Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
New Cases
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IRS Backdating Of Documents Highlights Festering Cultural Rot: ‘If The IRS Doesn’t Play By The Rules, They’re The Mob’
Bloomberg, IRS Backdating Court Order Spotlights Culture, Attorneys Say: An unusual Tax Court order requiring the IRS to report what it knew and when about misstatements in a conservation easement case, as well as mounting claims of backdating forms at the agency, are highlighting what some tax attorneys said are festering IRS cultural problems, years
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Tax Protesting—A Hobby That Eats
Everyone should have a hobby. Generally, hobbies are good for you, as this Utah State University Mental Health Education post explains. But some hobbies become cancerous, becoming all-consuming. Those hobbies are not good for you. As Benjamin Franklin reportedly put it: beware the hobby that eats. Protesting your taxes is a hobby that eats. Bob
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Tax Protesting—A Hobby That Eats
Everyone should have a hobby. Generally, hobbies are good for you, as this Utah State University Mental Health Education post explains. But some hobbies become cancerous, becoming all-consuming. Those hobbies are not good for you. As Benjamin Franklin reportedly put it: beware the hobby that eats. Protesting your taxes is a hobby that eats. Bob
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2d Circuit: Despite Artist’s Objection, Law School Can Cover Murals Celebrating State’s Role In Underground Railroad And Abolitionist Movement In Response To Student Complaints Of ‘White Savior Complex’
Bloomberg Law, Law School Can Cover Underground Railroad Murals, 2nd Cir. Says: Vermont Law School can permanently cover a pair of controversial 1994 murals depicting the Underground Railroad without violating an artists’ rights law, the Second Circuit ruled [Kerson v. Vermont Law School, No. 21-2904 (2d Cir. Aug. 18, 2023)]. Artist Samuel Kerson argued the
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2d Circuit: Despite Artist’s Objection, Law School Can Cover Murals Celebrating State’s Role In Underground Railroad And Abolitionist Movement In Response To Student Complaints Of ‘White Savior Complex’
Bloomberg Law, Law School Can Cover Underground Railroad Murals, 2nd Cir. Says: Vermont Law School can permanently cover a pair of controversial 1994 murals depicting the Underground Railroad without violating an artists’ rights law, the Second Circuit ruled [Kerson v. Vermont Law School, No. 21-2904 (2d Cir. Aug. 18, 2023)]. Artist Samuel Kerson argued the
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Tax Consequence For Discharge Of Non-Recourse Debt
One of the hard concepts to teach students is the different tax treatments for recourse loans and non-recourse loans. It gets especially confusing when the sale of underwater property includes a Discharge of Indebtedness (DOI) as part of the sale. In Michael G. Parker and Julie A. Parker v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-104 (Aug. 10,
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Tax Consequence For Discharge Of Non-Recourse Debt
One of the hard concepts to teach students is the different tax treatments for recourse loans and non-recourse loans. It gets especially confusing when the sale of underwater property includes a Discharge of Indebtedness (DOI) as part of the sale. In Michael G. Parker and Julie A. Parker v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-104 (Aug. 10,
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Gotta Get Physical For Casualty Loss Deduction
Individuals generally cannot deduct casualty losses, at least through the end of 2025. §165(h)(5). But Congress continues to permit individual taxpayers to deduct casualty losses if they are attributable to a federally declared disaster. Id. And we are having more and more disasters. Call it climate change, call it a banana, the brutal fact is
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Gotta Get Physical For Casualty Loss Deduction
Individuals generally cannot deduct casualty losses, at least through the end of 2025. §165(h)(5). But Congress continues to permit individual taxpayers to deduct casualty losses if they are attributable to a federally declared disaster. Id. And we are having more and more disasters. Call it climate change, call it a banana, the brutal fact is
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Lesson From The Tax Court: An Object Lesson On Adequate Business Records
[Author’s Note: this past week I joined the 77.5% of Americans who been infected with COVID. So tired …. zzzzz ** what? So this week’s lesson may reflect my COVID-fogged brain. If you find more errors than usual, I humbly apologize and promise to do better next week.] Some of my Lessons From Tax Court
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Lesson From The Tax Court: An Object Lesson On Adequate Business Records
[Author’s Note: this past week I joined the 77.5% of Americans who been infected with COVID. So tired …. zzzzz ** what? So this week’s lesson may reflect my COVID-fogged brain. If you find more errors than usual, I humbly apologize and promise to do better next week.] Some of my Lessons From Tax Court
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Size Does Not Matter
In Janet R. Braen et al. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-85 (July 11, 2023) (Judge Urda), we learn that there is no charitable deduction for a bargain sale done to settle a lawsuit, even though it was a huge bargain sale. There, the taxpayers claimed a $5.2 million charitable contribution deduction from a bargain sale
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Creating Your Best Administrative Record
When the Tax Court reviews an IRS Collection Due Process (CDP) decision about collection, it always uses an abuse of discretion standard of review. That is, it does not simply substitute its judgment for that of the Office of Appeals Settlement Officer (SO), but instead looks to see whether the SO committed an error of
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Creating Your Best Administrative Record
When the Tax Court reviews an IRS Collection Due Process (CDP) decision about collection, it always uses an abuse of discretion standard of review. That is, it does not simply substitute its judgment for that of the Office of Appeals Settlement Officer (SO), but instead looks to see whether the SO committed an error of
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Blue J Predicts: Conflicting Duties And The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty In Cashaw
Benjamin Alarie (Osler Chair in Business Law, University of Toronto; CEO, Blue J Legal) & Christopher Yan (Senior Legal Research Associate, Blue J Legal), A Reexamination of Cashaw, 179 Tax Notes Fed. 2197 (June 26, 2023): [W]e revisit the intriguing case of Cashaw [v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2021-123 (Oct. 27, 2021)]. This case focused on
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Blue J Predicts: Conflicting Duties And The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty In Cashaw
Benjamin Alarie (Osler Chair in Business Law, University of Toronto; CEO, Blue J Legal) & Christopher Yan (Senior Legal Research Associate, Blue J Legal), A Reexamination of Cashaw, 179 Tax Notes Fed. 2197 (June 26, 2023): [W]e revisit the intriguing case of Cashaw [v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2021-123 (Oct. 27, 2021)]. This case focused on
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Deducting Graduate School Costs
My desire to become a law professor crystalized during the four years I practiced law after my judicial clerkship. My academic mentors told me it would be very difficult to get a job in the legal academy because I had been “contaminated” by … wait for it … wait for it … actually practicing law!
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Deducting Graduate School Costs
My desire to become a law professor crystalized during the four years I practiced law after my judicial clerkship. My academic mentors told me it would be very difficult to get a job in the legal academy because I had been “contaminated” by … wait for it … wait for it … actually practicing law!
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Freedom, Taxes, And Hobbies
We have great freedoms in this country. Freedom to express ourselves. Freedom to fish. Freedom to write blog posts. Freedom to pursue any lawful activity to make money. Truly ours is a great civilization well worth tomorrow's celebration. But. To riff on a well worn aphorism: with great freedom comes great responsibility. In particular, as
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Lesson From The Tax Court: Freedom, Taxes, And Hobbies
We have great freedoms in this country. Freedom to express ourselves. Freedom to fish. Freedom to write blog posts. Freedom to pursue any lawful activity to make money. Truly ours is a great civilization well worth tomorrow's celebration. But. To riff on a well worn aphorism: with great freedom comes great responsibility. In particular, as
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Legal Education’s Reaction To The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decisions
Update: More Legal Education Reaction To The Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Decisions (July 5, 2023) Seattle Law School, Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decisions — Rapid Response Webinar (today at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET) (registration) (speakers) AALS, Achieving Diversity without Affirmative Action Conference (July 10) (program) (speakers) Will Baude (Chicago), The Unsurprising Affirmative Action Decision in
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Legal Education’s Reaction To The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decisions
Update: More Legal Education Reaction To The Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Decisions (July 5, 2023) Seattle Law School, Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decisions — Rapid Response Webinar (today at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET) (registration) (speakers) AALS, Achieving Diversity without Affirmative Action Conference (July 10) (program) (speakers) Will Baude (Chicago), The Unsurprising Affirmative Action Decision in
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Lesson From The Tax Court: How To Calculate Insolvency For The §108 Exclusion
While not as certain as death and taxes, small businesses failures are highly probable events. This webpage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics goes into the gnarly. When a small business fails, that often means it cannot repay loans. A lender will often write off the loan as a bad debt, discharging the borrower from
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Lesson From The Tax Court: How To Calculate Insolvency For The §108 Exclusion
While not as certain as death and taxes, small businesses failures are highly probable events. This webpage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics goes into the gnarly. When a small business fails, that often means it cannot repay loans. A lender will often write off the loan as a bad debt, discharging the borrower from