Taxation & Estate Planning

Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

Posted on July 25, 2010
There is quite a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a new #1 paper and a new paper debuting on the list at #2: 1. [557 Downloads] Social Security Benefits Formula 101: A Practical Primer, by Francine J. Lipman (Chapman)...

Gerzog: Morgens -- More QTIP Mischief

Posted on July 25, 2010
Wendy C. Gerzog (Baltimore) has posted Morgens: More QTIP Mischief, 128 Tax Notes 329 (July 19, 2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In [Estate of Morgens v. Commissioner,133 T.C. No. 17 (Dec. 21, 2009)], the court ruled in favor of the government that § 2035(b) applied to the gift...

Sanders: No To Oligarchy, Yes to Retroactive Estate Tax

Posted on July 24, 2010
The Nation, No To Oligarchy, by Bernie Sanders (I-VT): [N]ot content with huge tax breaks on their income; not content with massive corporate tax loopholes; not content with trade laws enabling them to outsource the jobs of millions of American workers to low-wage countries and not content with tax havens...

NY Times: Who Ultimately Pays the Corporate Income Tax?

Posted on July 24, 2010
Following up on Monday's post, What Does the Corporate Income Tax Tax?: NY Times Economix, Who Ultimately Pays the Corporate Income Tax?, by Uwe E. Reinhardt (Princeton University): I ended last week?s post by asking whether anyone knows which human beings ultimately pay the corporate income tax...

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Johnson & Aprill: Eliminate UBIT Exemption for ESOPs and Government Plans

Posted on July 24, 2010
Calvin H. Johnson (Texas) & Ellen P. Aprill (Loyola-L.A.) have published UBIT to the Defense! ESOPs and Government Entities, 128 Tax Notes 317 (July 19, 2010). Here is the abstract: The unrelated business income tax is imposed on otherwise exempt organizations to prevent the shifting of business assets to exempt...

Tax Foundation Releases 2011 Tax Calculator With 3 Bush Tax Cut Scenarios

Posted on July 24, 2010
The Tax Foundation has released a tax calculator at www.MyTaxBurden.org, which allows taxpayers to compare their 2011 federal income tax liabilities under three scenarios (methodology here): All the Bush tax cuts expire completely at the end of this year All the Bush tax cuts are extended into 2011 or made...

Tax Court Rejects Billionaire Anschutz Use of Variable Prepaid Forward Contracts to Avoid $144m Capital Gains Tax

Posted on July 23, 2010
The Tax Court yesterday disallowed billionaire Philip Anschutz's use of variable prepaid forward contracts with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to avoid $144 million of taxes. Anschutz Co. v. Commissioner, 135 T.C. No. 5 (July 22, 2010). Bloomberg, Billionaire Anschutz Loses Capital Gains Ruling Over $144 Million Tax Bill Forbes, Billionaire...

Smith & Waterhouse: Reparations for Slavery and Taxation

Posted on July 23, 2010
Andre L. Smith & Carlton Waterhouse (both of Florida International) have published No Reparation Without Taxation: Applying the Internal Revenue Code to the Concept of Reparations for Slavery and Segregation, 7 Pitt. Tax Rev. 158 (2010). Here is the abstract: In the article, Professors Andre Smith and Carlton Waterhouse explore...

MSNBC: Election Year Dilemma: Tax Hikes for Whom?

Posted on July 23, 2010
MSNBC, Election Year Dilemma: Tax Hikes for Whom?, by Tom Curry: Will you be toasting to low taxes in 2011? Or drowning your sorrows, knowing that you?re about to get hit with a higher bill from Uncle Sam? Sometime before New Year?s Eve, Congress will need to answer those questions...

TIGTA: IRS Fails to Properly Consider Accuracy-Related Penalties in 92% of Audits

Posted on July 23, 2010
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Accuracy-Related Penalties Are Seldom Considered Properly During Correspondence Audits (2010-30-059): The IRS must take additional steps to ensure that accuracy-related penalties are appropriately considered when assessing correspondence audits...

Ordower: The Culture of Tax Avoidance

Posted on July 23, 2010
Henry M. Ordower (Saint Louis) has posted The Culture of Tax Avoidance, 55 St. Louis U. L.J. ___ (2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article briefly traces the history of tax sheltering in the latter half of the twentieth century in the United States, including the transformation of...

ABA Journal: The Consequences of Missing a Law School Class

Posted on July 23, 2010
ABA Journal, Question of the Week: Did You Ever Skip a Law School Class?And Have Dramatic Consequences?: This week, we wrote about a student at the University of San Diego School of Law who debated whether to risk having to miss some sessions of his tax law class?a class for...

Class of 2009 Employment Data: Jobs Down, Salaries Flat

Posted on July 23, 2010
The Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP) yesterday released employment data on the law school class of 2009: Press Release Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Law Graduates ? Class of 2009 Employment for the Class of 2009 ? Selected Findings Salary Distribution Curve for the Class of...

WSJ: The Liberal Tax Revolt

Posted on July 23, 2010
Wall Street Journal editorial, Liberal Tax Revolt: Some Democrats Decide They Prefer Lower Rates; Obama Isn't One of Them: There's nothing like the prospect of an electoral rout to concentrate the incumbent mind, and so all of a sudden rank-and-file Democrats in Congress are saying maybe they shouldn't let the...

Sen. John Kerry Skips Town on Sails Tax

Posted on July 23, 2010
Boston Herald, Sen. John Kerry Skips Town on Sails Tax: Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I. Kerry?s luxe, 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an...

New England Junior Legal Scholars Conference

Posted on July 22, 2010
Tax Prof Meredith Conway (Suffolk) is hosting the New England Junior Legal Scholars Conference today at Suffolk Law School. Two tax papers will be presented at the conference: Meredith Conway (Suffolk), An Analysis of and Proposal for Corporate Tax Integration Lilian V...

Rich Urge Estate Tax Reinstatement

Posted on July 22, 2010
Bloomberg, Rubin, Robertson, Disney Urge Congress to Resurrect Estate Tax, by Ryan J. Donmoyer: Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Tiger Management LLC Founder Julian Robertson and an heir of Walt Disney urged Congress to reinstate a tax on multimillion-dollar estates, possibly retroactively...

WaPo: Ex-IRS Branch Chief, KPMG Principal Pleads Guilty to Evading 789k Taxes on 3.6m Income

Posted on July 22, 2010
Washington Post, Ex-IRS Agent Pleads Guilty: A former IRS tax specialist admitted in federal court in Maryland that he owes more than $789,000 in overdue taxes, federal authorities said. John Venuti, 62, of Harwood, Md, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to three counts of failing to...

Estate Tax Hiatus Could Reduce Charitable Bequests

Posted on July 22, 2010
New York Times, Estate Tax Hiatus Could Reduce Charitable Bequests Tax Vox, Philanthropy and the Estate Tax

House Holds Hearing Today on Transfer Pricing

Posted on July 22, 2010
The House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing today on Transfer Pricing Issues. From the hearing announcement: The United States has a global system of taxation such that domestic corporations are taxed on their worldwide income, although the foreign tax credit prevents double taxation...

Romer & Romer: Tax Increases Significantly Contract the Economy

Posted on July 22, 2010
Christina D. Romer (Chair, Council of Economic Advisers) & David H. Romer (UC-Berkeley, Department of Economics) have published The Macroeconomic Effects of Tax Changes: Estimates Based on a New Measure of Fiscal Shocks, 100 Am. Econ. Rev. 763 (2010)...

'MoFo' Lawyers

Posted on July 22, 2010
Above the Law noted this funny Jay Leno bit this week on Morrison & Foerster, the nation's 16th largest law firm with over 1,000 attorneys that is based in San Francisco and has 15 other offices. Advance the clip to the 2:12 mark: Leno is not making this up --...

WSJ: The ObamaCare Tax Penalty Is Unconstitutional

Posted on July 22, 2010
Following up on my prior post, After Denying Insurance Mandate Was a Tax, Obama Now Defends Constitutionality of Health Care as Exercise of Taxing Power: Wall Street op-ed, Why the ObamaCare Tax Penalty Is Unconstitutional, by J. Kenneth Blackwell & Kenneth A...

BNA Tax Management Advisory Board Meets Today on Corporate Income Tax

Posted on July 22, 2010
The BNA Tax Management Advisory Board meets today in New York City to discus three Corporate Income Tax papers: Uncertain Tax Positions: The Dilemma, by Danielle E. Rolfes, John Lovelace & David D. Sherwood (all of Irvins, Phillips & Barker, Washington, D...

U.S. News Offers Free Law School Rankings Webinar Today

Posted on July 22, 2010
U.S. News & World Report and Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions are offering a free webinar today at 9:00 p.m. EST on Inside the Law School Rankings, hosted by Robert Morse, Director of Data Research at U.S. News. For more information, see Morse Code.

Senate Rejects Measure to Permanently Abolish Estate Tax

Posted on July 22, 2010
The Senate yesterday rejected a proposal by Jim DeMint (R-SC) to permanently abolish the estate tax, 39-59. Two Democrats (Blanche Lincoln (AR), Ben Nelson (NE)) supported the bill; three Republicans (Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME), George Voinovich (OH)) opposed it...

WSJ: IRS Erred in Seeking to Tax Entrance Fees to Retirement Care Communities

Posted on July 21, 2010
Following up on my recent posts: IRS Seeks to Treat Nursing Home Entrance Fees as Taxable Pre-Paid Rent, Not Tax-Free Interest-Free Loans (June 4, 2010) Tax Court Petition in Nursing Home Entrance Fee Case (June 4, 2010) IRS Backs Down on Tax Treatment of Retirement Community Entrance Fees (July 8,...

CRS: Tax Issues and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Posted on July 21, 2010
The Congressional Research Service has released Tax Issues and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Legal Analysis of Payments and Tax Relief Policy Options (R41323) (July 15, 2010), Here is the abstract: Legislation has been introduced in the House and is being discussed in the Senate that would provide tax...

Chason: Taxing the Investment Component of Deferred Compensation

Posted on July 21, 2010
Eric D. Chason (William & Mary) has published Executive Compensation and Tax Neutrality: Taxing the Investment Component of Deferred Compensation, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 1667 (2010). Here is the Conclusion: Conceptually, deferred compensation is composed of compensation and investment components...

ABA Tax Section Hosts Webcast Today on Tax Strategy Patents After Bilski

Posted on July 21, 2010
The ABA Tax Section offers a teleconference and webcast today on Is This the Beginning or Is It the End? -- Implications of Bilski on Patenting Tax Strategies from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. EST: Are tax planning methods patentable? This question has concerned tax practitioners for years...

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