Taxation & Estate Planning

WSJ: Advanced Degrees Aren't Helping College Grads Find Jobs

Posted on July 02, 2010
Wall Street Journal, Well-Educated Job Hunters Still Stuck, by Emmeline Zhao: College graduates who took a detour around the weak job market by going back for advanced degrees are beginning to emerge from those programs?and finding job prospects aren't much better than they were a couple of years ago.

Marianna Dyson Named One of Washington's Most Influential Women Lawyers

Posted on July 02, 2010
Tax partner Marianna G. Dyson, Chair of the Executive Committee at Miller & Chevalier (Washington, D.C.), has been named one of Washington, D.C.'s most influential women lawyers by the National law Journal: Miller & Chevalier head Marianna Dyson doesn't apologize for her firm's independent streak...

The Methodology & Manipulation of the U.S. News Law School Rankings

Posted on July 02, 2010
Stephanie C. Emens has published The Methodology & Manipulation of the U.S. News Law School Rankings, 34 J. Legal Prof. 197 (2009). Here is the Conclusion: Although the results of gaming the system can be questionable, there can be no condemnation of a school's initial decision to manipulate the rankings;...

WSJ: Tanning Tax Burns Businesses, Customers

Posted on July 02, 2010
Wall Street Journal, Federal Tan Tax Burns Some Badly but Keeps Everybody in the Dark: It's a universal truth in Washington: There's no such thing as a simple tax. Free tans at video-rental stores might be taxable, but tanning services offered by health clubs mostly aren't, thanks to a late...

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U.S. Presidential Rankings: Roosevelts 1, 2, Obama 15, George W. Bush 39

Posted on July 02, 2010
The Siena College Research Institute has released its 5th ranking of U.S. Presidents by 233 presidential scholars, historians, and political scientist. The Top 5 are: Franklin Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Abraham Lincoln George Washington Thomas Jefferson Barack Obama ranks 15th among 43 presidents; George W...

NT Times: The Problem With Unreported Income

Posted on July 02, 2010
New York Times, The Problem With Unreported Income [T]here are many business owners who fail to report all of their business income on their tax returns and financial statements. The IRS has estimated the net tax gap of business income to be more than $100 billion...

Subscribing to TaxProf Blog

Posted on July 01, 2010
We offer two ways for you to have TaxProf Blog content automatically delivered to your computer, cell phone, or mobile device, as explained in the left column of the blog under the banner, "Subscribe to TaxProf Blog Via RSS Feed or Email": RSS Feeds: You can subscribe to one of...

Cummings: The Supreme Court's Federal Tax Jurisprudence, 1801-2010

Posted on July 01, 2010
Jasper L. Cummings, Jr. (Alston & Bird, Raleigh, NC) has published The Supreme Court's Federal Tax Jurisprudence: An Analysis of Fact Finding Methods and Statutory Interpretation from the Court's Tax Opinions, 1801-Present (ABA, 2010), the first book in the ABA Tax Section's new "Studies in Taxation" series...

NY Times: Google to 'Gross Up' Pay for Taxes on Benefits to Gay & Lesbian Employees

Posted on July 01, 2010
Following up on my earlier post, Should Law Schools 'Gross Up' Pay for Taxes on Benefits to Gay & Lesbian Faculty?: New York Times, Google to Add Pay to Cover a Tax for Same-Sex Benefits: Working for a company as rich as Google comes with an incredible number of fringe...

GAO Issues Report on IRS's Internal Controls

Posted on July 01, 2010
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released Status of GAO Financial Audit and Related Financial Management Report Recommendations (GAO-10-597): IRS has made progress in improving its internal controls and financial management since its first financial statement audit in 1992, as evidenced by 10 consecutive years of clean audit opinions on its...

NY Times Op-ed:

Posted on July 01, 2010
Following up on my prior posts, Markel & Polsky: Taxing Punitive Damages, 96 Va. L. Rev. ___ (2010) (Mar. 18, 2010) Geistfeld on Taxing Punitive Damages, by Markel & Polsky (May 4, 2010) Criticizing Obama's Proposal to Eliminate Deduction for Punitive Damages: Trial Lawyer Earmark? (May 19, 2010) The Senate's...

Brooklyn Unveils New Model: Two Leaders

Posted on July 01, 2010
National Law Journal, New Concept for Brooklyn Law: Separate Chiefs for Academics, Business Affairs: Brooklyn Law School on Wednesday announced a novel approach to leadership: It split its top administrative duties between two people. Longtime Dean Joan Wexler became president of the law school, while professor Michael Gerber became interim...

Theoretical Inquiries in Law: Comparative Tax Law and Culture

Posted on July 01, 2010
Theoretical Inquiries in Law (Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University) has published Vol. 11, No. 2 (2010), Comparative Tax Law and Culture: Introduction Kathryn James, An Examination of Convergence and Resistance in Global Tax Reform Trenads Ajay K...

A 'Hybrid' JD?

Posted on July 01, 2010
Wall Street Journal, Hybrid M.B.A.s Offer Flexible Option; Brand-Name Schools Attract Students With Programs That Mix Online Instruction With Limited On-Campus Time, by Diane Middleton: M.B.A. programs that mix online instruction with limited on-campus time are becoming a popular option for prospective business school students who want to attend brand-name...

Coenen: Davis and the Market-Participant Exception to the Dormant Commerce Clause

Posted on July 01, 2010
Dan T. Coenen (Georgia) has published The Supreme Court's Municipal Bond Decision and the Market-Participant Exception to the Dormant Commerce Clause, 70 Ohio St. L.J. 1179 (2009). Here is the abstract: Does it violate the dormant Commerce Clause for a state to exempt interest earned on its own bonds, but...

Remembering Marty Ginsburg (1932-2010)

Posted on June 30, 2010
Following up on Sunday's post on the death of renowned tax professor (Georgetown) and tax lawyer (Fried Frank) Martin D. Ginsburg, husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: two dozen of Marty's tax friends and colleagues offer their remembrances and tributes below the fold...

ABA Proposes Changes to Law School Accreditation Standards

Posted on June 30, 2010
The ABA Section of Legal Education & Admission to the Bar seeks comments on these proposed changes to the law school accreditation standards: Proposed Chapter 3 -- Student Learning Outcomes Proposed Rule 24 -- Complaints Process Download Appeals Process Memo Proposed Transfer Credit Standard Proposed Criteria for Approval of Study...

Rapper Method Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Posted on June 30, 2010
Following up on my prior post, Rapper Method Man (Clifford Smith) Arrested on Tax Charges: Mr. Smith pleaded guilty on Monday to evading New York state taxes and paid $106,000 in restitution. Associated Press BBC E! Online New York Daily News TMZ (Hat Tip: Justin Axelrod...

Texas Tech Prof Loses Endowed Chair After Surfing for Porn With Video Feed Still on After Teaching Distance Learning Class

Posted on June 30, 2010
KCBD, Students May Have Witnessed TTUHSC Professor Surfing for Sexual Material: 50-year-old Texas Tech Health Sciences Professor Rod Hicks was instructing students this week from Austin via teleconference. We're told that when the class ended, he left the video feed open...

Seto: Keeping Tax-Subsidized Corporate Money Out of Politics

Posted on June 30, 2010
Theodore P. Seto (Loyola-L.A.) has published Keeping Tax-Subsidized Corporate Money Out of Politics, 127 Tax Notes 1476 (June 28, 2010). Here is the abstract: Prof. Seto discusses serious problems raised by Citizens United that affect the integrity of the tax system and proposes a possible solution...

Studies in the History of Tax Law

Posted on June 30, 2010
John Tiley (Queen's College, Cambridge) has published Volume 4 of Studies in the History of Tax Law (Hart Publishing, 2010): This work contains the full text of the papers presented at the fourth Tax Law History Conference in July 2008. The Conference was organised by the Cambridge Law Faculty's Centre...

Hacker: The Gendered Dimensions of Inheritance

Posted on June 30, 2010
Daphna Hacker (Tel Aviv University, Buchman Faculty of Law) has published The Gendered Dimensions of Inheritance: Empirical Food for Legal Thought, 7 J. Empirical Legal Stud. 322 (2010). Here is the abstract: Inheritance is an extremely significant personal, familial, social, and legal phenomenon...

Senate to Investigate Whether Transocean 'Exploited' U.S. Tax Law

Posted on June 30, 2010
Following up on my prior post, Transocean: Better at Tax Planning Than Oil Drilling: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus announced today that he has launched an investigation into the tax practices of Transocean Ltd., the owner of the offshore drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and...

Angry Bear: Raising Taxes Leads to More Growth & Private Investment

Posted on June 29, 2010
Angry Bear, Taxes and Private Sector Investment -- Evidence from the Real World, by Mike Kimel (Analystic Economics: Last week I had a post (which appeared both here and at Angry Bear). The post included the following graph [click on graph to enlarge]: The graph looks at every eight year...

Motro: Preglimony

Posted on June 29, 2010
Shari Motro (Richmond) has posted Preglimony on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Unmarried lovers who conceive are strangers in the eyes of the law. If the woman terminates the pregnancy, the man owes her nothing. If she takes the pregnancy to term, the man?s obligation to support her is limited...

ABA Tax Section Accepting Nominations for 2011-2013 Public Service Fellowships

Posted on June 29, 2010
The ABA Tax Section is accepting applications for Public Service Fellowships for 2011-2013: Applications must be received by October 4, 2010 to be considered. Applicants selected for interviews will be invited to attend the Section?s meeting in Boca Raton on January 20-22, 2011, and asked to participate in interviews on...

CBPP: Proposed Unlimited Estate Tax Exemption for Farms Is Misguided

Posted on June 29, 2010
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities today released Unlimited Estate Tax Exemption For Farm Estates Is Unnecessary and Likely Harmful, by Gillian Brunet & Chye-Ching Huang: Proponents of repealing the estate tax have made farmers, along with small business, the face of their cause, driving some policymakers to push...

Alternative Careers for Law Grads

Posted on June 29, 2010
New York Law Journal, Alternative Career Paths for Those With a J.D.., by Katherine Frink-Hamlett: Faced with a tepid legal marketplace, law students and recent graduates (whether deferred, downsized or simply dismayed) need to rethink their career strategies to adapt to this brave new world...

Town Wants Princeton to Increase Payments in Lieu of Taxes

Posted on June 29, 2010
Bloomberg, Princeton as ?Hedge Fund? Foiling Residents Seeking Tax Share: Princeton University, the fourth- richest institution of higher education in the U.S., paid more than $10 million last year to its prosperous New Jersey community. Municipal officials and residents say the college should do more...

Daughter Sues Father for Failing to Pay for College

Posted on June 29, 2010
College Grad Sues Father to Recoup Tuition Costs (Connecticut Law Tribune): It's not news that some children, especially as they hit their teenage and college years, don't get along with their parents. But even experienced attorneys say it's rare when the disagreements grow to a point where litigation is required...

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