Today's Law, Society, And Taxation Panels

Today's Law, Society, and Taxation panels at the virtual 2021 Law & Society Association Annual Meeting (program):

Session #6: Tax, Politics, and History (Diane Klein (Chapman),  Chair/Discussant):
Tax law is a product of the political process and often depends in large part on the views of the society in which it is to be enacted. Further, the particular nature of that society influences how the tax law develops and how it is applied in practice. This makes tax history a critical part of the understanding of the tax law. The papers in this session reflect on the role that society plays in the development of some particular areas of the tax law, and the role that the tax law plays in the evolution of society.

• Sam Brunson (Loyola-Chicago), Addressing Hate: Georgia, the IRS, and the Ku Klux Klan
• Ari Glogower (Ohio State), Taxation and the Law-and-Political-Economy Project
• Anthony Infanti (Pittsburgh), Tax as an Engine of Injustice
• Ajay Mehrotra (Northwestern), The 1970s National Value-added Tax to Fund Education
• Richard Winchester (Seton Hall), Uncle Sam's Share of the Spoils of Blockbusting

Session #7: Tax, Inequality, and Racial Justice (Shu-Yi Oei (Boston College),  Chair/ Discussant):

Rising awareness of racial injustice and broader concerns regarding social inequality have dominated national conversations in recent years. This panel focuses on tax law’s long history with inequalities along race and gender lines, as well as attempts to address inequality through the tax code.

• Jeremy Bearer-Friend (George Washington), Colorblind Tax Enforcement
• Diane Klein (Chapman), A Critical Tax Analysis of Earned Income Credit Audit Practices
• Lynn Lu (CUNY), “Fundamental National Public Policy” in a Dysfunctional Nation
• Emily Satterthwaite (Toronto), Taxing Domestic Workers

Session #8: Tax Practice and Interpretation (Sloan Speck (Colorado),  Chair/ Discussant):
Tax law requires interpretation, and statutes are just the starting point for deciding what consequences the tax law brings. The papers on this panel consider the language of the tax law in its context, and discuss what’s at stake in the act of interpretation.

• Tessa Davis (South Carolina), Tax As Text
• Brett Freudenberg (Griffith), Online Tax Clinic Developing Students’ Professional Identity
• Calvin Johnson (Texas), Faithful Interpretation of the Tax Statute Does Not Include Absurdity
• Tracey Roberts (Samford), The Procedural Case for a Carbon Tax