Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Congressional News
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Joint Tax Committee, GAO & CBO Hold Tax Gap Forum
The Joint Committee on Taxation, Government Accountability Office, and Congressional Budget Office held a forum on Tax Compliance: Options for Improvement and Their Budgetary Potential, which examined the accuracy of current tax gap projections and the potential efficacy of proposed solutions. For details, see Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’s Tax Gap Report.
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House Passes Ban on Tax Strategy Patents
The House today passed H.R. 1908, The Patent Reform Act of 2007, which bans tax strategy patents. See the detailed discussion of tax strategy patents in the House Judiciary Committee report.
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More on Yesterday’s Congressional Tax Hearings
Materials from yesterday’s House and Senate tax hearings: Statements of twenty witnesses at House hearing Statements of three witnesses at Senate hearing AMT Report by House Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Carried Interest Adventure equity web game by Rep. Eric Cantor Press and blogosphere coverage: The American: The Wrong Way to Boost Revenues, by Liz
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House Holds Hearing Today on Fairness in Tax Policy
The House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing today on Fair and Equitable Tax Policy for America’s Working Families. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Leonard E. Burman (Director, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center) Jason Furman (Director, The Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution) Douglas Holtz-Eakin (Senior Fellow, The Peterson Institute, and Former Director, Congressional Budget
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on Carried Interest Part III: Pension Issues
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Carried Interest Part III: Pension Issues. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Alan J. Auerbach (Robert D. Burch Professor of Law and Economics, Director, Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley) Donald B. Trone (President,
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Joint Tax Committee Releases Report on Private Equity Tax Reform
In anticipation of Thursday’s House Ways & Means Committee hearing, the Joint Committee on Taxation today released Present Law and Analysis Relating to Tax Treatment of Partnership Carried Interests and Related Issues: Part I (JCX-62-07) Part II (JCX-63-07)
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Senate to Hold Hearing on Carried Interest Part III: Pension Issues
The Senate Finance Committee has called a hearing on Carried Interest Part III: Pension Issues for Thursday, September 6 at 10:00 a.m. in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building. For the previous two carried interest hearings (including witness statements), see: Part I (7/11/07) Part II (7/31/07)
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House to Hold Hearing on Tax Fairness
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on fairness and equity in the tax code: The hearing will focus on a number of tax fairness issues, including the tax treatment of investment fund managers and the impact of the alternative minimum tax on working
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Senate Seeks Study of IRS Efforts to Combat Identity Theft Tax Fraud
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley yesterday asked the GAO to investigate how tax fraud related to identity theft contributes to the "tax gap" and whether the IRS is taking sufficient steps to address the issue. Press Release Letter to GAO
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Cleary Gottlieb’s Kleinbard Named Joint Tax Committee Chief of Staff
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus and House Ways & Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel today announced that they will name Edward D. Kleinbard as the next Chief of Staff for the Joint Committee on Taxation: Kleinbard is currently a partner in the New York City office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. His practice
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on Partnership Carried Interest
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Carried Interest, Part II at 10:00 a.m. in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Charles Kingson (Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School) Adam Ifshin (President, DLC Management Corp., New York) Joseph Bankman (Professor, Stanford Law School) John B. Frank (Managing
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Testimony in Yesterday’s House Hearing on Tax-Exempt Charitable Organizations
In connection with yesterday’s House Ways & Means Committee hearing on Tax-Exempt Charitable Organizations (blogged here): the committee has released the witness testimony, including this GAO report, Tax Compliance: Thousands of Organizations Exempt from Federal Income Tax Owe Nearly $1 Billion in Payroll and Other Taxes (GAO-07-1090T) (7/24/07): 1-Page Highlights Report Press coverage: Associated Press:
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House Holds Hearing Today on Tax-Exempt Charitable Organizations
The House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing today on Tax-Exempt Charitable Organizations. From the hearing announcement: The Subcommittee will undertake a broad overview of Section 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. The Subcommittee will review the overall state of this sector, including activities and measures for ensuring public accountability and good governance. Here are the witnesses
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on Oversight of Government Tax Policy in Farm Country
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Oversight of Government Tax Policy in Farm Country. The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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Judiciary Committee Votes to Prohibit Tax Strategy Patents
The House Judiciary Committee voted yesterday to prohibit patents of tax planning methods, defined as "a plan, strategy, technique or scheme that is designed to reduce, minimize, or defer" a taxpayer’s tax liability.
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Ways & Means Committee Votes to Kill IRS’s Private Debt Collection Program, Raise Tax on Expatriates
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 23-18 yesterday to kill the IRS’s private debt collection program. The Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007, as passed, provides that the repeal of the program does not apply to any contracts entered into before July 18, 2007. In addition, the Act would impose an immediate tax on
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House Holds Markup Today of Bill to Kill IRS’s Private Debt Collection Program
The House Ways & Means Committee has scheduled a markup today of H.R. 3056, the “Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007, which would kill the IRS’s private debt collection program. For a summary of the bill, see here. In connection with the markup, the Joint Committee on Taxation has published a description (JCX-49-07) and estimated
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on Four Tax Treaties
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing today on the United States’ tax treaties with Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Germany. In connection with the hearing, the Joint Committee on Taxation has issued: Explanation of Proposed Income Tax Treaty Between the United States and Belgium (JCX-45-07) Explanation of Proposed Protocol to the Income Tax Treaty
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Senate Finance Committee Press Releases on Saver’s Credit, Bush Health Care Tax Proposal
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley yesterday issued two tax-related press releases: Baucus, Grassley Ask IRS to Better Publicize Saver’s Credit; Finance Leaders Call on IRS to Improve Advertising, Use Consistent References Statement by Sens. Grassley and Hatch on Potential Veto of Possible Legislation to Reauthorize the SCHIP Program
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Witness Statements from Yesterday’s Senate Hearing on Partnership Carried Interest
Witness statements from yesterday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on Carried Interest, Part 1 are now available: Eric Solomon (Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury) Peter Orszag (Director, Congressional Budget Office) Andrew Donohue (Director, Division of Investment Management, SEC) Kate D. Mitchell (Managing Director, Scale Venture Partners, Foster City, CA) Marc P.
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on Partnership Carried Interest
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Carried Interest, Part 1. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Eric Solomon (Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury) Peter Orszag (Director, Congressional Budget Office) Andrew Donohue (Director, Division of Investment Management, SEC) Kate D. Mitchell (Managing Director, Scale Venture Partners, Foster
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Free-File Software Can’t Handle Even Simple Returns
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has issued a report slamming the IRS’s Free-File Program, charging that the electronic-filing software is replete with errors that affect even the simplest tax returns. (The Free-File Program allows 70% of all taxpayers — those earning $52,000 or less — to prepare and electronically file their returns free
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Senate Holds Hearing on AMT Today
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on The Stealth Tax that’s No Longer a Wealth Tax: How to Stop the AMT from Sneaking Up on Unsuspecting Taxpayers. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Frank Degen (National Association of Enrolled Agents) Leonard Burman (Director, Tax Policy Center) Kevin Hassett (Director of Economic Policy
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Joint Economic Committee Releases Excess Burden of Federal Taxes Imposes High Economic Cost
The Joint Economic Committee has released Excess Burden of Federal Taxes Imposes High Economic Cost by Ranking Member Jim Saxton: The overall burden of taxation is much larger than the tax receipts that government collects each year because taxes distort the behavior of individuals and firms. These distortions reduce potential output or economic welfare. Economists
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House Democrats Propose Bill to Tax Carried Interest at Ordinary Rates
House Ways & Means Chairman Charles Rangel and thirteen other democrats today proposed legislation to tax carried interest at ordinary income tax rates. Text of Bill Ways & Means Committee Press Release Ways & Means Committee Fact Sheet Bloomberg: Fund Managers’ Taxes to Double Under House Measure Reuters: U.S. House Bill Targets Carried Interest