Vol. 66, No. 3 - Spring 2013

Taxation

The Relevance Games: Congress’s Choices for Economic Substance Gamemakers

Charlene D. Luke

Codification of the economic substance doctrine in 2010 ushered in a new phase in the debate regarding the meaning and reach of the doctrine. The main statutory hint as to the intended scope...

Taxation

Optimal Rules for Defined Contribution Plans: What Can We Learn from the U.S. and Australian Pension Systems?

Jonathan Barry Forman & Gordon D. Mackenzie

Both the United States and Australia have multipillar retirement systems that include a public component and a private component. Increasingly, the private component consists of a defined contribution plan. ...

Taxation

The Tax Consequences of Partnership Break-Ups: A Primer on Partnership Sales and Liquidations

Daniel L. Simmons

This Article is a practical exploration of the tax consequences of the alternatives for reducing a partner’s interest: by sale or by a liquidation distribution. Partnerships and limited liability companies do not last forever. ...

Tax Evidence: A Primer on the Federal Rules of Evidence As Applied by the Tax Court

Joni Larson

The United States Tax Court applies the Federal Rules of Evidence during its proceedings. The Rules recently were revised and became effective December 1, 2011. The revision was a “restyling,” changes intended to make the rules more easily understood. ...

Taxation

Restricted Stock Units Settled After the Transition Period for Newly Publicly Held Companies: Section 162(m) Realignment of Performance and Pay for Restricted Stock Units

Seth Popick

As part of a broader corporate policy, corporations and tax planners should consider the tax implications of various executive compensation arrangements, especially at significant corporate events...

Taxation

Reconsidering the Classification of Illegal Income

Donald DePass

Theft, larceny, embezzlement, and comparable crimes plague our society. These criminal acts impose hardships on victims who no longer have access to the funds stolen. When detected, these crimes are addressed...

Taxation

Dodging DOMA: The State of the Mortgage Interest Deduction for Same-Sex Couples After Sophy v. Commissioner

Eric Johnson

For more than a decade, same-sex couples have challenged the constitutionality of The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibits the federal government from recognizing marriages...

Taxation

The Death of Procter and Rise of Wandry: A New Era of Formula Clauses in Estate Planning

Payson Lyman

In 1976, Congress established the unified credit to streamline enforcement of the gift tax and estate tax. Because of limits to the unified credit, taxpayers must plan carefully to ensure they are not subject to tax for exceeding the credit. ...

Taxation

The Service and the APA in Dominion Resources, Inc. v. United States: A Chance at Redefinition and Mandating Administrative Law Universality

Kelsey C. Mellette

It is a rare occurrence when Treasury regulations are invalidated, let alone invalidated under common administrative law principles. Although administrative law principles are intended to apply generally to all agencies...