Virginia Center for Tax Law
Research
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 provoked the imposition of economic sanctions that are unprecedented in their swiftness, severity, and... MORE
A division exists between scholars who claim that Congress made only limited delegations to executive officials in the early Republic, and those who... MORE
At the inception of a new and potentially transformative type of tax enforcement, this Article reviews the goals underlying the prohibition on state... MORE
In an era characterized by inequalities of income and influence, political polarization, and the segregation of social spaces, the income tax... MORE
Over the past twenty-five years, Congress has enacted several major reforms for employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement... MORE
In this article, Mason explains why the Commission lost the Fiat state-aid appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union. She also argues... MORE
Shifts in academic paradigms are rare. Still, it was not long ago that the values taken to govern the private law were thought to be distinct from... MORE
In this article, Mason explains how the OECD's proposed Pillar 2 global minimum tax rules induce cooperation by states, and how the proposal to enact... MORE
The use of economic statecraft is at a high-water mark. The United States uses sanctions, tariffs, and import and export controls more than ever... MORE
In this essay, we review criticisms of both the concept of international tax arbitrage and regulatory responses meant to reduce such arbitrage. We... MORE
This article provides historical background that helps explain the agreed proposals among the OECD Inclusive Framework countries on Pillars 1 and 2.... MORE
Many jurisdictions determine real property taxes based on a combination of current market values and the recent history of market values, introducing... MORE
This article provides a detailed summary of the General Court of the European Union’s judgment in Amazon and analyzes what it means for the future of... MORE
National restrictions on trade and immigration are the most salient illustrations of the current protectionist moment, but cities have played their... MORE
In this article, the authors analyze the Apple state aid case, concentrating on its implications for state aid analysis and use of the arm’s-length... MORE
In this article, the authors propose property tax reforms that would allow local governments to raise property tax revenue while protecting... MORE
With each economic recession, scholars, pundits, and lawmakers focus on what the Federal government can do to mitigate it. In this Article, I argue... MORE
This Essay argues that EU taxpayers may challenge digital services taxes as violations of EU law. Specifically, because they exempt all but the very... MORE
People make mistakes with debt, partly because the chance to buy now and pay later tempts them to do things that are not in their long-term interest... MORE
This Essay surveys dormant foreign Commerce Clause doctrine to determine what limits it places on state taxation of international income, including... MORE
In an earlier article, we argued that the Utah Supreme Court failed to follow and correctly apply clear U.S. Supreme Court precedent in Steiner v.... MORE
The taxpayer in Steiner v. Utah State Tax Commission, a 2019 decision by the Utah Supreme Court, has petitioned for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme... MORE
Yesterday’s EU General Court decisions in Starbucks and Fiat represent major victories for the Commission and its theory of state aid,... MORE
At the peak of the 2008 financial crisis, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2008–83 (the Notice), administrative guidance that limited... MORE
This article analyzes the pension-reform bill introduced in 2019 by Senator Portman and Senator Cardin. Earlier Portman-Cardin bills, enacted in 1996... MORE
Member States increasingly use classifications based on company size in their tax laws. Because bigger companies are more likely to be foreign, this... MORE
This Article argues that current methods for identifying illegal tax subsidies trigger the well-known conceptual difficulties of tax-expenditure... MORE
In this article, we respond to Professor Zelinsky’s criticism of our arguments regarding the constitutionality of New York’s tax residence rule. We... MORE
Tax law gives relief to “illiquid” taxpayers, those with income or wealth but no cash. This relief results in revenue losses, creates opportunities... MORE
We argue that the high revenue triggers in proposed digital taxes — including the recent Franco-German proposal for a digital advertising tax — may... MORE
In this sixth and final installment in a series of reports on state aid, Mason evaluates the European Commission’s decisions in the recent state aid... MORE
This article examines the problem of legislative entrenchment through a particular focus on federal fiscal policy. The conventional academic debate... MORE
This article describes Wayfair and provides some cautions about what it means for the U.S. states and the rest of the world, especially Europe. It... MORE
Pay arrangements for managers of public corporations typically include substantial amounts of compensation deferred through non-qualified... MORE
This article sets out the case for repealing the $1 million tax cap on executive pay. The cap is easily avoided and, when not avoided, widely... MORE
Last Term, a sharply divided Supreme Court decided a landmark dormant Commerce Clause case, Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne. Wynne... MORE
In 1998 New York’s highest court upheld a dormant commerce clause challenge to the state’s statutory tax residence rule in Tamagni. This article... MORE
This is Part three in a multi-part Special Report on state aid. It provides detailed analysis and critical commentary on the EU Commission's recent... MORE
In this report, the second in a series of reports on EU state aid, Mason evaluates the claims Treasury’ made in its White Paper that recovery in the... MORE
In this fourth part in a series of reports on state aid, Mason focuses on the element of “advantage” in EU state aid law, and she criticizes the... MORE
This Article rejects a central claim of taxation and private law theory, namely, Kaplow and Shavell’s prominent thesis that egalitarian social goals... MORE
The United States is the only country that taxes its citizens’ worldwide income, even when those citizens live indefinitely abroad. This Article... MORE
Philadelphia has a complex and antiquated tax system that has long been criticized for driving employers and jobs away from Philadelphia by making it... MORE
Anti-basis is the untaxed benefit enjoyed by a taxpayer when a liability or obligation is incurred. In the business context, the untaxed benefit is... MORE
On November 12, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Comptroller of the Treasury v. Wynne. The case, which has already been called the... MORE
This Article discusses Wynne v. Comptroller, a dormant Commerce Clause case against Maryland pending before the Supreme Court. We use economic... MORE
This paper identifies and analyzes a recent trend toward “clean” federal tax legislation. Existing explanations of the tax-legislative process... MORE
The enforcement of tax laws affects the distribution of tax burdens. Many tax enforcement regimes incorporate taxpayer-initiated administrative... MORE
I report evidence from New York City that property assessment caps on small residential properties represent a significant tax benefit that accrues... MORE
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) represents a powerful response by the United States to flagrant offshore tax evasion. Although the new... MORE
This manuscript responds to Income Tax Discrimination: Still Stuck in a Labyrinth of Impossibility by Professors Michael Graetz and Alvin Warren (121... MORE
Congress uses the income tax to achieve policy goals. States import federal tax policies into their own tax systems when they incorporate by... MORE
This article explores the background to, and significance of, the Russian renationalization of the Yukos energy conglomerate through a tax assessment... MORE
Early corporate law scholarship argued both that anti-takeover devices are inefficient (they reduce the value of the firm) and that firms adopt... MORE
The statutory rules regarding the timing and character of income and losses on debt instruments overtax distressed debt investors. Investors that... MORE
Prohibitions of tax discrimination have long appeared in constitutions, tax treaties, trade treaties and other sources, but despite their ubiquity... MORE
Scholars and courts recognize that the federal government uses its broad spending power to enlist states in achieving federal goals, thereby... MORE
This paper offers a defense of the idea that taxation to promote religion infringes on taxpayers’ freedom of conscience. Critics have argued that... MORE
This report examines the case law and statutory history of the terms "partner" and "partnership," including the seminal Supreme Court cases of the... MORE
"Tax discrimination" is an increasingly important legal concept for international trade and cross-border investment. Commentators have observed that... MORE
Conventional wisdom, supported by theory and evidence, has it that the franchise tax plays an important role in shaping Delaware corporate law.The... MORE
This essay, a chapter in a book on international investment law and comparative public law forthcoming from Oxford University Press, reviews the... MORE
Governments often deliver social welfare benefits through “tax expenditures,” provisions of the tax code (such as home mortgage deductions) designed... MORE
The United States generally imposes two levels of federal income tax on corporate profits. The first level taxes income to the corporation; the... MORE
This paper examines the relationship between tax penalties and tax compliance. Conventional accounts, drawing from deterrence theory and norms theory... MORE
The “Option of Adoption Act,” a Georgia law that was introduced by a staunchly anti-abortion Georgia state representative, establishes procedures for... MORE
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has come under increasing criticism for overstepping its institutional authority in tax cases by invalidating... MORE
This comment considers arguments for and against stricter regulation of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), either by tightening securities laws or... MORE
Double taxation of corporate profits distorts the choice of business form, the debt and equity capitalization of companies, and the character and... MORE
This Article illuminates the interdependence between the structure of Delaware's franchise tax and Delaware's corporate law. It makes three major... MORE
This article considers whether the fundamental freedoms of the EC Treaty encompass an absolute requirement on the Member States to mitigate double... MORE
Heinz's wholly owned subsidiary purchased on the market over $131 million worth of Heinz's common shares. A few months later, the subsidiary sold 95... MORE
This Report continues our analysis of Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis, a case argued in the 2007-2008 Supreme Court term. The issue in... MORE
Under the standard the European Court of Justice (ECJ) uses to evaluate tax discrimination cases, a Member State discriminates when it taxes cross-... MORE
The tax rules governing deferred compensation, codified at section 409A, are harsh and complex. The rules are focused on the least important policy... MORE
Executive pay is currently a topic of significant interest for policymakers, academics, and the popular press. Just weeks ago, in reaction to... MORE
Different in more ways than it is possible to easily enumerate, the formation of the United States and the European Union (EU) had a striking... MORE
The extensive literature on legal transitions has formed a general position in favor of establishing a governmental transition policy; the primary... MORE
This article discusses tax treaty limitation on benefits (LOB) clauses, with special emphasis on derivative benefits and "equivalent beneficiaries."
We argue that for theorists with a post-institutional conception of property, e.g., Rawlsians, there is no principled reason to limit the domain of... MORE
This Article considers the effects of EC law on U.S. tax treaty policy. The discussion is framed by the controversy over the legality of tax treaty... MORE
In this article, Professor Yale reviews the contingent liability tax shelter employed by Black & Decker, and critiques the arguments the... MORE
This report is a comprehensive explanation of the final INDOPCO regulations and corresponding changes to regulations under sections 167 and 446. The... MORE
Normative capitalization would suspend deductions for every expenditure to the extent that it procures a benefit lasting beyond the taxable year in... MORE
In the Myth of Ownership: Taxes and Justice (Oxford 2002), Liam Murphy and Thomas Nagel discuss the relationship between tax policy and contemporary... MORE
Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code does not address the issue of whether a bankrupt municipality must increase taxes as a condition for confirming a... MORE
