Taxation & Estate Planning

Teitell: Patent Granted for Charitable Borrowing, Elimination of Obligation to Repay

Posted on August 23, 2010
Conrad Teitell (Cummings & Lockwood, Stamford, CT), Charities Borrowing and Then Eliminating Obligation to Repay Principal -- Patent Granted, in Conrad Teitell?s Taxwise Giving: United States Patent 7,620,593 (Nov. 17, 2009). The claimed benefit. A method for (1) enabling a qualified charity to raise or borrow capital that is required...

NY Times: Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home

Posted on August 23, 2010
NY Times: Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home: As the latest wave of superinvolved parents delivers its children to college, institutions are building into the day, normally one of high emotion, activities meant to punctuate and speed the separation...

Segal & Morris: Advice for Americans with Undisclosed Foreign Bank Accounts

Posted on August 22, 2010
Terry Segal (Duane Morris, Boston) & Michael Mustokoff (Duane Morris, Philadelphia) have published Advice for Americans with Undisclosed Bank Accounts at UBS and Other Foreign Banks as IRS Lifts Cloak of Swiss Bank Secrecy (Wealth Strategies Journal): In our view, the UBS case is just the tip of the iceberg...

The Inequitable Tax Benefits of Adoption

Posted on August 22, 2010
Nathaniel S. Hibben (J.D. 2009, Liberty) has published Comment, The Inequitable Tax Benefits of Adoption, 4 Liberty U. L. Rev. 135 (2009). Here is the abstract: This Comment examines the two provisions of the Internal Revenue Code under which taxpayers may defray expenses incurred in adopting a child...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Portfolio Choice with Capital Gain Taxation and the Limited Use of Losses

Posted on August 22, 2010
Paul Ehling (Norwegian School of Management (BI), Department of Financial Economics), Michael F. Gallmayer (Texas A&M University, Mays Business School, Department of Finance), Sanjay Srivastava (Georgia State University), Stathis Tompaidis (University of Texas, Red McCombs School of Business) & Chunyu Yang (University of Texas, Red McCombs School of Business) have...

Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

Posted on August 22, 2010
There is a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a new paper debuting on the list at #5: 1. [926 Downloads] Social Security Benefits Formula 101: A Practical Primer, by Francine J. Lipman (Chapman) & James E...

The 25 Highest State & Local Sales Tax Rates

Posted on August 22, 2010
There are 107 major metropolitan areas in the United States with populations in excess of 200,000. The Tax Foundation lists the 25 highest combined sales tax rates -- state, county, and city: Table 1 State, County and City Sales Tax Rates in Cities with Population Over 200,000, Ranked by Combined...

U.S. Controlled Subsidiaries and § 965

Posted on August 21, 2010
Matthew Jerome Mauntel (J.D. 2010, Boston College) has published Note, Stimulating the Stimulus: U.S. Controlled Subsidiaries and I.R.C. § 965, 33 B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 107 (2010). Here is the abstract: Recently, there has been much debate about how and when to balance the federal budget...

Mediation as an Alternative Dispute Mechanism to Resolve State Tax Disputes

Posted on August 21, 2010
Leonora Meyercord (J.D. 2010, Texas) has published Note, Avoiding State Bankruptcy: Mediation as an Alternative to Resolving State Tax Disputes, 29 Rev. Litig. 925 (2010). Here is part of the Introduction: This Note will discuss the implementation of mediation as an alternative dispute mechanism for state tax disputes...

Cost of Government Day: Aug. 19

Posted on August 21, 2010
Thursday, August 19, was Cost of Government Day, as calculated by Americans for Tax Reform Foundation and the Center for Fiscal Accountability: This is the day on which the average American has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of the spending and regulatory burdens imposed...

The Top 10 Highest State Income Taxes: All Obama Blue States

Posted on August 20, 2010
Forbes, States (And Bill Gates Sr.) Look to Soak the Rich, by Ashlea Ebeling: Hawaii: 11% (income over $400,000 (couple), $200,000 (single)) Oregon: 11% (income over $500,000 (couple), $250,000 (single)) California: 10.55% (income over $1 million) Rhode Island: 9...

2d Cir.: Foreign Government UN Missions Are Not Subject to NYC Property Tax

Posted on August 20, 2010
City of New York v. The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, No. 08-1805 to 08-1806 (2d Cir. Aug. 17, 2010): Appeal from an opinion and order of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Rakoff, J.) granting summary judgment to the Plaintiff the...

Waggoner Posts Three Papers on SSRN

Posted on August 20, 2010
Lawrence W. Waggoner (Michigan) has posted three papers on SSRN: Congress Should Impose a Two-Generation Limit on the GST Exemption: Here's Why Curing Execution Errors and Mistaken Terms in Wills Message to Congress: Halt the Tax Exemption for Perpetual Trusts

German Court Holds Unconstitutional Higher Inheritance Tax on Gay Couples

Posted on August 20, 2010
Germany's highest court ruled on that same-sex couples are entitled to the same inheritance tax rights as married heterosexual couples. Associated Press Reuters Spiegel (Hat Tip: Jeremy Bearer-Friend.)

The Effect of Political Sensitivity and Political Power on Tax Avoidance

Posted on August 20, 2010
Lillian F. Mills (University of Texas, McCombs School of Business), Sarah E. Nutter (George Mason University, School of Management) & Casey Schwab (University of Georgia, Terry College of Business) have posted The Effect of Political Sensitivity and Political Power on Tax Avoidance: Evidence from Federal Contractors on SSRN...

WSJ: Business Success Helps Society More Than Philanthropy

Posted on August 20, 2010
Wall Street Journal op-ed, Gates and Buffett Take the Pledge, by Kimberly O. Dennis (President, Searle Freedom Trust): Wealthy businessmen often feel obligated to "give back." Who says they've taken anything? Bill Gates and Warren Buffett announced this month that 40 of America's richest people have agreed to sign a...

Hickman: The Promise and the Reality of U.S. Tax Administration

Posted on August 20, 2010
Kristin E. Hickman (Minnesota) has posted The Promise and the Reality of U.S. Tax Administration on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Essay was written for a symposium entitled The Delicate Balance: Revenue Authority Discretions and the Rule of Law, to be held in Prato, Italy on September 23-24, 2010...

WSJ: Give Away Money to Charity, Not to Foundations

Posted on August 20, 2010
Wall Street Journal, The Best Way to Really Give Away Money, by James Panero (Managing Editor, The New Criterion): When 40 of America's richest individuals signed the "giving pledge," a challenge set by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to donate half of one's wealth to charity, at least...

NY Times: Many Deferred Associates Choose to Remain in Public Interest Jobs

Posted on August 20, 2010
New York Times, Young Lawyers Turn to Public Service: With offers of employment made in August 2008 and the full force of the recession hitting in October, many big law firms ... had to re-evaluate the job offers made to members of the class of 2009. As a way to...

Abrams: Partnership COD Income

Posted on August 20, 2010
Howard E. Abrams (Emory) has posted Partnership COD Income and Other Debt Issues, 126 Tax Notes 845 (Feb. 15, 2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The law of cancellation of indebtedness has changed recently in ways good and bad. Homeowners facing foreclosure have been provided tax relief, as have...

Johnson: Repeal Roth IRAs

Posted on August 19, 2010
Calvin H. Johnson (Texas) has published Repeal Roth Retirement Plans to Increase National Savings, 128 Tax Notes 773 (Aug. 16, 2010). Here is the abstract: Roth IRA or 401(k) plans provide a tax exemption for profits generated under the plans. As much as $6,000 a year may be contributed to...

Supreme Court Justices and Law Schools

Posted on August 19, 2010
The Supreme Court has released the 2009 financial disclosure forms filed by the Justices (see links below). The forms identify law schools visited by the Justices -- of the 26 law schools visited by a Justice, these schools hosted more than one visit: Arizona (3) Stanford (3) Creighton (2) Duke...

Thomas Greenaway Posts Tax Papers on SSRN

Posted on August 19, 2010
Thomas Greenaway (KPMG, Boston) has posted three tax papers on SSRN: Worldwide Taxation, Worldwide Enforcement, 54 Tax Notes Int'l 759 (June 1, 2009) Choice of Forum in Federal Civil Tax Litigation, 62 Tax Law. 311 (2009) International Tax Arbitrage: A Frozen Debate Thaws, 57 Tax Notes Int'l 391 (Jan...

Labor Unions and Tax Aggressiveness

Posted on August 19, 2010
James Chyz (University of Tennessee), Winnie Siu Ching Leung (The Chinese University of Hong Kong), Oliver Zhen Li (University of Arizona) & Oliver M. Rui (Chinese University of Hong Kong) have posted Labor Unions and Tax Aggressiveness on SSRN. Here is the abstract: We examine the impact of unionization on...

Moran: The MacCrate and Carnegie Reports Fail to Integrate Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Class in Curriculum Reform

Posted on August 19, 2010
Tax Prof Beverly Moran (Vanderbilt) has posted Disappearing Act: The Lack of Values Training in Legal Education -- A Case for Cultural Competency, 37 S.U. L. Rev. ___ (2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A renewed movement of curriculum reform is growing within United States law schools...

IRS Announces New Circular 230 Rules, Online Application System for Return Preparers

Posted on August 19, 2010
The IRS today released (IR-2010-91) new proposed regulations amending Circular 230 (BNA).

REITs: A Comparative Tax Perspective

Posted on August 19, 2010
John Prebble (Victoria University of Wellington, Faculty of Law), Rebecca Prebble (New Zealand Treasury) & Nicola Fritsch have posted a series of articles on a comparative tax perspective on REITs: Real Estate Investment Trust Regimes Viewed through the Lens of the US Paradigm, 7 Bull...

More on Students Betting on Their Grades

Posted on August 19, 2010
Following up on last week's post, Students Betting on Their Grades (Aug. 13, 2010): Wall Street Journal, Wager 101: Students Bet on Their Grades: Two New York entrepreneurs are offering college students the chance to put their money where their grades are...

Nakazato & Ramseyer: The Transformation of Japanese Tax Jurisprudence

Posted on August 19, 2010
Minoru Nakazato (University of Tokyo) & J. Mark Ramseyer (Harvard) have published Tax Law, Hiroshi Kaneko, and the Transformation of Japanese Jurisprudence, 58 Am. J. Comp. L. 721 (2010). Here is the abstract: Interdisciplinary, wide-ranging, and flexible, contemporary Japanese legal scholarship is nothing like its antecedents thirty years ago...

Forbes Law School Rankings

Posted on August 19, 2010
For three years, Forbes has published a ranking of America's Best Colleges, based on this methodology. Unlike U.S. News & World Report, which separately ranks national universities and liberal arts colleges, Forbes does a combined ranking of 610 colleges and universities...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.