consequences of the recent Survivor episode in which a contestent was given the choice of winning a new car for herself or letting the four other contestents win a new car: On the December 8th episode of Survivor, Cindy Hall, one of the last five competitors, won a reward challenge.…
-
Survivor: Tax Evasion
Survivor winner Richard Hatch’s tax troubles continue: From Reality News Online: It isn’t shaping up to be a happy new year for original Survivor winner Richard Hatch, who is currently being prosecuted for charges stemming from his alleged failure to pay taxes on his million-dollar prize and other income, plus supposedly taking donations directed to…
-
Arrested Development and Law Blogs
Before leaving for the holidays, Joel A. Schoenmeyer of the Death and Taxes Blog shared this funny story: Last [week’s] episode of Arrested Development featured an appearance by Scott Baio as attorney Bob Loblaw. In the episode, we learned that Mr. Loblaw also has his own website, known as (what else?) The Bob Loblaw Law…
-
The Role of Taxes in the Birth of Christ
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee,…
-
Britney Spears, Secret Sex Tapes, and Estate Planning Lawyers
Before leaving for the holidays, Joel A. Schoenmeyer of the Death and Taxes Blog shared this funny story: Britney Spears is suing US Weekly for $20 million over their allegation that Ms. Spears and her husband, Kevin Federline, "feared the release of a secret sex tape, which they had viewed with their estate planning lawyers."…
-
Christmas for Taxes, Not Turkey
Interesting story from the BBC: Christmas Used for Tax, Not Turkey. Here is the opening: What does Christmas day mean for you … turkey, presents and time spent with family, perhaps? Some Britons, it seems, shun the festive fun and use Christmas day as a chance to sort out their tax affairs. According to HM…
-
More Tax Songs for Your iPod
The Tax Guru offers up this tax song for your iPod: It’s My Money, by The Right Brothers. Here are part of the lyrics: I pay the Fed tax and the FICA tax before I cash my checkAnd then the sales tax and this and that tax get most of what’s leftThey’re taxing me to…
-
Absolutely Fabulous: A Stupidity Tax
Some wonderful dialog from the hit BBC series, Absolutely Fabulous: Eddie [in court explaining to the judge her problems with the law/]: Yes, Yes! Why, oh why, do we pay taxes, hmmm? I mean, just to have bloody parking restrictions — and BUGGERY-UGLY traffic wardens, and BOLLOCKY-pedestrian-BLOODY-crossings? . . . and those BASTARD railings outside…
-
Law & Order: Tax Edition
The New York Times offers this view of NBC’s hit series Law & Order: [L]ike all the best mysteries, "Law & Order" provides cathartic social vengeance: middle-class detectives and prosecutors expose the greed and perversions of the rich, exacting a retribution that the tax code fails to deliver. (Thanks to Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.) for the…
-
Nassau on Da Vinci and the Code
Robert G. Nassau (Syracuse) has published Da Vinci and the Code, 109 Tax Notes 843 (Nov. 7, 2005), also available on the Tax Analysts web site as Doc 2005-22048, 2005 TNT 215-35. The articlle takes a humorous look at what might have happened when the tax collector visited Leonardo da Vinci.
-
Road to World Series Begins in IRS Chief Counsel’s Office
Darryll Jones (Pittsburgh) passed on this tidbit from a brochure, Careers with the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service — A Great Place to Start The brochure profiles IRS Chief Counsel alumni who have gone on to bigger and better things, including Pam Olson, Ron Pearlman, Sheldon Cohen, and Jerry Reinsdorf: Jerry Reinsdorf, the…
-
Wife Recovers Under Accidental Death Policy After Son Kills Father in Kung Fu Battle Over Tax Return
Wetzel v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 393 A.2d 470 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1978): Willy C. J. Wetzel died on March 16, 1975 at the hand of his son, Roy Wetzel. Roy Wetzel was tried by a jury for murder and voluntary manslaughter . . . and was found not guilty. Mary Margaret Wetzel, appellant and widow…
-
Can Witches Deduct Cost of Schooling?
Following up on this morning’s two Halloween tax posts (here and here): the TaxProf Discussion Group was abuzz today about a follow up on a story we blogged earlier: Tax Breaks for Witches. From today’s Associated Press: Dutch witches were guaranteed a financial treat when the Leeuwarden District Court reaffirmed their legal right to write…
-
A Tax Perspective on Halloween
Here’s a tax perspective on Halloween from one side of the political spectrum.
-
A TaxProf Halloween Treat
In homage to The Volokh Conspiracy’s links to cool optical illusions (see here, here, and most recently, here), my 15-year old son wants to share this Halloween treat with the tax community: if you watch the car commercial carefully and turn up the volume, you will be able to spot something in the mist and…
-
The Onion on Al Capone’s Tax Conviction
Funny mock Onion front page from October 19, 1931: Al Capone’s Reign of Tax-Evading Terror Finally Brought to an End; Non-Paying Monster Will Prowl City’s Loopholes No Longer; Chicagoans Relieved as Feds Out Stop to "Scarface" Al’s String of Brutal Non-Filings: Al Capone, whose tax evasion has held Chicago in a grip of terror for…
-
-
Golf Phenom Wie Celebrates 16th Birthday with First Tax Form
Teen golf phenom Michelle Wie’s reaction to turning 16: But when a cake for her was wheeled in on Tuesday, the candles were lit and a spontaneous chorus of Happy Birthday arose from well-wishers, the reality hit home. The precocious athlete who is competing in the Samsung World Championship this week, her first event as…
-
Dilbert on Financial Disclosure After Enron
The morning’s Dilbert has a funny take on financial disclosure after Enron.
-
New IRS Theme Song?
Our sister blog Chinese Law Prof Blog, edited by Donald C. Clarke (George Washington), posted this translation of a motivational song for Chinese tax collectors: The Motherland Is in My Heart(From Zhongguo Shuiwu (Chinese Taxation), No. 3, 1990) Proudly and with deep feeling The national emblem is on my cap And the motherland is in…
-
Tax Consequences to Baseball Scofflaws and Newspaper Satirists
This month’s "Shop Talk" column in the Journal of Taxation by Sheldon I. Banoff (Katten, Muchin Zavis Rosenman, Chicago) & Richard L. Lipton (Baker & McKenzie, Chicago) has two items of particular interest to tax teachers: Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers was ordered to pay a $50,000 "fine" to Major League Baseball after shoving…
-
Tax Breaks for Witches
The Tax Foundation culled this interesting story from the BBC: Dutch "Witch" Attracts Tax Break: A Dutch actress training to be a witch is eligible for a tax deduction for her course fees, the tax authorities in the Netherlands have decided. They allowed the 39-year-old woman to claim 2,210 euros (£1,505) for the course that…
-
Tax Perspective on Intelligent Design v. Darwinism Debate
Funny cartoon here offers a tax perspective on the intelligent design v. Darwinism debate. (Thanks to Jim Maule (Villanova), whose brother-in-law pointed him to this the moment he saw it.)