Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Congressional News
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CRS: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion
Open CRS has posted Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion (R40623) (June 4, 2010), by Jane G. Gravelle (Senior Specialist in Economic Policy). Here is the Summary: The federal government loses both individual and corporate income tax revenue from the shifting of profits and income into low-tax countries, often referred to as tax havens.
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Kyl-Lincoln Estate Tax Fix: $5m Exemption, 35% Rate, Election for Decedents Dying in 2010
Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) issued a press release today on their estate tax reform proposal: a 35% rate; a $5 million exemption phased in over ten years and indexed for inflation; and an elction for estates of decedents dying in 2010 (either to retain this year's 0% rate with carryover basis or to be taxed
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on The Future of Individual Tax Rates
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on The Future of Individual Tax Rates: Effects on Economic Growth and Distribution. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Carol Markman (CPA, Feldman, Meinberg & Co.) David Marzahl (President, Center for Economic Progress) Donald Marron (Director, Tax Policy Center) Douglas Holtz-Eakin (President, American Action Forum) Leonard Burman
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Why It’s Time to Tax Internet Sales
PC World, Why it's Time to Tax Internet Sales: E-commerce companies are no longer babes in the woods needing tax exemptions to get established. Buying an $800 couch or television via the tax-free Internet can be nearly $80 cheaper than a purchase made in a high-sales-tax city like San Francisco — such a deal. But
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Obama Signs 3-Month Extension of $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
President Obama today signed H.R. 5623, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010. The Act provides a 3-month extension of the closing deadline for the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit through Sept. 30 (Buyers still need a contract that was in place by April 30.) Statutory Language Joint Committee on Taxation Revenue Estimate (JCX-34-10) IRS Information Release 2010-80 Press and
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Senate to Investigate Whether Transocean ‘Exploited’ U.S. Tax Law
Following up on my prior post, Transocean: Better at Tax Planning Than Oil Drilling: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus announced today that he has launched an investigation into the tax practices of Transocean Ltd., the owner of the offshore drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and caused the disastrous oil spill. Sen. Baucus
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Sen. Landrieu Seeks IRS Guidance on Tax Treament of BP Payments
Following up on Tuesday's post, $20b Gulf Coast Disaster Payments: Income to Victims, Deductible by BP: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) on Wednesday sent this letter to the Treasury Department and the IRS seeking public written guidance by July 2 on the tax treatment of BP oil spill claims payments to individuals and businesses: As of June 22, 2010
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Responsible Estate Estate Tax Act Includes $3.5m Exemption, 55% Top Rate & 10% Billionaire’s Surtax
Senators Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today plan to introduce the Responsible Estate Tax Act, which would provide a $3.5 million exemption, a progressive rate structure with a 55% top rate, and a 10% surtax on billionaires: Exempts the first $3.5 million of an estate from federal taxation ($7 million for couples), the same
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Fleischer: Private Equity and the ‘Enterprise Value Tax’
Vic Flesicher (Colorado) has revived A Taxing Blog – the first academic tax blog that went on hiatus in October 2003. He has a detailed post on Private Equity and the So-called “Enterprise Value Tax": The current version of the carried interest legislation contains no “enterprise value tax”. It merely applies longstanding principles of partnership tax law to allow
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Average Family Federal Tax Rate: 20.4% (4.0% for Bottom 20%; 29.5% for Top 1%)
The Congressional Budget Office last week released Average Federal Tax Rates in 2007 [click on charts to enlarge]:
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Companies Deducted $52b More for Stock Options in 2008 Than They Reported on Their Books
On Wednesday, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chair Carl Levin released new 2008 IRS data showing that corporations claimed $52 billion more in tax deductions for stick options issued to their executives than they reported as expenses on the company books: “Current stock option accounting and tax rules are out of kilter, lead to corporations reporting inconsistent stock option expenses on their financial
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The Senate’s Vote to Eliminate the Deduction for Punitive Damages
The Senate voted yesterday to pay for a 90-day extension of the home buyer's tax credit by adopting the Obama Administration's proposal to eliminate the deduction for punitive damages. Linda Beale (Wayne State) applauds the move. In their forthcoming article, Taxing Punitive Damages, 96 Va. L. Rev. ___ (2010), Dan Markel (Florida State) and Gregg Polsky (Florida
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House Holds Hearing Today on Mututal Fund Tax Simplification
The Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing today on Tax Simplification Proposals Impacting Regulated Investment Companies: H.R. 4337 was introduced late last year as the "Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2009. As described by the Library of Congress, the bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code
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Senate Is “Close” to Estate Tax Compromise of $5m Exemption, 35% Rate
Sam Goldfarb, Kyl Says Momentum Is Building for His Estate Tax Proposal, 2010 TNT 112-2 (June 11, 2010): Senate Finance Committee member Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said June 10 that he is “pretty close” to gathering the 60 votes needed to pass a bill that would establish the estate tax at a 35 percent top rate with
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Open CRS Releases Tax Reports
Tax Options for Financing Health Care Reform (R40648) The Role of Federal Gasoline Excise Taxes in Public Policy (R40808) Dependent Care: Current Tax Benefits and Legislative Issues (RS21466)
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on The Role of Tax Incentives in Clean Technology
The Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure of the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Clean Technology Manufacturing Competitiveness: The Role of Tax Incentives. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Mark Mazur (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis, U.S. Department of the Treasury) Henry Kelly (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
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House Holds Hearing Today on Tax and Internet Gambling
The House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing this morning on Tax Proposals Related to Legislation to Legalize Internet Gambling. From the hearing announcement: The Committee will discuss the current tax laws and reporting requirements applicable to wagering in the United States. The Committee will consider tax and other proposals in the Committee’s jurisdiction
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Lily Batchelder Named Chief Tax Counsel of Senate Finance Committee
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus today named Tax Prof Lily L. Batchelder (NYU) as Chief Tax Counsel. From the press release: “I’m glad to welcome Lily back to the Senate Finance Committee’s tax team. Lily’s wide range of experience and expert knowledge of tax and public policy make her an invaluable advisor to the Finance Committee as
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Obama’s Recess Appointee to Head Customs and Border Protection Did Not Follow Law in Hiring Domestic Help Ten Times
Senate Finance Committee, Hearing Statement of Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Regarding the Nomination of Alan Bersin to be Commissioner of Customs: Mr. Bersin, President Obama has appointed you Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, or CBP. As such, you and the agency that you lead must display the traits that President Roosevelt defined as indelibly
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The Gulf Oil Spill and the Estate Tax
From a letter sent to the Senate Finance Committee by Conrad Teitell (Cummings & Lockwood, Stamford, CT): The oil spewing into the Gulf can’t be stanched by legislation. But you can by legislation immediately calm the troubled waters created by Congressional inaction on the estate tax…. Oil spills are unimaginably difficult to clean up. But you
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Estate Tax Deal in the Works?
The Hill, Kyl: Deal on the Estate Tax in the Offing: Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) told reporters on Tuesday that his estate tax proposal is near completion. “It is our hope that we can get together both on the proposal, the details are pretty well resolved, and on a process by which we
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CBO: ‘Nearly All’ Colleges Engage in Tax Arbitrage
The Congressional Budget Office on Friday released Tax Arbitrage by Colleges and Universities: Because colleges and universities serve a public purpose—advancing higher education and promoting myriad forms of research—they enjoy a variety of tax preferences. In addition to being exempt from paying federal income taxes, institutions of higher learning can accept tax-deductible charitable contributions and
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CRS: An Overview of Tax Reform Proposals in the 111th Congress
Open CRS has posted James M. Bickley, Tax Reform: An Overview of Proposals in the 111th Congress (R40414). Here is the summary: Tax reform is of congressional interest in the 111th Congress. This report primarily covers fundamental tax reform because CRS reports are available online concerning the other three categories of tax reform: tax reform based on
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Senate Finance Committee Denies It Engages in Tax ‘Root Canals’ of Nominees’ Returns
Nicole Duartel, Finance Committee Denies Allegation of Invasive Vetting of Brainard's Tax Returns, 2010 TNT 7 (Apr. 22, 2010): Senate Finance Committee spokespersons have denied a long-circulating allegation that Lael Brainard, recently confirmed as Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, was subject to unusually invasive practices by the committee staffers who vetted her nomination. More than a year
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on President Obama’s Proposed Bank Tax
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on The President’s Proposed Fee on Financial Institutions Regarding TARP: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will convene the first in a series of hearings to consider a proposed tax on large financial institutions, commonly referred to as the bank tax, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday,