Exclusive Article Submission Window For The Tax Lawyer

The Tax Lawyer is offering an exclusive submission window for articles to be published in the Spring issue of the Tax Lawyer through December 1, 2023. If you’ve got a completed or almost completed draft of an article on any tax issue of 12,000-35,000 words, please submit it to Editor, Publications, at [email protected]. You can also submit via Scholastica if you prefer. Your article will be published by May 2024.

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ABA Tax Section Virtual Fall Meeting Kicks Off Today

This week's ABA Tax Section 2023 Virtual Fall Meeting (program) kicks off today. A highlight is the Teaching Taxation program on Wednesday on Tax Justice in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: 

The recent and rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is positioned to impact all aspects of tax law, including tax practice, administration, ethics, and the tax base itself. As tax law inevitably evolves in response to AI, there will be new opportunities to introduce laws, policies, and practices that make the tax system more equitable. Alternatively, these developments could further entrench inequities that exist under current law. This panel discusses ways that AI might affect tax equity and distributive justice; furthermore, in response to the emergence of this new technology, it will scrutinize the equity implications of proposals to improve tax administration and substantive tax law. In doing so, panelists will have the ambitious threefold agenda: (i) reflect upon tax equity under current law, (ii) consider what AI tells us about values embedded in the tax system, and (iii) explain how tax justice can be advanced in the age of AI.

• Michelle Layser (San Diego; Google Scholar) (moderator) 
• Stephanie Hoffer (Indiana-McKinney; Google Scholar) 
• Jay Soled (Rutgers; Google Scholar) 
• Hilary Escajeda (Mississippi College; Google Scholar) 

Other Tax Profs with speaking roles include:

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2003-2022 Tax Journal Rankings: Tax Law Review Is #1, Virginia Tax Review Is #2

Following up on yesterday's post, 2022 Tax Journal Rankings: Tax Law Review Is #1, Virginia Tax Review Is #2:  here are the Washington & Lee 2003-2022 tax law review combined rankings of eight major tax journals:

• Columbia Journal of Tax Law ("Columbia")
• Florida Tax Review ("Florida")
• Houston Business & Tax Review ("Houston")
• Pittsburgh Tax Review ("Pittsburgh")
• Tax Law Review ("NYU")
• Tax Lawyer ("ABA")
• Tax Notes Federal ("Tax Notes")
• Virginia Tax Review ("Virginia")

The rankings are based on the annual combined rankings in 2003-2022 among these eight journals by:

• Impact Factor (citations/number of articles published)
• Citations in Law Reviews
• Citations in Cases (federal and state courts)
• Currency (how rapidly articles are cited)

Ave	Journal	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	09	08	07	06	05	04	03
1.6	1. NYU	1	1	3	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
2.5	2. Virginia	2	2	2	4	4	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	4	4	4	4	4
2.8	3. Florida	3	3	1	1	1	2	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	2	2	3	2
3.3	4. Tax Notes	4	5	4	3	2	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	3	3	2	3
5.4	5. ABA	6	6	NR	6	NR	5	5	5	5	5	6	5	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5
7.9	6. Houston	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	10	9	7	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	9	8	8	9	9
7.9	7. Pittsburgh	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	8	8	8	7	8	5	6	5	5	5	22	NR	NR	NR	NR
10.1	8. Columbia	5	4	5	5	NR	6	6	10	10	13	14	33	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

As I have previously noted, Tax Notes fares poorly in the Impact Factor category (citations/number of articles published) because W&L apparently counts as "articles" all of the advance sheet material in Tax Notes Federal.

Tax Notes Federal is #1 by a wide margin in the number of citations in law reviews:

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2022 Tax Journal Rankings: Tax Law Review Is #1, Virginia Tax Review Is #2

Washington & Lee has just released the 2022 tax law review rankings of six major tax journals:

• Columbia Journal of Tax Law ("Columbia")
• Florida Tax Review ("Florida")
• Tax Law Review ("NYU")
• Tax Lawyer ("ABA")
• Tax Notes Federal ("Tax Notes")
• Virginia Tax Review ("Virginia")

The rankings are based on citations to articles published in 2018-2022 (methodology):

• Impact Factor (citations/number of articles published)
• Citations in Law Reviews
• Citations in Cases (federal and state courts)
• Combined (weighted combination of the above rankings)
• Currency (how rapidly articles are cited)

	Combined	Impact	Journals	Cases	Currency
1. NYU	15.26	1.02	164	0	1.81
2. Virginia	12.12	0.8	137	1	1.52
3. Florida	7.69	0.44	115	2	0.80
4. Tax Notes	6.65	0.01	257	0	0.01
5. Columbia	5.88	0.41	57	0	0.73
6. ABA	4.49	0.22	82	2	0.38

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 76, No. 4 (Summer 2023):

• Karen C. Burke (Florida), SALT Substitutes and Other Workarounds, 76 Tax Law. 605 (2023)
• Bruce A. McGovern (South Texas; Google Scholar) & Cassady V. (“Cass”) Brewer (Georgia State), Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation: The Year 2022, 76 Tax Law. 645 (2023)

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ABA Tax Section Releases 23rd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge Problem

The ABA Tax Section has released the J.D. Problem (rules) and LL.M. Problem (rules) for the 23rd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge:

An alternative to traditional moot court competitions, the LSTC is organized by the Section’s Young Lawyers Forum. The LSTC asks two-person teams of students to solve a complex business problem that might arise in everyday tax practice. Teams are initially evaluated on two criteria: a memorandum to a senior partner and a letter to a client explaining the result. Based on the written work product, six teams from the J.D. Division and four teams from the LL.M. Division receive a free trip to the Section’s Midyear Meeting, where each team presents its submission before a panel of judges consisting of the country’s top tax practitioners and government officials, including tax court judges. The competition is a great way for law students to showcase their knowledge in a real-world setting and gain valuable exposure to the tax law community.

IMPORTANT DATES:

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Alice Abreu Named Chair-Elect Of ABA Tax Section

Alice Abreu (Temple) has been named Chair-Elect of the ABA Section of Taxation:

Alice G. Abreu is the Honorable Nelson A. Diaz Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Tax Law and Public Policy. She specializes in federal income tax law, with a special emphasis in the formulation of tax policy. Before joining Temple Law School, she clerked for Judge Edward N. Cahn in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and practiced tax law with Dechert LLP in Philadelphia.

Professor Abreu is nationally known for her ability to make students understand and care about the tax system. She is a recipient of the 2017 Great Teacher Award from Temple University, the 2013 Murray F. Shusterman Award for excellence in teaching from the Temple Law Alumni Association, and the 2007 University Lindback award for distinguished teaching. She has been a visiting professor at a number of institutions, including the Harvard Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and has taught Corporate Tax at the Yale Law School.

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Snyder: Can Extraterritorial Taxation Be Rationalized?

Laura Snyder (President, Stop Extraterritorial American Taxation (SEAT); Board of Directors, Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO)), Can Extraterritorial Taxation Be Rationalized?, 76 Tax Law. 535 (2023):

There exist multiple rationales for the U.S. extraterritorial tax system. The rationales seek to explain why overseas Americans should be subject to worldwide taxation by the United States.

This paper challenges those rationales: The allegiance rationale is outmoded and rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court; the benefits rationale has been discredited; the membership in U.S. society rationale is belied by the exclusion of overseas Americans from critical beneficial aspects of the U.S. economy, the U.S. tax system, and federal assistance; the “worth the tax cost” rationale disregards human rights and the realities of renunciation of U.S. citizenship; and the administrability rationale ignores that the administration of an extraterritorial tax system requires resources beyond those required to determine domicile — resources the IRS does not have.

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ABA Tax Section Names 2023-2024 John Nolan Fellows

ABA Tax Section Recognizes Outstanding Young Tax Lawyers, Names Six 2020-2021 John S. Nolan Fellows:

The American Bar Association Section of Taxation announces its recipients of the 2023-2024 John S. Nolan Fellowships.

Nolan Fellows are young tax lawyers who are actively involved in the Section and have demonstrated leadership qualities and a commitment to the Section’s mission.

• Bibiana A. Cruz (Holland & Knight, Pinecrest, FL)
• Omeed Firouzi (Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Philadelphia, PA)
• Brian Gardner (Asbury Law Firm, Atlanta, GA)
• Samuel Lapin (Miller & Chevalier, Washington, D.C.)
• Joshua Savey (Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Washington, D.C.)
• Caitlin R. Tharp (Steptoe & Johnson, Washington, D.C.)

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 76, No. 3 (Spring 2023):

• Steve R. Johnson (Florida State), Congressional Primacy, Equitable Tolling, and Tax Court Deficiency Litigation, 76 Tax Law. 451 (2023)
• Sergio Pareja (New Mexico), The Incapacitated Grantor and the Revocable Trust: Unnecessary Tax Complexity and a Reform Proposal, 76 Tax Law. 487 (2023)

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Winners Of The 22nd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge

ABA Tax Section, Winners Of The 22nd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge:

J.D. Division 

1st Place: 

Tracy Costanzo and Amanda Hepinger
Syracuse University College of Law

2nd Place and Best Written: 

Ivan Rudd and Isaac Fuhrman Borgman
University of Miami School of Law

3rd Place: 

Justin Sung and Judd Baguioro 
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco

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ABA Tax Section May Meeting Kicks Off Today In Washington, D.C.

This week's ABA Tax Section 2023 May Tax Meeting (program) kicks off today. A highlight is the Teaching Taxation program on Friday on Taxing the Metaverse:

The buzz surrounding the Metaverse—a digital space featuring virtual reality, augmented reality, and other advanced internet technology—has been growing steadily for the past couple of years, but the tax implications of this novel ecosystem remain fuzzy to most tax scholars. Such uncertainty is concerning, given the potential and momentum of this emerging technology. Although the Metaverse evolved from online video games focused only on user consumption, it now allows users to produce income and accumulate wealth entirely within the Metaverse. Current law seems to defer taxation of such until a realization or cash-out event. This panel will examine the tax implications of various economic activity in the Metaverse, such as self-created virtual assets (like NFTs), loot drops, intra-Metaverse exchanges, inter-Metaverse exchanges, and cash-for-virtual goods exchanges. Furthermore, this panel will discuss whether Metaverse taxation should be deferred until cash-out or immediate taxation, such as mark-to market, is possible. Finally, the panel will explore potential compliance issues posed by Metaverse activity.

• Young Ran (Christine) Kim (Cardozo; Google Scholar) (moderator)
• Eric Chason (William & Mary) 
• David Gamage (Indiana-Maurer; Google Scholar) 
• Omri Marian (UC-Irvine; Google Scholar)
• Caitlin Tharp (Steptoe & Johnson, Washington, D.C.) 

Other Tax Profs with speaking roles include:

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 76, No. 2 (Winter 2023):

• Philip G. Cohen (Pace), Whirlpool Financial Corp. v. Commissioner Was Properly Decided, 76 Tax Law. 247 (2023)
• William P. Kratzke (Memphis), Musings: Itemized Deductions and The Changing Fabric of American Society Wrought by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – Observing Regressiveness Hidden in Plain Sight, 76 Tax Law. 293 (2023)
• Scott A. Schumacher (Washington; Google Scholar), Taxes, Administrative Law, and Agency Expertise: Questioning the Orthodoxy, 76 Tax Law. 341 (2023)

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ABA Tax Section Mid-Year Meeting Kicks Off Today In San Diego

This week's ABA Tax Section Midyear Tax Meeting (program) kicks off today. A highlight is the Teaching Taxation program on Friday on New Directions in Tax Information Reporting and Withholding:

Tax information reporting and withholding rules play critically important roles in the United States tax system. When income is subject to mandatory tax information reporting—where third parties and/or taxpayers disclose information regarding certain transactions and activities to the IRS—the individual tax compliance rate is very high. When income is subject to both tax information reporting and withholding, it is even higher. While tax information reporting and withholding rules are among the government’s essential tax enforcement and administration tools, under current law, these rules do not apply equally to all taxpayers and transactions. Gaps in these rules lead not only to the potential spread of tax noncompliance, but they also raise important fairness concerns. Further, these rules often receive less attention from tax policymakers and tax law scholars than other aspects of the substantive tax law. This panel will consider new policy directions for tax information reporting and withholding rules in a variety of contexts, including taxpayers engaged in the gig economy, incarcerated taxpayers, and high-income and wealthy taxpayers.

• Michelle Layser (San Diego; Google Scholar) (moderator)
• Joshua Blank (UC-Irvine)
• Jessica Jeane (Vice President for Tax Policy, Western CPE)
• Katherine Pratt (Loyola-L.A.)

Other Tax Profs with speaking roles include:

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Invitation: ABA Virtual Tax Book Club On Tax Law And The Environment

The next virtual meeting ABA Tax Policy and Simplification Committee Book Club will have its next meeting on Thursday, January 26, 2023 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET (registration). The book to be discussed is Tax Law and the Environment: A Multidisciplinary and Worldwide Perspective (Roberta F. Mann (Oregon) & Tracey M. Roberts (Samford) eds. 2020):

Tax Law and the Environment: A Multidisciplinary and Worldwide Perspective takes a multidisciplinary approach to explore the ways how tax policy can is used solve environmental problems throughout the world, using a multi-jurisdictional and multidisciplinary approach. Environmental taxation involves using taxes to impose a cost on environmentally harmful activities or tax subsidies to provide preferred tax treatment to more sustainable alternatives to those harmful activities. This book provides a detailed analysis of environmental taxation, with examples from around the world. As the extraction, processing and use of energy use resources is has been a major cause of environmental harm, this book explores the taxation and subsidization of both fossil fuels and renewable energy. Its analysis of the past, present, and future potential of environmental taxation will help policymakers move economies toward sustainability, as well as and informing students, academics, and citizens about tax solutions for pressing environmental issues.

Reviews:

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ABA Hosts Free Webinar Today On Tax Teaching And Adjunct Opportunities

The ABA Tax Section hosts a free webinar today at 1:00 PM ET on Tax Teaching and Adjunct Opportunities (more information):

This webinar is designed for tax practitioners who are current or prospective adjunct professors. Our panel of experienced adjunct professors will discuss best practices for teaching tax classes to JD and LLM students, as well as ideas to promote the Tax Section to law students.

Moderator: 

• Jennifer Kowal (Loyola-L.A.)

Panelists:

• Megan Brackney (NYU)
• Alexander Lee (Loyola-L.A.)
• Scott Levine (Georgetown)

Goals of Webinar: 

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 76, No. 1 (Fall 2022):

• Karen C. Burke (Florida), Bristol-Myers’ Disappearing Gain, 76 Tax Law. 1 (2022)
• Monica Gianni (Cal State Northridge; Google Scholar), Supervisory Approval of Penalties: The Opening of a Graev Pandora’s Box, 76 Tax Law. 41 (2022)
• Michael Hatfield (University of Washington) & Michelle Kwon (Tennessee), A Study of Tax Lawyers Discussing Duties, 76 Tax Law. 73 (2022)

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This Week's Ten Most Popular TaxProf Blog Posts

Legal Education:

1. Steve Epstein (Poyner Spruill, Raleigh, NC), Extreme Punishment: The Chilling True Story Of Dan Markel's Murder
2. Paul Horwitz (Alabama), Should Deans Tell Their Faculty To Get Off Twitter And Get Back To Work?
3. Sarah Isgur (Politico Magazine), I’m A Conservative Who Got Heckled At Yale Law School. But Not By Who You Think.
4. Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), July 2022 California Bar Exam Results: In-State Law Schools
5. Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), July 2022 California Bar Exam Results: Out-Of-State Law Schools
6. Wall Street Journal, Students Sue USC For Reporting False Data To U.S. News To Goose Its Ranking
7. John McWhorter (Columbia; New York Times Op-Ed), When a Racist Joke Does Not Merit Cancellation
8. Derek Muller (Iowa), What Is The Endgame For Law Schools Boycotting The U.S. News Rankings?
9. Alan Morrison (George Washington; National Law Journal Op-Ed), AALS Should Provide A Law School Guide To Supplant The U.S. News Rankings
10. Josh Blackman (South Texas), ChatGPT And Law School Exams

Tax:

1. Charles Calomiris (Columbia; Wall Street Journal Book Review), The Myth Of American Income Inequality
2. Census Bureau, New U.S. Census Data: Major Migration From Blue States To Red States
3. SSRN, Tax Professor Rankings
4. SSRN, The Top Five New Tax Papers
5. Reuven Avi-Yonah (Michigan), Taxing Stock Buybacks As Dividends
   
6. Bryan Camp (Texas Tech), A Year Of Lessons From The Tax Court (2022)
7. Don Griswold (Bloomberg Tax), A ‘Social Harms’ Tax Can End The U.S. Gun Crisis, Constitutionally
8. Ways & Means Committee, House Democrats Release Donald Trump's Tax Returns
9. Dhammika Dharmapala (Chicago), The TCJA’s International Provisions: Conceptual Framework And Survey Of Evidence
10. Josh Blackman (South Texas), Did The Ways & Means Committee Play The Supreme Court On Trump's Tax Returns?

Faith: 

1. Tish Harrison Warren (Priest, Anglican Church), Did You Have A Hard Christmas? Jesus Did, Too.

2022 Tannenwald Tax Writing Competition Winners

The Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship has announced the winners of the 2022 tax writing competition:

First Prize ($5,000):
Danny Hirsch (Yale), The CIC Two-Step and the Future of Litigation Against the IRS
Faculty Sponsor: Michael Graetz

Second Prize ($2,500):
Alexander Stephenson (Northwestern), Stacking the Chips: Qualified Small Business Stock Exclusion
Faculty Sponsor: David Cameron

Third Prize ($1,500):
Likhitha Butchireddygari (Columbia), Eliminating the Tax Benefit from Investing in Police Brutality Bonds, 123 Colum. L. Rev. __ (2023)
Faculty Sponsor: Alex Raskolnikov

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ABA Tax Section 2022 Fall Meeting

The ABA Tax Section held an in person 2022 Fall Tax Meeting in Dallas last week (program). A highlight was the Teaching Taxation program on Classification of Tax Regulations and the APA:

For many administrative agencies, external sources of law, such as the Administrative Procedure Act, have played a key role in rulemaking. The APA has had an increasingly important role in tax administration. One key aspect is its relationship to tax regulations. Most tax regulations that interpret statutory text have historically been viewed by the tax community as interpretive rules under the APA, thus not requiring notice and comment (although tax regulations have historically been issued with notice and comment). One panelist reads some recent Tax Court and circuit court cases to have implicitly or explicitly held that regulations interpreting statutory text are considered legislative for APA purposes; another panelist does not read those cases as authoritative or persuasive on the issue. The current state of this issue will be discussed to inform the audience as to the issues involved. In addition, regulatory practices have changed significantly over time, yet litigants have raised procedural challenges to older regulations. This panel will consider the historical approach to tax regulations, review the arguments concerning the proper classification of those regulations, and address cases that have struggled to situate tax regulations under the APA. In addition, the panel will address the significance for tax administration of West Virginia v EPA, where the Supreme Court struck down emission caps and relied on the “major questions” doctrine, which requires agencies to demonstrate “clear congressional authorization” when taking actions of political or economic significance.

Chair: Michelle Drumbl (Washington & Lee)
Moderator: Leslie Book (Villanova; Google Scholar)
Panelists:

• Kristin Hickman (Minnesota; Google Scholar)
• Gilbert Rothenberg (American)
• Jack Townsend (Houston)

Other Tax Profs with speaking roles included:

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ABA Hosts Free Webinar Today On Tax Traps And Opportunities In The Post-Dobbs Era

The ABA Tax Section hosts a free webinar today at 1:30 PM ET on Personhood, Reproductive Choice, and Family Formation: Tax Traps and Opportunities in the Post-Dobbs Era (register here):

The US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization reversing the landmark case of Roe v. Wade has both opened tax traps and created tax opportunities that concern all Americans. To introduce these traps and opportunities to the general public, this panel will begin with a discussion of the fetal personhood movement and its potential tax ramifications.

Next, the panel will consider how Dobbs may have expanded (1) the tax definition of a "dependent" and (2) eligibility for tax benefits for reproductive "medical care" — including abortion, cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy — for different-sex and same-sex couples and for individuals.

Finally, the panel will conclude with a discussion of the post-Dobbs tax aspects of employer-provided travel and lodging benefits associated with medical care, with a particular focus on the need to address concerns regarding the potential use of the tax system to surveil and criminally punish reproductive choices.

Speakers:

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ABA Tax Section Releases 22nd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge Problem

The ABA Tax Section has released the J.D. Problem (rules; entry form) and LL.M. Problem (rules; entry form) for the 22nd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge:

An alternative to traditional moot court competitions, the Law Student Tax Challenge (LSTC) is organized by the Section’s Young Lawyers Form. The LSTC asks two-person teams of students to solve a complex business problem that might arise in everyday tax practice. Teams are initially evaluated on two criteria: a memorandum to a senior partner and a letter to a client explaining the result. Based on the written work product, six teams from the J.D. Division and four teams from the LL.M. Division receive a free trip to the Section’s Midyear Meeting, where each team presents its submission before a panel of judges consisting of the country’s top tax practitioners and government officials, including tax court judges. The competition is a great way for law students to showcase their knowledge in a real-world setting and gain valuable exposure to the tax law community.

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ABA Tax Section Accepting Nominations for 2023-2025 Public Service Fellowships

The ABA Tax Section is accepting applications for Christine A. Brunswick Public Service Fellowships for 2023-2025:

The Section of Taxation is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for its Christine A. Brunswick Public Service Fellowship program class of 2023-2025. Applications are due November 10, 2022.

The fellowship program was developed in 2008 to address the need for tax legal assistance and to foster an interest in tax-related public service among new attorneys. Through the fellowship, recent J.D. and LL.M. graduates or law clerks practice public service tax law at a host organization for two years.

You can register for an upcoming information to learn more the fellowship. We will take questions during the sessions and share the recordings on the fellowship page.

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 75, No. 4 (Summer 2022):

• Karie Davis-Nozemack (Georgia Tech; Google Scholar) & Sarah Webber (Dayton; Google Scholar), No Appeal for You: Reforming Appeals for Tax Whistleblowers, 75 Tax Law. 637 (2022)
• Bruce McGovern (South Texas), Cassady Brewer (Georgia State) & James Delaney (Wyoming), Recent Developments in Federal income Taxation: The Year 2021, 75 Tax Law. 681 (2022)

Gianni: Supervisory Approval Of Penalties—The Opening Of A Graev Pandora's Box

Monica Gianni (CSUN), Supervisory Approval of Penalties: The Opening of a Graev Pandora's Box, 75 Tax Law. __ (2022):

Section 6751(b) of the Internal Revenue Code requires supervisory approval in writing prior to assessment of certain penalties. Enacted in 1998 as part of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Restructuring and Reform Act, the statute’s purpose was to prevent IRS agents from using penalties as bargaining chips. The section remained essentially dormant for over 20 years, with both the IRS and taxpayers accepting the position that approval needed to be obtained only prior to assessment. The trilogy of Graev cases and a decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Chai v. Commissioner changed the § 6751(b) landscape completely, opening a Pandora’s box of taxpayers using § 6751(b) to avoid penalties on the technicality of no-written-supervisory approval. Hundreds of court cases have followed, resulting in cases inconsistently interpreting § 6751(b) and well-counseled taxpayers avoiding tax penalties.

This article examines the enactment of § 6751(b) and explores in detail the Graev and Chai decisions.

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Free Webinar Today On Job Opportunities In The Office Of Tax Policy (U.S. Treasury Department)

The ABA Tax Section is hosting a free webinar today at 1:00 PM ET on Opportunities to Influence Change: Legal Jobs in the Office of Tax Policy (register here):

The Office of Tax Policy at the Treasury Department is responsible for developing and implementing the tax policies and programs of the United States, drafting tax regulations, negotiating tax treaties, and providing legal analysis of tax policy decisions. But what does all of that really mean? Please join members of the Office of Tax Policy to learn about the day-to-day experience of working as an attorney-advisor, and to discover potential career opportunities that let you be on the forefront of developments in tax law, all while serving the public interest.

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Practical Considerations In Starting And Operating An Academic Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic

Amy Spivey (UC-Hastings) & Manoj Viswanathan (UC-Hastings; Google Scholar), Practical Considerations in Starting and Operating an Academic Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, 76 Tax Law. __ (2022):

Low-income taxpayer clinics (“LITCs”) provide legal assistance to underserved clients with active federal tax controversies, conduct educational outreach to low-income and English-as-a-second-language taxpayers, and work to ensure the fairness and integrity of the tax system. Despite the availability of IRS grant funding for LITCs and the alignment of LITC goals with the core values that underlie clinical legal education, a relatively small percentage of U.S. law schools currently operates an LITC. Moreover, many law school LITCs have closed within the past ten years, demonstrating that even if started, academic LITCs are challenging to sustain.

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Two Tax Court Paid Internship Programs: Diversity, Case Processing

The U.S. Tax Court offers two paid internship programs:  

Diversity in Government Internship Program
The DiG Tax program is separate from the Court’s legal internship program, and you need not be a law student to apply.  DiG Tax interns may assist on projects with departments throughout the Court, including Case Services, Facilities, Finance, Human Resources, Library, Information Technology, and Public Affairs.  For more information, see here.

Case Processing Legal Student Intern

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 75, No. 3 (Spring 2022):

• Linda Galler (Hofstra), Tax Opinion Policies and Procedures,  75 Tax Law. 443 (2022)
• Steven Z. Hodaszy (Robert Morris), Exchange-Traded Funds Use Section 852(b)(6) for Tax Avoidance, Not Just Tax Deferral: So Why Is This Loophole Still Open?, 75 Tax Law. 489 (2022)

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ABA Tax Section Hybrid 2022 May Meeting

This week's ABA Tax Section hybrid 2022 May Meeting (program) kicks off today. One of the highlight of the meeting is Saturday's luncheon and plenary session:

Keynote Speaker: Lily Batchelder, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Roundtable: Tax Data Transparency: Changes Coming to a Post-Pandemic Tax Code? On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, which, inter alia, established an Interagency Working Group on Equitable Data prompted by a growing recognition that the absence of demographic data in federal datasets, including tax data, results in inequities across federal programs. In addition, Treasury is undertaking a comprehensive research initiative to study the relationship between the U.S. tax code and racial inequities, in response to research identifying inequities in tax enforcement. Congress, too, is making demands for more transparency in tax data, with Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) calling for the IRS to “collect and disclose more information relating to the effect of the tax code on different demographics [because] it makes no sense to blind lawmakers to the key data that would illuminate injustice in our tax laws.” This roundtable will provide new insight on the tax policy implications of greater tax data transparency in a post-Pandemic tax code. Discussion will focus on the role of tax data transparency in tax expenditure oversight; the implications of the absence of demographic data on current tax administration and policy; and how tax expenditures included in Pandemic- related legislation have created an opportunities for new data.

Moderator: Caroline Bruckner, Sr. Professorial Lecturer & Managing Director of the Kogod Tax Policy Center, American University Kogod School of Business

Panelists: Steven Dean, Professor of Law, Co-Director of the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law, Brooklyn Law School; Mark Mazur; Danny Yagan

• Steven Dean, Filing While Black: The Casual Racism of the Tax Law, 2022 Utah L. Rev. __ 
• Steven Dean, Filing While Black: How Our Racially Biased Tax System Hurts All of Us, 175 Tax Notes Fed. 466 (Apr. 18, 2022)

Other Tax Profs with speaking roles include:

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ABA Tax Section Hosts Pathways To Careers In Tax Law Today

The ABA Tax Section hosts a new series on Pathways To Careers In Tax Law today at 12:00 PM EST (register here): 

Please join us for the launch of a new Tax Section series: Pathways to Careers in Tax Law! Seasoned practitioners and active members of the Tax Section will provide a substantive overview of different areas of tax through unique presentations colored by engaging tales from their careers. You will not only gain an understanding of the area of tax law, but will be entertained, inspired and challenged to envision how your own career path can lead you to fulfilling work.

The launch of the Pathways series will also be the Tax Section’s first hybrid event at the new home of our upcoming Hybrid 2022 May Tax Meeting, the Marriott Marquis Washington, DC. You can choose to join in-person for the sessions, lunch and a networking reception, or tune in from your home or office. All attendance is free in exchange for your patience as we explore a new method of delivering content to an at-home and in-person audience simultaneously.

Agenda: These sessions will provide you with the tax law experience from both macro and micro perspectives.

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 75, No. 2 (Winter 2022):

• Ryan M. Gurule (FACT Coalition), Captured: Regulating to 1.5C Through Tax and Escaping from Regressive Pitfalls, 75 Tax Law. 233 (2022)
• Christopher H. Hanna (SMU), Corporate Tax Integration: Past, Present, and Future, 75 Tax Law. 307 (2022)
• Xuan-Thao Nguyen (Indiana-McKinney) & Jeffrey A. Maine (Maine), Incentivizing Innovation, 75 Tax Law. 351 (2022)

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ABA Tax Section Is Accepting Applications For The Inaugural Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship

The ABA Tax Section is accepting applications for the inaugural Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship, due on Sunday, April 3rd, 2022. 

The Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship seeks to identify, engage, and infuse historically underrepresented individuals into the Tax Section, create a more accessible, equitable, and inclusive pathway into Tax Section leadership, support the expansion, diversification, and inclusiveness of the tax profession, and create a sense of belonging for members looking to become involved with the Section.

The Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship is a three-year program open to any individual with a diverse background and/or a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tax bar. The Tax Section aspires to award up to five (5) three-year Fellowships each fiscal year. The Fellowships provide the following benefits:

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ABA Tax Section Virtual 2022 Midyear Meeting

This week's ABA Tax Section virtual 2022 Midyear Meeting (program) concludes today. Tax Profs with speaking roles included:

• Consequences of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta:  Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.), Lloyd Mayer (Notre Dame)
• ESG and Tax Policy – Responsible Tax Policies for a Better Future:  Susan Gary (Oregon), Janet Milne (Vermont)
• Increases in Math Error Notices:  Leslie Book (Villanova)
• Low-Income SALT – Advocating for Low-Income Taxpayers in State Tax Matters:  Caleb Smith (Minnesota)
• Riding the Tax Reform Wave in Real Time:  Paul Caron (Pepperdine), Susan Morse (Texas)

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ABA Teaching Taxation Panel Today On Riding The Tax Reform Wave In Real Time

I am looking forward to moderating the Teaching Taxation Section panel on Riding the Tax Reform Wave in Real Time at today's ABA Tax Section Virtual 2022 Mid-Year Meeting at 12:30-2:00 PM ET:

What are the different ways in which law faculty and practitioners keep up with tax reform proposals, legislative changes, and administrative guidance in the rapidly changing world of tax law? As professionals, we need to be aware of conversations around legislative proposals and any resulting changes that would impact our audience, whether that is law students or clients. What are the best processes and sources of information for staying abreast of pending changes to the tax law? How do we juggle uncertainty as proposals unfold, whether we are teaching students or advising clients? How do we get up to speed as quickly as possible once changes are implemented and guidance follows? The panel – consisting of a tax law professor, law librarian, journalist, and practitioner – will discuss the best practices with simulations.

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ABA Tax Section Seeks Nominations For Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award

The ABA Tax Section is soliciting nominations for the 2022 Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award:

The Tax Section pleased to announce that we are accepting nominations for the 2022 Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award given to an individual or law firm for sustained and outstanding achievements in pro bono activities in the tax law. Find the nomination form here.

The criteria for selection of an individual recipient of the award are that (i) the individual be a tax lawyer, whether living or deceased; (ii) the individual is or was a member of the Section of Taxation; and (iii) the individual has, through years of service, demonstrated an ongoing commitment to pro bono activities, particularly in the areas of federal and state taxation.

The criteria for selection of a law firm recipient are that (i) the law firm includes members of the Section of Taxation; and (ii) the law firm has, through years of service of its attorneys, demonstrated an ongoing commitment to pro bono activities, particularly in the areas of federal and state taxation.

Help Create An Inclusive, Diverse, And Equitable ABA Tax Section

Julie Divola (Chair, ABA Tax Section), Help Create an Inclusive, Diverse, and Equitable Tax Section:

I am delighted to announce the launch of the Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship and the creation of the Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JDEI) endowment fund.

The Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship seeks to identify, engage, and infuse historically underrepresented individuals into the Tax Section, create a more accessible, equitable, and inclusive pathway into Tax Section leadership, support the expansion, diversification, and inclusiveness of the tax profession, and create a sense of belonging for members looking to become involved with the Section.

The Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship is a three-year program open to any individual with a diverse background and/or a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tax bar. The Section aspires to award up to five (5) three-year Fellowships each fiscal year. Applications for the inaugural class of Fellows are due by Sunday, April 3, 2022. Please help us by sharing information about the Fellowship with your networks and colleagues. And please let me know if you have connections or partners who can help us spread the word.

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 75, No. 1 (Fall 2021):

• Karen C. Burke (Florida), Sorting Out Partner Payments, 75 Tax Law. 1 (2021)
• Amandeep S. Grewal (Iowa; Google Scholar), Section 265 Disallowance and the PPP Expense Allowance Nightmare, 75 Tax Law. 37 (2021)
• Mindy Herzfeld (Florida), The Role of Professional Organizations in Practice and Policy: How Lawyers Overtook Accountants and Economists in the Early 20th Century Tax Field, 75 Tax Law. 79 (2021)

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2021 Tannenwald Tax Writing Competition Winners

The Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship has announced the winners of the 2021 tax writing competition:

First Prize ($5,000):
Mohanad Salaimi (Michigan), Corporate Inversions: Getting on the Tax Reform Train Before It Leaves the Station
Faculty Sponsor: Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Second Prize ($2,500):
Alexander Pettingell (NYU), A Machine Learning Approach to the Debt-Equity Multifactor Test
Faculty Sponsor: Mitchell Kane

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Call For Articles: The Tax Lawyer

The Tax Lawyer is currently accepting submissions for its 2022 Spring and Summer issues. Submit your work by early December to be considered for the Spring issue.

Why publish in The Tax Lawyer?

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Pratt: Learning To Live Without Form 1040

Katherine Pratt (Loyola-L.A.), Learning to Live Without Form 1040, 75 Tax Law.__ (2022):

A prominent tax reform proposal made by Michael Graetz in 2008 would replace much of the federal income tax with a Value Added Tax (VAT), a new consumption tax. If enacted, low-income and middle-income Americans would file 120 million fewer federal income tax returns annually. The Plan would convert the mass income tax into a narrow “class” income tax on high-income Americans. Adoption of the Graetz Plan would promote economic growth and reduce the compliance and administrative costs of the federal tax system. Defenders of the mass income tax nonetheless oppose adoption of the Graetz Plan. This Article argues that the Graetz Plan, modified as proposed in this Article, could overcome two major impediments to adoption of the Plan: (1) the difficulty of reconciling the Graetz Plan and existing multipurpose refundable income tax credits administered by the Internal Revenue Service; and (2) the potential loss of beneficial functions that the mass income tax may serve.

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ABA Tax Section Women's Tax Forum Hosts Women In Tax Law Student Outreach Panel

ABA Tax Section Women's Tax Forum: Women In Tax Law Student Outreach Panel:

Join the Women in Tax Forum today at 3:00 pm ET (free registration here) for a panel as they provide insight into their careers, advice for how to pursue a career in tax, and share ideas on ways of making tax more inclusive.

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Northwestern Offers 4-6 Graduate Tax Program Tuition Scholarships ($69k) To Serve As Student Editors Of The Tax Lawyer

From Philip Postlewaite (Harry R. Horrow Professor in International Law and Director, Northwestern's Graduate Tax Program):

As you know, the Tax Program at Northwestern is the educational affiliate of the ABA’s Tax Section. Each year, four to six LLM-Tax students are selected to serve as editors of The Tax Lawyer, the Tax Section’s flagship journal. In order to encourage highly qualified applicants to apply to, and matriculate at, Northwestern, each student editor receives a Dean’s Scholarship, which is equal to the cost of tuition [$69,350].

We are seeking your assistance in identifying top candidates for these positions. Please inform interested students of this excellent opportunity.

The application deadline for students who are interested in being considered for a position on the editorial board is January 15, 2022.

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U.S. Tax Court's Tax Trailblazers: Judge Juan F. Vasquez

U.S. Tax Court's Diversity & Inclusion Series, Tax Trailblazers: Mentoring the Next Generation:

Please join the United States Tax Court in honoring National Hispanic American Heritage Month. September's webinar will focus on Tax Court Judge Juan F. Vasquez and his path to and success in-the field of tax law. Today at 7:00-8:15 PM EST (register here).

Judge Juan F. Vasquez was born in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Fox Tech High School and San Antonio Junior College with an Associate's Degree in Data Processing. He received a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas, Austin, and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. He received his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. In addition to being a member of the legal bar, Judge Vasquez is a Certified Public Accountant.

Originally appointed for a 15-year term by President Clinton, Judge Vasquez was reappointed by President Obama for a second 15-year term. Judge Vasquez assumed senior status in 2018 and continues to perform judicial duties on recall.

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ABA Tax Section Virtual 2021 Fall Meeting

This week's ABA Tax Section virtual 2021 Fall Meeting (program) kicks off today. The highlight is:

Teaching Taxation: Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Tax: Ideas and Resources for Mentoring Diverse Students and Leading Discussions of DEI in Tax (Wednesday, 12:30 - 2:00 PM ET):

This panel will document the need for greater diversity in the field of tax law − in practice and in Academia – and share ideas to promote this goal, with a focus on law students and recent law school graduates. The panelists will (1) provide information about existing programs to promote DEI in the tax profession, (2) discuss ways to build the tax profession pipeline, to recruit and retain diverse tax attorneys, and to provide strong platforms for professional success, and (3) solicit audience participation and ideas for new initiatives. 

• Alice Abreu (Temple)
• Caroline Ciraolo (Kostelanetz & Fink; Inaugural Vice Chair, Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion, Tax Section Council, ABA)
• Steven Dean (Brooklyn)
• Katie Pratt (Loyola-L.A.) (moderator)
• Juan Vasquez (Judge, U.S. Tax Court)
• Lany Villalobos (Kirkland & Ellis; Assistant Secretary, Tax Section Council, ABA; Immediate Past-Chair, ABA Tax Section Diversity Committee

Other Tax Profs with speaking roles include:

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ABA Tax Section Releases 21st Annual Law Student Tax Challenge Problem

The ABA Tax Section has released the J.D. Problem (rules; entry form) and LL.M. Problem (rules; entry form) for the 21st Annual Law Student Tax Challenge:

An alternative to traditional moot court competitions, the Law Student Tax Challenge (LSTC) is organized by the Section’s Young Lawyers Form. The LSTC asks two-person teams of students to solve a complex business problem that might arise in everyday tax practice. Teams are initially evaluated on two criteria: a memorandum to a senior partner and a letter to a client explaining the result. Based on the written work product, six teams from the J.D. Division and four teams from the LL.M. Division receive a free trip to the Section’s Midyear Meeting, where each team presents its submission before a panel of judges consisting of the country’s top tax practitioners and government officials, including tax court judges. The competition is a great way for law students to showcase their knowledge in a real-world setting and gain valuable exposure to the tax law community.

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The Tax Lawyer Publishes New Issue

The Tax Lawyer has published Vol. 74, No. 4 (Summer 2021):

• Vorris J. Blankenship (Retired Attorney & CPA), The SECURE Act: Retirement Plan Distributions After the Death of a Beneficiary, 74 Tax Law. 629 (2021)
• James Alm (Tulane; Google Scholar) & Jay A. Soled (Rutgers; Google Scholar), Tax Amnesties, Recidivism, and the Need for Reform, 74 Tax Law. 659 (2021)

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ABA Tax Section Women's Tax Forum Hosts Zoom Tea Today With Patricia Gimbel Lewis

The ABA Tax Section Women's Tax Forum is hosting a Zoom Tea today with Patricia Gimbel Lewis (Caplin & Drysdale) at 4:30 PM ET:

You're invited to join the next Women in Tax Forum Zoom Tea! Take a 45-minute tea break with us as we chat on Zoom video with leading women tax lawyers from a variety of fields who share stories of success and struggle as we explore individual paths to professional and personal fulfillment.

We're honored to announce that Pat Lewis is joining us in July! With 50 years of experience as a tax attorney, Pat is a true pioneer for women in tax. Pat's practice at Caplin & Drysdale has long focused on transfer pricing issues, competent authority matters, and other aspects of international tax planning and controversy. She has been an advocate for transfer pricing "safe harbors" and other tax simplification approaches. 

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2003-2020 Tax Journal Rankings: Tax Law Review Is #1, Virginia Tax Review Is #2

Following up on yesterday's post, 2020 Tax Journal Rankings: Florida Tax Review Is #1, Virginia Tax Review Is #2:  here are the Washington & Lee 2003-2020 tax law review combined rankings of eight major tax journals:

• Columbia Journal of Tax Law ("Columbia")
• Florida Tax Review ("Florida")
• Houston Business & Tax Review ("Houston")
• Pittsburgh Tax Review ("Pittsburgh")
• Tax Law Review ("NYU")
• Tax Lawyer ("ABA")
• Tax Notes Federal ("Tax Notes")
• Virginia Tax Review ("Virginia")

The rankings are based on the annual combined rankings in 2003-2020 among these eight journals by:

• Impact Factor (citations/number of articles published)
• Citations in Law Reviews
• Citations in Cases (federal and state courts)
• Currency (how rapidly articles are cited)

Ave	Journal	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	09	08	07	06	05	04	03
1.7	1. NYU	3	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
2.5	2. Virginia	2	4	4	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	4	4	4	4	4
2.7	3. Florida	1	1	1	2	3	4	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	2	2	3	2
3.1	4. Tax Notes	4	3	2	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	3	3	2	3
5.4	5. ABA	NR	6	NR	5	5	5	5	5	6	5	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5
7.9	6. Houston	NR	NR	NR	10	9	7	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	9	8	8	9	9
7.9	7. Pittsburgh	NR	NR	NR	8	8	8	7	8	5	6	5	5	5	22	NR	NR	NR	NR
11.3	8. Columbia	5	5	NR	6	6	10	10	13	14	33	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Tax Notes Federal fares poorly in the Impact Factor category (citations/number of articles published) because W&L apparently counts as "articles" all of the advance sheet material in Tax Notes Federal.

Tax Notes Federal is #1 by a wide margin in the number of citations in law reviews:

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2020 Tax Journal Rankings: Florida Tax Review Is #1, Virginia Tax Review Is #2

Washington & Lee has just released the 2020 tax law review rankings of six major tax journals:

• Columbia Journal of Tax Law ("Columbia")
• Florida Tax Review ("Florida")
• Tax Law Review ("NYU")
• Tax Lawyer ("ABA")
• Tax Notes Federal ("Tax Notes")
• Virginia Tax Review ("Virginia")

The rankings are based on citations to articles published in 2016-2020 (methodology):

• Impact Factor (citations/number of articles published)
• Citations in Law Reviews
• Citations in Cases (federal and state courts)
• Combined (weighted combination of the above rankings)
• Currency (how rapidly articles are cited)

	Combined	Impact	Journals	Cases	Currency
1. Florida	11.12	0.69	161	1	1.43
2. Virginia	10.90	0.75	135	1	1.19
3. NYU	10.64	0.62	166	0	1.11
4. Tax Notes	8.92	0.01	290	1	0.02
5. Columbia	8.10	0.58	93	0	1.18
ABA	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

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