Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Celebrity Tax Lore
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Tax Scammer’s Clients Included Sandra Bullock
A follow-up to Tuesday’s post about the arrest of tax fraud promoter Jerome Schneider: the L.A. Times reports that among the names of clients on the list seaized by the IRS was Sandra Bullock, who paid Schneider $100,000 for tax advice about purchasing an offshore bank in the Cayman Islands: Bullock’s father, John, saw an…
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Letterman’s Top 10 Ways George Bush Celebrated His Reelection
The Late Show David Letterman’s Top 10 Ways George W. Bush Celebrated His Reelection: 10. Eliminated tax cut of 55 million Americans who voted for Kerry For the full Top 10 List, see here.
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Jon Stewart Daily Show Video of Tax Consequences of Oprah’s Car Giveaway
Check out the hilarious 5-minute video of Jon Stewart’s Daily Show segment on the tax consequences of Oprah’s car giveaway (previously blogged here and here). It sparks a great classroom discussion in the basic tax course. (Thanks to Allison Christians (Northwestern) for the tip.)
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Tax Consequences of Lurid O’Reilly Lawsuits
The dueling complaints filed by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly (of the popular O’Reilly Factor) and associate producer Andrea Mackris raise a number claims: • Mr. O’Reilly’s 16-page complaint charges Ms. Mackris and her attorneys with extortion, infliction of emotional distress, and wrongful interference with contractual relations. • Ms. Mackris’s 22-page complaint charges Mr. O’Reilly with…
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Tax Advice for J-Lo
Jennifer Lopez was a guest on David Letterman’s Late Show Wednesday night. She confirmed news reports that her mother, Guadalupe Lopez, won a $2.4 million jackpot in August while playing the $1 slots at an Atlantic City casino. She stated on Letterman that her mother “gave the money away” (presumably to charity). The TaxProf Email…
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Tax Man, Not Kryptonite, Stops Superman in His Tracks
From the Where Does He Find This Stuff File (via abcnews.com): Swedish authorities have turned down a request by two parents to register Superman as a name for their child. The parents wanted their son to be named after the cartoon superhero because they say he was born with one arm pointing upwards, the position…
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More Celebrity Tax Fodder: Courtney Love’s Tax Lien
Thursday, September 30, 2004 For those teaching tax procedure: The Smoking Gun has copies of a tax lien filed by California against Courtney Love for nonpayment of employment taxes. (The managers of a Manhattan building also have filed liens against Ms. Love for nonpayment of maintenance fees on her Soho condo — see here and…
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Bagels and Tax Breaks Bring Hollywood to New York City
Wednesday, September 29, 2004 From Reuters (via CNN Money): New York is striking back with better bagels and tax breaks in its fight to keep motion picture production in the Big Apple and stem the flight of the industry to cheaper destinations like Canada. The lure worked for Mel Brooks, who announced Tuesday that the…
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Teachable Moment: Britney Spears’ 4-Page “Faux Wedding Agreement”
Saturday. September 25, 2004 A follow up on Thursday’s post explaining that Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are not married for tax (and other legal) purposes because they have not yet filed a marriage license as they are still in the process of ironing out the prenuptial agreement. The Smoking Gun provides a “teachable moment”…
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Oops She Did It Again: Is Britney Spears Married for Tax Purposes?
Thursday, September 23, 2004 According to press reports (see here and here), Britney Spears has not filed a marriage license with Los Angeles County since her September 18 wedding to Kevin Federline. The reason? Because they moved up the wedding from October 16, their lawyers have not finished ironing out the prenuptial agreement. The New…
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Tax Implications of CBS/Dan Rather Flap
Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Finally, a tax angle on the brouhaha over Dan Rather’s tepid mea culpa over the fabricated Bush national guard documents: The Armchair Critic fears that the IRS will be flooded with taxpayers trying to take advantage of the “Rather ‘Fake, But Accurate’ Defense.” The Roth & Company CPA site analogizes this…
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More on the Tax Consequences of Oprah’s Car Giveaway
Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Last Tuesday, we blogged the tax consequences of Oprah Winfrey’s celebration of the premiere of her 19th season by giving away new “fully-loaded” Pontiac G-6 midsize 2005 sports sedans to each of the 276 members of the studio audience (see here). We noted the statement by a spokesperson for Pontiac (which…
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Tax Consequences of Misdirected Direct Deposit
Saturday, September 18, 2004 Great story in Friday’s Philadelphia Inquirer for tax profs looking for classroom fodder: Mound of trouble. A payroll mix-up by the Tribune Company, which owns a chain of newspapers and the Chicago Cubs, has highlighted the outrageous salaries athletes get compared with those of working stiffs. It also spurred a lawsuit…
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Tax Consequences of Oprah’s Car Giveaway
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 The TaxProf Discussion List was abuzz yesterday with news of Oprah Winfrey’s celebration of the premiere of her 19th season by giving away new “fully-loaded” Pontiac G-6 midsize 2005 sports sedans to each of the 276 members of the studio audience. What caught the eye of Michael Kirsch (Notre Dame) was…
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Arnold: Don’t Be Tax Girlie Men
Monday, September 6, 2004 An AP story in the New York Times warns: Next President to Face Pressure on Taxes. The opening: At their national convention, Republicans were short on specifics on how to pay for an economic agenda in a second Bush administration. One reason is that President Bush could end up having to…
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Sheryl Crow’s Tax Problems
Saturday, August 21, 2004 We previously have blogged the issue of the administrative problems in subjecting athletes and entertainers to multiple state and local income taxes in the locations in which they perform (see here). In this month’s “Shop Talk” column in the Journal of Taxation, Sheldon Banoff takes the issue to a new level…
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IRS Files $1 Million in Tax Liens Against Pete Rose
Friday, August 20, 2004 The IRS has filed $1 million in tax liens against local legend Pete Rose, likely dooming his chances for reinstatement in major league baseball and keeping him ineligible for the baseball hall of fame.
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Tax Charges Surface in McGreevey Mess
Friday, August 20, 2004 Tax charges have surfaced in the seedy mess involving N.J. Gov. McGreevey: millionaire developer Charles Kushner, Gov. McGreevey’s top campaign donor, pleaded guilty to 18 federal criminal charges, admitting he hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and mailed a video of the encounter to his sister to convince them not…
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Tax Profs as Super Heroes?
Saturday, August 14, 2004 Riding a wave of publicity after his blog’s appearance in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal (see here), Jim Maule (Villanova) on Friday was compared to the Incredible Hulk (see here)! This opens up a new thread: Tax Profs as super-heroes! Any Tax Prof nominees for Spiderman, Catwoman, X-Men, etc?!?
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Tax on the Silver Screen: Intimate Strangers
Thursday, August 5, 2004 In the new movie Intimate Strangers, a woman in France mistakenly goes to a tax accountant’s office and, thinking it is her therapist’s office, tells him all the secrets of her marriage. The New York Times’ movie review notes “[A] tax accountant’s relationship to a client parallels a pscyhotherapist’s. Both professions…
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William F. Buckley Admits Cheating on His Taxes
Monday, July 12, 2004 Interesting interview with William F. Buckley in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, which included this exchange: Q: Have you ever cheated on your taxes? A: I suppose so. It’s impossible not to cheat on your taxes. Q: How much should one pay in taxes? A: As much, but not more, than…
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Jack Kent Cooke Estate Fiasco Illustrates Decline of Estate Planning in Law Schools
Friday, July 9, 2004 Today’s Wall Street Journal has a fascinating front page story about the difficult administration of former Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke’s $1.3 billion estate. The will spawned enormous conflict, with litigation at every turn and the seven (seven!) co-executors claiming over $37.6 million in fees. Yale Prof John Langbein attributes part…
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Tax Court Judges Slighted in Federal Judge “Hotties” Poll
Friday, July 9, 2004 Underneath Their Robes, a blog dedicated to “news, gossip, and colorful commentary” has released Too Sexy For Their Robes: The Nominees for Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary, complete with photographs and People magazine-style descriptions of the nominees. In yet another slight to the tax community, not a single Tax Court Judge…
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Tax Prof Sleuths Unpack Coach K’s Compensation
Tuesday, July 6, 2004 The West Coast has been atwitter about Coach Krzyzewski turning down $8 million per year for coaching the Lakers to remain at Duke. An article in Sunday’s LA Times noted that “[a]s a private institution, Duke doesn’t have to disclose faculty salaries, but Krzyzewski has been reported to earn between $600,000…
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Extreme Makeover: Taxpayer Edition
Monday, July 5, 2004 As noted earlier on TaxProf Blog, ABC’s tax lawyers have taken an aggressive position in telling recipients of home makeovers that they can avoid tax on the value of the improvements by characterizing the items as short term rental payments within the meaning of Code section 280A(g). The local paper has…