Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
News
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More on Tax Definition of “Religion” in Texas
Tuesday, June 1, 2004 Following up on a prior TaxProf Blog post on the Texas state Comtroller’s denial of tax-exempt status to a local Unitarian church: the Comproller has backed off the challenge to the Unitarians but is challenging the religios status of Ethical Culture. Mark Kleiman questions the distinction between the two groups: Maybe…
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Tax Problems of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
Monday, May 31, 2004 Memorial Day reprise (from TaxProf Blog 5/24/04): Congress has enacted various tax breaks for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including section 112 which excludes from income military pay for soldiers serving in combat zones like Iraq. The IRS has a very helpful web site and publication (Publication 3: Armed Forces’…
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Do State Tax Incentives Work?
Monday, May 31, 2004 There is a lot of tax scholarship questioning the long-term effectiveness of state and local tax incentives to attract and keep business. (For some notable examples, see here, here, and here). Recent news reports out of Denver also question the practice. (Thanks to reader Ben Cunningham for the tip.)
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FBI Enlists IRS in War v. Terrorism
Saturday, May 29, 2004 The IRS participated with FBI and INS agents in a raid of a Philadelphia mosque. For more details, see here
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Germany To End Tax-Free Treatment of Life Insurance
Saturday, May 29, 2004 Germany will end the tax-free treatment of life insurance next year, according to press reports.
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One-Year Anniversary of 2003 Tax Act
Friday, May 28, 2004 Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the signing of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003. In a press release, Treasury Secretary Snow crows that the bill “unleashed the enormous potential of our free-market economy and the results are a great victory for hardworking Americans.” The traditional 1-year anniversary…
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Advocacy Group Asks IRS To Investigate Colorado Diocese’s Criticism of Sen. Kerry
Friday, May 28, 2004 Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged the IRS to investigate a Colorado Bishop’s Pastoral Letter stating that “any Catholics who vote for candidates who stand for abortion, illicit stem cell research or euthanasia suffer the same fateful consequences [as the candidates who support these issues].” According to…
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Poterba on Corporate Payout Policy
Friday, May 27, 2004 James Poterba (MIT) has posted Taxation and Corporate Payout Policy (NBER Working Paper No. 10321) on the National Bureau of Economic Research web site. Here is the abstract: This paper presents new evidence on how corporate payout policy responds to the differential between the tax burden on dividend income and that…
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ABA Calls on IRS To Protect Political Activities of Section 501(c)(4) Groups
Friday, May 27, 2004 The BNA Money & Politics Report notes that an ABA Task Force has called on the IRS to to clarify the limits on political activities by section 501(c)(4) groups. (Thanks to Donald Tobin (Ohio State) for the tip.)
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Treasury & IRS Issue Guidance to Movie Industry
Thursday, May 27, 2004 The Treasury Department today issued JS-1693: The Treasury Department and IRS issued guidance today to clarify when film producers may recover costs incurred in acquiring or developing screenplays, scripts, and other creative properties that are not scheduled for production. “For many years, the industry accounted for these costs in the same…
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Treasury Official Says IRS Unable To Monitor HSAs
Thursday, May 27, 2004 Tax Analysts reports that Kevin Knopf, Benefits Tax Counsel for the Treasury Department, stated at the May 26 Silverstein & Mullens Tax Management Luncheon that the IRS may lack the resources to prevent people from using tax-free funds in health savings accounts (HSAs) for reasons other than to pay medical expenses.…
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Today is Tax Freedom Day (in New Zealand)
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Today is Tax Freedom Day in New Zealand — the day when the average New Zealander has earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year. In contrast, Tax Freedom Day in the United States this year was April 11 — the earliest such day in 37…
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Tax Court Rejects Equal Protection Challenge to Section 6404(e)
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 The Tax Court in Durham v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2004-125, has rejected a taxpayer’s equal protection challenge to Congress’s limitation of the expanded power to abate interest under Section 6404(e) to tax years beginning after the date of enactment (July 30, 1996). The court concluded: One obvious rational basis for new…
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Religious Perspectives on Sin Taxes
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 For strikingly similar religious perspectives on so-called sin taxes (taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, etc.), compare this Christian blog with this Islamic blog.
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IRS Promotions
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 The IRS has announced two promotions: • Steven Miller, Commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Division • Rich Morgante, Deputy Commissioner of the Wage and Investment (W&I ) Division
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Lessons from Tax History
Tuesday, May 25, 2004 As most Tax Profs know, there are a number of active and vibrant scholars in this country who mine tax history for lessons to inform current tax policy debates. In Japan, the government is looking to tax historians to help shape modern-day tax reform: A Japanese government advisory panel has turned…
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Tax Problems of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
Monday, May 24, 2004 Congress has enacted various tax breaks for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including section 112 which excludes from income military pay for soldiers serving in combat zones like Iraq. The IRS has a very helpful web site and publication (Publication 3: Armed Forces’ Tax Guide) explaining these tax benefits. Yet…
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“Unofficial” Tax Court Web Site
Monday, May 24, 2004 Jim Maule (Villanova) has updated his wonderful “unofficial” Tax Court web site. The site has a complete set of the court’s rules which, unlike the “official” site, are hyperlinked (and thus permit the user to jump from rule to rule). The unofficial site also has detailed biographical information about the judges…
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The End Of Tax As We Know It?
Monday, May 24, 2004 Six red-state Republican Senators (Brownback (Kan.), Craig (Idaho), Chambliss (Ga.), Crapo (Idaho), Graham (S.C.) & Inhofe (Okla.)) have introduced the Tax Code Termination Act (S. 2463), which would repeal the Internal Revenue Code as of January 1, 2010. The bill does not say what will take the place of the Tax…
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Concord Coalition Criticizes Budget Resolution
Friday, May 21, 2004 In a press release, the Concord Coalition said that the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rule for tax cuts and entitlement expansions included in the budget resolution now before the House and Senate fails to provide meaningful fiscal discipline.
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Stanley Fish on Role of Higher Education
Friday, May 21, 2004 No tax content here, but Stanley Fish has a very thoughtful op-ed in today’s New York Times on the proper role of higher education (including law schools). He advises those of us in the higher ed biz not to “confuse [our] academic obligations with the obligation to save the world…. In…
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Treasury Releases Clarification of U.S.-Japan Tax Treaty
Friday, May 21, 2004 The Treasury Department today released technical clarifications relating to the U.S.-Japan income tax treaty. See the press release and the Record of Discussion.
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IRS Loses Family Limited Partnership Case in Fifth Circuit
Friday, May 21, 2004 The IRS yesterday lost an important family limited partnership case in the Fifth Circuit: Estate of Kimbell v. U.S (No. 03-10529) (5th Cir. May 19, 2004). The case comes on the heels of the IRS’s successful challenges to family limited partnerships in Tax Court cases like Estate of Strangi, T.C. Memo.…
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Taxes, Government & Religion: Part Two
Friday, May 21, 2004 A Colorado Catholic Church Diocese raised quite a ruckus here and elsewhere this week with its anti-Kerry pastoral letter. We and others noted the strict tax rules keeping religion out of government/politics. Yet a story out of Texas illustrates that danger lurks in the other direction as well, when government intrudes…