Weekly SSRN Tax Article Review And Roundup: Narotzki Reviews Escajeda's Bad Tax Policy Breeds Bad Blood Between Songwriters And Poets

This week, Doron Narotzki (Akron; Google Scholar) reviews an article by Hilary G. Escajeda (Mississippi College; Google Scholar), Bad Tax Policy Breeds Bad Blood Between Songwriters and Poets 183 Tax Notes Fed. 1625 (May 27, 2024).

Escajeda offers a compelling and thought-provoking critique of the U.S. tax system's treatment of artists, an area that is not often discussed. With a lively and accessible writing style, Escajeda highlights an important but often overlooked disparity in how tax policy favors songwriters over poets. Using popular cultural references, such as Taylor Swift’s music, the article skillfully engages readers while discussing the more technical aspects of tax law which makes the topic relatable and easier to digest.

Escajeda’s main argument is clear and very persuasive: current U.S. tax laws offer preferential capital gains treatment to songwriters but at the same time subject poets and other non-musical artists to ordinary income tax rates. 

By comparing the tax treatment of musicians like Bob Dylan, who benefited from lower capital gains tax rates when selling his music collection, to poets like Amanda Gorman and Ada Limón, who are taxed at higher ordinary rates for selling their creative works, Escajeda demonstrates the unfairness and inconsistency in the tax code. The article succeeds in raising awareness about this issue and calls for a broader public conversation on the equity of tax policy for artists.

One of the article’s greatest strengths is its ability to make a somewhat complex tax issue very accessible. Escajeda’s use of modern cultural references, particularly invoking Taylor Swift’s music and lyrics, not only adds a fun element to the article but also makes it more relatable to a wider audience. This approach effectively brings a technical topic to life, guaranteeing that readers from various backgrounds, not just tax professionals and academics, can grasp the central issues and the unfair result of it.

While the article focuses primarily on the inequities between songwriters and poets, its message is clear: U.S. tax policy should not favor one group of artists over another. Escajeda’s critique of the role special interest lobbying plays in creating such disparities is insightful, and her call for a more thoughtful and targeted approach to tax policy reform is well-founded. By raising these issues in an accessible manner, she invites policymakers to reconsider how creative works are taxed and ensures that the article has the potential to reach a broader audience.

Overall, "Bad Tax Policy Breeds Bad Blood Between Songwriters and Poets" is an engaging and worthy contribution to the discussion of tax fairness. Escajeda successfully highlights an area of tax policy that deserves attention (and perhaps is not very known to many), making a strong case for why reform is necessary. The article’s cultural relevance, clear writing, and engaging tone make it a must-read for those interested in how tax law affects creative industries.

Here’s the rest of this week’s SSRN Tax Roundup:

• Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (University of Michigan Law School), Limitation on Benefits or Principal Purpose Test? Part 1, U of Michigan Public Law Research Paper Forthcoming
• Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (University of Michigan Law School), Has Cost Sharing Outlived Its Usefulness?, U of Michigan Public Law Research Paper Forthcoming
• Andrés Báez (Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance, Charles III University of Madrid), Irrelevant or Even Worse? The Vicious Dilemma of the New Tax Treaty Preamble, Working Paper of the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance No. 2024-07 Working Paper Series
• Christian Bauer (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business), Agus Hidayat (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business), The Impact of Tax Audits on Compliance Dynamics in a Developing Economy, WU International Taxation Research Paper Series No. 2024-08
• Bryan Camp (Texas Tech University School of Law), The Impact of Jarkesy on Civil Tax Fraud Penalties, 27 Fla. Tax Rev. (2024)
• Michael Conklin (Angelo State University - Business Law, Texas A&M University School of Law), Athletic Performance and State Tax Rates: Why NBA Players Perform Worse in High-Tax States, Tennessee Business Law Journal (forthcoming 2024)
• Henning Giese (Paderborn University), Adrian Schipp (Paderborn University), The Downsides of Democracy? - The Case of Tax Complexity, TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency Working Paper Series No. 153
• Kristin E. Hickman (University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - School of Law), Counterpoint: Tax Exceptionalism from Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking Procedures Is Bad Policy and Bad Law, ABA TAX TIMES, Winter-Spring, June 2024, Vol. 43 No. 2; Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 24-36
• Agus Hidayat (WU Vienna University of Economics), Matthias Petutschnig (Business and Vienna University of Economics and Business), Do Mandatory Submission of Master File and Local File (BEPS Action 13) Deter Profit Shifting? The Experience of a Developing Economy, WU International Taxation Research Paper Series No. 2024-07
• Agus Hidayat (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business), Tax Office Segmentation and Tax Avoidance in a Developing Economy, WU International Taxation Research Paper Series No. 2024-06
• Dmitrii Kopeikin (MGIMO (Moscow State University of International Relations)), Taxation of Cryptocurrencies in the Scandinavian Countries
• Lyla Latif (University of Nairobi), Breaking the Cycle of Domination in Global Tax Governance: Africans Defying Asymmetries and Seizing Opportunities
• Lyla Latif (University of Nairobi), Why the U.N. Must Put AI and Data on the Tax Agenda
• Lyla Latif (University of Nairobi), THE POTENTIAL FOR TAXING WEALTH IN KENYA
• Christina Lewellen (North Carolina State University - Department of Accounting and), Bradley P. Lindsey (Utah State University - School of Accountancy), An Investigation of the Array of Domestic and Foreign Tax Haven Location Decisions for U.S. Multinational Firms
• Antonio Lopo Martinez (University of Coimbra), Accounting Indications and Presumptions: Unraveling Crucial Concepts in Tax Law and Accounting Practice
• Robert W. McGee (Fayetteville State University - Department of Accounting), Ten Ways to Reduce Tax Evasion without Hiring 87,000 IRS Agents
• Susan C. Morse (University of Texas at Austin - School of Law), How Late Is Too Late to Challenge Old Tax Regs?, U of Texas Law, Legal Studies Research Paper (forthcoming)
• Oliver Nnamdi Okafor (Toronto Metropolitan University), Tax Employee Careers and Corporate Tax Outcomes, European Accounting Review (Forthcoming)
• Abdurrahman Nasir Salis (G. Elias & Co.), Precious Ayo, THE LEGALITY OF THE INCOME TAX (COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY REPORTING REGULATIONS) 2018 IN NIGERIA: A REVIEW OF CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES B.V NIG. LTD V. FEDERAL INLAND REVENUE SERVICE (APPEAL NO. TAT/LZ/CIT/121/2022)
• Chris William Sanchirico (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School), Reed Shuldiner (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School), Deferring Income with Tiered and Circular Partnerships, U of Penn, Inst for Law & Econ Research Paper No. 24-28
• Adrian Schipp (Paderborn University), Too Complex to Cooperate? -Tax Complexity and Cooperative Compliance, TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency Working Paper Series No. 152
• Darien Shanske (University of California, Davis - School of Law), Dan Bucks (Public Revenues Consulting), Peter D. Enrich (Northeastern University - School of Law), Michael Mazerov (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)), How $1.6 Billion Vanished in Tennessee’s Franchise Tax Fiasco, 112 Tax Notes State 577 (2024)
• Michael D. Sousa (University of Denver Sturm College of Law), Seizing Welfare from the Bankrupt, U Denver Legal Studies Research Paper Forthcoming, University of Cincinnati Law Review, Volume 93, No. 2., 2024 Working Paper Series
• John A. Townsend (University of Houston Law Center, Independent), Federal Tax Procedure (2024 Student Ed.)
• John A. Townsend (University of Houston Law Center, Independent), Federal Tax Procedure (2024 Practitioner Ed.)
• Edwin Vanderbruggen (VDB LOI), Towards a Smoother Resolution of Tax Audit Disputes in Cambodia
• Edwin Vanderbruggen (VDB LOI), VIETNAM'S IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OECD TRANSFER PRICING GUIDELINES: THE OECD EXPERIENCE ON TRANSFER PRICING AND COMPARISONS WITH VIETNAM
• Edwin Vanderbruggen (VDB LOI), Questions about the Taxation of Cambodian Permanent Establishments in the Wake of the 2023 Amendment of the Law on Taxation
• WEI YU (Ningbo - University of Nottingham Ningbo China), Keying Zhu (Ningbo - University of Nottingham Ningbo China), Can Value-Added Tax Refund Policy Alleviate Corporate Financial Distress? Evidence from China
• Muhammad Usama Javed Sufi (Ernst & Young LLP - International Tax Services), Unilever Under the Lens: A Forensic Review & Analysis of Unilever’s Compliance With OECD Beps Pillar Two: A Global Financial Statement Assessment

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