Vol. 71, No. 3 - Spring 2018

2018 Erwin N. Griswold Lecture Before the American College of Tax Counsel: Tax Policy Elegy

Martin J. McMahon, Jr.

I sincerely thank the Board of Regents of the American College of Tax Counsel for inviting me to give this lecture. It is a great honor to be asked to speak to an audience of the country’s foremost tax lawyers. ...

Taxation

The Ghost of Kimbell-Diamond: The Current State of the Law Pertaining to Multi-Step Corporate Transactions

Jerred G. Blanchard, Jr.

This Article addresses the current application of the step-transaction doctrine to multi-step corporate transactions, with emphasis on the general fact pattern of Kimbell-Diamond Milling Co. v. Commissioner...

Taxation

Quantitative Prediction Model of Tax Law’s Substantial Authority

Bradley T. Borden & Sang Hee Lee

Our earlier article, Boundaries of the Prediction Model in Tax Law’s Substantial Authority, analyzed the substantial-authority standard, identified factors that taxpayers and their advisors can consider in determining whether substantial authority supports a reporting position...

Taxation

Proposing a Single, Simpler Test for Cash Equivalency

Fred B. Brown

The cash method of accounting is a popular tax accounting method that is used by most individuals and many small business entities. Under the cash method, generally taxpayers include income items that are received...

Taxation

The Fact of the Liability Requirement in the All Events Test—Flying Lessons over the Dark Clouds of General Dynamics from a Giant Eagle

Philip G. Cohen

For taxpayers employing the accrual method of accounting, a liability is generally deductible for federal income tax purposes “in the taxable year in which all the events have occurred that establish the fact of the liability...

Taxation

The Distributive State and the Function of Tax Expenditures

Eric A. San Juan

This Article describes tax expenditures in relation to received legal ideals. Recent scholarship in social science has raised paradigmatic questions of economic inequality and distribution, which may be reflected in the law. ...

Taxation

Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation: The Year 2017

Bruce A. McGovern & Cassady V. Brewer

These materials discuss as well as provide context to understand the significance of the most important judicial decisions and administrative rulings and regulations promulgated by the Service and Treasury during 2017. ...