Chapman Law Review Symposium Focuses on Hot Issues in Tax Reform
April 2, 2014
The 2014
Chapman Law Review
Symposium occurred on Friday, March 14, 2014, entitled “
Business Tax Reform: Emerging Issues in the Taxation of U.S. Entities
.” The symposium submissions will be part of the next issue of the
Chapman Law Review
.
During the 112th Congress, the House Ways and Means Committee held 20 separate hearings on comprehensive tax reform. As a result of these hearings, the Committee Chairman Dave Camp started releasing discussion drafts for comprehensive tax reform, with a focus on reforming provisions related to various business entities to strengthen the economy. Representative Camp primarily focused on small business tax reform. Due to the proposals, the rumblings of comprehensive tax reform have been growing louder each year. For this reason, the
Chapman Law Review
hosted this years’ legal symposium on business tax reform, focusing on hot issues in comprehensive tax reform.
After opening remarks from Dean Tom Campbell and Frank Doti, professor and William P. Foley II Chair in Corporate Law and Taxation, the first panel began. Panel I addressed ‘Specific Tax Issues Affecting the Business World: The Policies and Reasons behind Certain Laws.’ This panel included Steven A. Bank, Paul Hastings Professor of Business Law, University of California Los Angeles School of Law; Jordan M. Barry, Associate Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law; Jonathan B. Forman, Alfred P. Murrah Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law; David Hasen, Associate Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law; with moderator Bobby Dexter, Professor of Law, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law.
(from left to right) Bobby Dexter, David Hasen, Jonathan B. Forman, Jordan M. Barry, and Steven A. Bank.
Participants in Panel II discussed ‘Pass-Through Entity Reform: Is a Major Overhaul Necessary?’ This panel included Kelly Phillips Erb, Taxgirl blog of
Forbes
Magazine and Attorney and Shareholder, Erb Law Firm, PC; Roberta Mann, Loran L. Stewart Professor of Business Law, University of Oregon School of Law; Robert K. Morrow, Associate Professor, Visiting Faculty, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law; Walter D. Schwidetzky, Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law; with moderator Bahar A. Schippel, Partner, Snell & Wilmer and Certified Specialist in Tax Law.
(from left to right) Roberta Mann, Kelly Phillips Erb, Bahar A. Schippel, Robert K. Morrow, and Walter D. Schwidetzky.
(from left to right) Nancy Sandoval, Edward D. Kleinbard, Blake Corry
The keynote speaker, Edward D. Kleinbard, Professor of Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, delivered to a full house of students, attorneys and certified public accountants. He discussed ‘Corporate Tax Reform, Business Tax Reform, or Capital Income Tax Reform?’ Kleinbard said, “The reason that tax reform, in the broad sense, cannot happen is because there is no agreement on the fundamental question ‘how large should government be and how much should we finance.’” He furthered explained that “Those of us who think about tax tend to think about questions in the wrong order… The ultimate question is: what should we be spending our money on? And how to finance it is much easier.” Kleinbard added that public debates about tax reform are unproductive because people are arguing about the wrong question, noting that we should focus more on where to spend the money before we discuss how much to spend.
The day continued with Panel III, which focused on ‘How Federal Business Tax Reform Affects State and Local Tax?’ The panel consisted of Todd A. Carper, Principal, Ernst & Young and Adjunct Faculty, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law; Oksana Jaffe, Chief Consultant to the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, California State Assembly; Darien Shanske, Professor of Law, University of California Davis School of Law; John A. Swain, Chester H. Smith Professor of Law, the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law; with moderator Michael B. Lang, Professor of Law, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law.
(from left to right) Darien Shanske, John A. Swain, Michael B. Lang, Oksana Jaffe, and Todd A. Carper
The final panel of the day provided insights on ‘Corporate Tax Reform: How to Tax Multinational Corporations?’ This panel included J. Clifton Fleming, Ernest L. Wilkinson Chair and Professor of Law, Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School; Tracy A. Kaye, Professor of Law, Seton Hall University School of Law; Omri Y. Marian, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law; Robert J. Peroni, the Fondren Foundation Centennial Chair for Faculty Excellence, University of Texas at Austin School of Law; with moderator Douglas A. Schaaf, Partner, Tax Department, Paul Hastings.
(from left to right) J. Clifton Fleming, Tracy A. Kaye, Douglas A. Schaaf, Omri Y. Marian, and Robert J. Peroni.
The 2013-2014
Chapman Law Review
Executive Board and Board of Editors organized and hosted this symposium. The Executive Board is pictured below with Editor-in-Chief – Nancy Sandoval; Managing Editor – Dallis Nicole Warshaw; Senior Articles Editor – Ericka A. Evans; Senior Articles Editor – Andrew S. Gahan; Senior Articles Editor – Christopher K. Wong; Senior Symposium Editor – Blake J. Corry; Senior Notes Editor – Lauren E. Vanga; Production Editor – Stephan M. Brown; and Senior Online Editor – Adam J. Weidner.
(from left to right) Ericka A. Evans, Andrew S. Gahan, Lauren E. Vanga, Stephan M. Brown, Christopher K. Wong, Blake J. Corry, Dallis Nicole Warshaw, Adam J. Weidner and Nancy Sandoval.
