Calvin Johnson & Tax Analysts Launch The Shelf Project

Calvin H. Johnson (Texas) and Tax Analysts have launched The Shelf Project: Raising Revenue to Defend the Tax Base.  From his introductory column in this week's Tax Notes (117 Tax Notes 1077 (12/10/07)):

The Shelf Project is a new column in Tax Notes to report proposals to help Congress when it is ready to raise revenue in the coming years. Projects will be developed on a wiki and also with committees, organized by subject matter and composed of some of the best tax lawyers in the nation. There is also an award for the best shelf project proposal of the year. This introduction explains the logic and need for the Shelf Project.

For a list of the managers and members of the eleven review committees, which include 31 Tax Profs, see below the fold.

Calvin offers the first shelf proposal in Replace the Corporate Tax With a Market Capitalization Tax, 117 Tax Notes 1082 (12/10/07): 

Prof. Johnson proposes to replace the corporate tax on publicly traded companies with a quarterly tax paid by the issuer and measured by the published market value of the issuer’s traded stock and debt. The tax would be determined by the IRS on the basis of the market value on a randomly determined basis.

1. Financial Instruments and Institutions

Managers:
Stevie D. Conlon (Arlington Heights, IL, lead author, Principles of Financial Derivatives)
Reed Shuldiner (University of Pennsylvania Law School)

Review Committee:
Dale S. Collinson (KPMG, Washington, DC)
Michael Farber (Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York)
David C. Garlock (Ernst & Young, Washington, DC)
Viva Hammer (Crowell & Moring, New York)
Jeffrey W. Maddrey (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington, DC)
David S. Miller (Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, New York)
Erika W. Nijenhuis (Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, New York)
William M. Paul (Covington & Burling, Washington, DC)
Steven M. Rosenthal (Ropes & Gray, Washington, DC)

2. Foreign Tax

Managers:
Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Michigan Law School)
Charles I. Kingson (NYU Law School (adjunct))

Review Committee:
Peter C. Canellos (Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York)
Robert H. Dilworth (McDermott, Will & Emery, Washington, DC)
Joseph H. Guttentag (former Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs, Treasury)
Stephen E. Shay (Ropes & Gray, Boston)
Robert J. Staffaroni (Debevoise & Plimpton, New York)
Eric M. Zolt (UCLA Law School)

3. Business Entities

Managers:
Christopher H. Hanna (SMU Dedman School of Law)
Lawrence Lokken (University of Florida Levin College of Law)

Review Committee:
Joseph Bankman (Stanford Law School)
Karen C. Burke (University of San Diego School of Law)
Jasper L. Cummings, Jr. (Alston & Bird, Raleigh and Washington, DC)
Thomas L. Evans (Kirkland & Ellis, Washington, DC)
Deborah A. Geier (Cleveland-Marshall College of Law)
David P. Hariton (Sullivan & Cromwell, New York)
Jeffrey L. Kwall (Loyola Law School, Chicago)
Samuel Olchyk (Venable, Washington, DC)
Michael L. Schler (Cravath Swaine & Moore, New York)
John P. Steines, Jr. (New York University School of Law)

4. Tax Accounting

Managers:
Robert M. Brown (Retired Partner – KPMG; former IRS Associate Chief Counsel for Income Tax & Accounting)
Joseph M. Mikrut (Capitol Tax Partners, Washington, DC)

Review Committee:
Sheldon S. Cohen (former Commissioner of IRS, Washington, DC)
Thomas L. Evans (Kirkland & Ellis, Washington, DC)
Thomas A. Luxner (former Branch Chief Income Tax & Accounting, Chief Counsel, IRS, Washington, DC)
Annette B. Smith (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington, DC)

5. Tax Procedure

Managers:
Bryan T. Camp (Texas Tech Law School)
T. Keith Fogg (Villanova Law School)

Review Committee:
Steve R. Johnson (University of Nevada- Las Vegas Law School)
Leandra Lederman (University of Indiana- Bloomington Law School)
Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz (LSU Law School)

6. Tax-Exempt Organizations

Managers:
Ellen P. Aprill (Loyola Law School, Los Angeles)
Frances R. Hill (University of Miami School of Law)

Review Committee:
LaVerne Woods (Davis Wright Tremaine, Washington, DC)
Christopher M. Jedrey (McDermott Will & Emery, Boston)
James P. Joseph (Arnold & Porter, Washington, DC)
Douglas M. Mancino (McDermott Will & Emery, Los Angeles)
Richard L. Schmalbeck (Duke Law School)

7. Individual Income Tax (Including Earned Income Credit and Marriage Penalty)

Managers:
Ira B. Shepard (University of Houston Law Center)
Daniel Simmons (University of California, Davis)

Review Committee:
Alice Abreu (Temple Law School)
Martin J. McMahon (University of Florida Levin College of Law)
Lawrence A. Zelenak (Duke Law School)

8. Estate, Gift and Generation Skipping Transfer Taxes

Managers:
Carlyn S. McCaffrey (Weil, Gotshal & Manges, New York)
John C. McCaffrey (New York)
Carol Harrington (McDermott, Will & Emery, Chicago)

Review Committee:
Ronald D. Aucutt (McGuireWoods, McLean, VA)
Dennis I. Belcher (McGuire Woods, Richmond, VA)
Stanley M. Johanson (University of Texas Law School)
Mildred Kalik (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, New York)
Lloyd Leva Plaine (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Washington, DC)
Pam H. Schneider (Gadsden Schneider & Woodward, King of Prussia, PA)

9. Pensions and Deferred Compensation

Managers:
Regina T. Jefferson (Catholic Law School)
Norman P. Stein (Alabama Law School)

Review Committtee:
Deene B. Goodlaw (University of California, Berkeley Law School)
Daniel I. Halperin (Harvard Law School)
Nell Hennessey (Fiduciary Counselors, Washington)
Leon E. Irish (International Center for Civil Society, Washington, DC)
J. Mark Iwry (Brookings Institution, former Benefits Tax Counsel, Treasury)
Alicia H. Munnell (Center for Retirement Research, Boston College)
Carolyn E. Smith (Alston & Bird, Washington, DC)
C. Eugene Steuerle (Urban Institute, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Treasury)
Thomas D. Terry (former Benefits Tax Counsel, Treasury)
Bruce A. Wolk (University of California-Davis Law School)

10. Consumption Tax Initiatives

Managers:

Review Committee:
David Elkins (SMU Dedman School of Law (Visiting Professor) and Netanya College, Israel)
Mitchell L. Engler (Cardozo Law School)
David A. Weisbach (University of Chicago Law School)

11. Excise Taxes (reserved)