Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
New Cases
-
Spain Supreme Court Rules Wealth Tax Discriminatory
Bloomberg: Spanish Supreme Court Rulings on Wealth Tax Benefit Nonresidents “The Spanish Supreme Court has ruled in two recent cases that the country’s wealth tax discriminates against nonresident individuals because, unlike residents, they couldn’t apply a crucial benefit known as the ‘tax shield.’”
-
Meta Contests $16 Billion in Deficiencies in U.S. Tax Court
Tax Notes: “Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., is challenging $15.95 billion in deficiencies and penalties in the U.S. Tax Court, saying that the IRS’s periodic adjustments are barred by estoppel and contravene the arm’s-length standard.”
-
New York Law Professor Continues Remote Work Taxation Fight
Tax Analysts: Professor Ed Zelinsky “is continuing his challenge against New York’s taxation of income he earned while working remotely from Connecticut during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
-
Fourth Circuit: Maryland Law Barring Disclosure Of Costs Of Internet Advertising Is Unconstitutional
Jonathan H. Adler (William & Mary), Maryland Can Tax Internet Advertising, But It Cannot Prevent Advertisers from Disclosing Cost of Tax: On Friday, in Chamber of Commerce v. Lierman, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that Maryland’s law barring internet advertisers from disclosing the costs of Maryland’s internet advertising tax to
-
Facebook Decision Enables IRS To Seek Commensurate With Income Enforcement Against Meta
Stephen L. Curtis (Cross Border Analytics), Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Michigan; Google Scholar) & David G. Chamberlain (Cal Poly; Google Scholar), Facebook Decision Enables IRS to Seek CWI Enforcement Against Meta, 188 Tax Notes Fed. 709 (Aug. 4, 2025): In this report, the authors explain how the Tax Court’s recent decision in the Facebook transfer pricing case —
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: The Difference Between Tax Assessments And Tax Liabilities
When I teach Tax Practice and Procedure, my students regularly confuse the concepts of assessment and liability. They think that taxpayers have no liabilities until-and-unless the IRS properly assesses those liabilities. No assessment, no liability! And if the IRS abates an assessment, why that nukes the liability as well. No assessment, no liability! The taxpayers
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: The Difference Between Tax Assessments And Tax Liabilities
When I teach Tax Practice and Procedure, my students regularly confuse the concepts of assessment and liability. They think that taxpayers have no liabilities until-and-unless the IRS properly assesses those liabilities. No assessment, no liability! And if the IRS abates an assessment, why that nukes the liability as well. No assessment, no liability! The taxpayers
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: The New Regulation On Supervisory Approval Of Penalties
Section 6751(b) requires supervisory approval before the IRS can assess certain penalties. The statute is untouched by the recently enacted BBBA. In late December Treasury published these final rules on how the IRS must comply with the statute. Professor Caleb Smith shared some good thoughts on them on this Procedurally Taxing post. This Lesson is an
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: The New Regulation On Supervisory Approval Of Penalties
Section 6751(b) requires supervisory approval before the IRS can assess certain penalties. The statute is untouched by the recently enacted BBBA. In late December Treasury published these final rules on how the IRS must comply with the statute. Professor Caleb Smith shared some good thoughts on them on this Procedurally Taxing post. This Lesson is an
-
NY Times Op-Ed: Justice Jackson Just Reset The DEI Debate
New York Times Op-Ed: Justice Jackson Just Helped Reset the D.E.I. Debate, by David French (Author, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation (2020)): At the heart of the debate over diversity, equity and inclusion is a question: How much should the law treat a person as an individual rather than as a
-
NY Times Op-Ed: Justice Jackson Just Reset The DEI Debate
New York Times Op-Ed: Justice Jackson Just Helped Reset the D.E.I. Debate, by David French (Author, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation (2020)): At the heart of the debate over diversity, equity and inclusion is a question: How much should the law treat a person as an individual rather than as a
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: The Key Word In “Net Operating Loss”
Businesses fail. That’s a feature of capitalism, not a bug. Mark Twain discovered that when he lost his first fortune investing in a business that failed, the Paige Compositor. He not only lost his fortune but some say he also lost his sense of humor. Certainly his later works become more dystopian. See e.g. The
-
Tax Prof Must Pay New York Non-Resident Income Tax On Days He Taught Law Students On Zoom From His Connecticut Home When Cardozo Was Closed During Covid
Bloomberg, NY Wins Another Round in Challenge to Taxation of Remote Work: New York was right to tax a Cardozo Law School professor’s wages earned while working from his Connecticut home, even when pandemic restrictions barred him from the New York campus, a state tax tribunal affirmed. The state’s convenience-of-the-employer rule “boils down to whether
-
Tax Prof Must Pay New York Non-Resident Income Tax On Days He Taught Law Students On Zoom From His Connecticut Home When Cardozo Was Closed During Covid
Bloomberg, NY Wins Another Round in Challenge to Taxation of Remote Work: New York was right to tax a Cardozo Law School professor’s wages earned while working from his Connecticut home, even when pandemic restrictions barred him from the New York campus, a state tax tribunal affirmed. The state’s convenience-of-the-employer rule “boils down to whether
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: No Equitable Tolling For Brain Farts
Tax practice is like comedy: timing is critical. In tax, however, messing up timing is no laughing matter. As the sainted Justice Holmes once wrote (in a tax case, nach): “Men must turn square corners when they deal with the Government.” Rock Island R.R. v. United States, 254 U.S. 141, 143 (1920). That is especially
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: No Equitable Tolling For Brain Farts
Tax practice is like comedy: timing is critical. In tax, however, messing up timing is no laughing matter. As the sainted Justice Holmes once wrote (in a tax case, nach): “Men must turn square corners when they deal with the Government.” Rock Island R.R. v. United States, 254 U.S. 141, 143 (1920). That is especially
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: A Captivating Lesson On Insurance
I still don’t carry dental insurance. I have not found a plan where the numbers make sense. The benefits are so limited that by the time I would need them I will have paid more in premiums than the benefits are worth. The game is not worth the candle. So I take the money I
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: A Captivating Lesson On Insurance
I still don’t carry dental insurance. I have not found a plan where the numbers make sense. The benefits are so limited that by the time I would need them I will have paid more in premiums than the benefits are worth. The game is not worth the candle. So I take the money I
-
11th Circuit Poised To Uphold Constitutionality Of Tax Court Despite President’s Ability To Fire Judges Only For Cause
Bloomberg Law, Eleventh Circuit Eyes Tax Court History Amid Constitutional Test: The Eleventh Circuit appeared ready to side with the government in a case challenging the legitimacy of the judges of the US Tax Court, but not without considering the court’s place in the government. A US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit panel
-
11th Circuit Poised To Uphold Constitutionality Of Tax Court Despite President’s Ability To Fire Judges Only For Cause
Bloomberg Law, Eleventh Circuit Eyes Tax Court History Amid Constitutional Test: The Eleventh Circuit appeared ready to side with the government in a case challenging the legitimacy of the judges of the US Tax Court, but not without considering the court’s place in the government. A US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit panel
-
Wallace & Davis: Brief Of Amici Curiae Tax Professors In South Carolina Amazon Case
Clint Wallace (South Carolina; Google Scholar) & Tessa Davis (South Carolina), Brief of Amici Curiae Tax Law Professors for the South Carolina Supreme Court in Support of Respondent: In this appeal, Petitioner Amazon Services, LLC challenges the holding of the Administrative Law Court, as affirmed by the Court of Appeals, that Amazon is a “retailer”
-
Wallace & Davis: Brief Of Amici Curiae Tax Professors In South Carolina Amazon Case
Clint Wallace (South Carolina; Google Scholar) & Tessa Davis (South Carolina), Brief of Amici Curiae Tax Law Professors for the South Carolina Supreme Court in Support of Respondent: In this appeal, Petitioner Amazon Services, LLC challenges the holding of the Administrative Law Court, as affirmed by the Court of Appeals, that Amazon is a “retailer”
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: After Loper-Bright, Hold The Mayo?
How much deference should courts give Treasury regulations? Until 2011, courts answered that question differently from how they evaluated deference to regulations issued by other federal agencies. In that year, however, the Supreme Court decided that Treasury regulations should be treated the same way as all federal regulations. Mayo Foundation v. United States, 562 U.S.
-
Lesson From The Tax Court: After Loper-Bright, Hold The Mayo?
How much deference should courts give Treasury regulations? Until 2011, courts answered that question differently from how they evaluated deference to regulations issued by other federal agencies. In that year, however, the Supreme Court decided that Treasury regulations should be treated the same way as all federal regulations. Mayo Foundation v. United States, 562 U.S.