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State & Local
Taxation
Fall 2004
SYLLABUS
Mon. 8:30-10:00 Prof.
Peter Enrich
Wed. 8:30-10:00 Rm.
79 Cargill
617-373-5094
Office
Hrs.: Mon. 10:30-12:30
Thurs.
2-4 or
by appointment
REQUIRED
MATERIALS:
Hellerstein & Hellerstein, State & Local Taxation (7th Edition) [hereinafter
"H&H"].
Supplemental
Photocopied Materials [hereinafter "PM"], available as a
packet from Gnomon Copy.
Call the bookstore
(617/373-2286) or Gnomon Copy (617/536-4600) to determine if the course
materials are available in advance.
NOTE: The assignments listed below are
tentative. Specific assignments and,
particularly, the pace at which we move through the materials are subject to
change. All modifications will be
announced in class.
NOTE: Due to the
several Mondays when class will not meet, I have booked make-up classes for the
Friday 3:15-4:45 PM reschedule period (Sorry!) on three dates: Dec. 12, Jan. 9,
and Jan. 23. In addition, I have
reserved the reschedule period on Feb. 6, in case of snow days. Please mark these dates on your calendar.
I. Introduction
Class 1 (Sept.
1) -- Course overview and introduction to key concepts
READINGS: H&H
pp. 1-17
J.S. Mill, excerpt from Principles of
Political Economy (PM pp. 1-9)
Musgrave & Musgrave, excerpts from Public
Finance in Theory and Practice (PM pp. 11-16)
O.E.C.D. Statistics on Taxes and GDP (PM
p. 17)
Institute on Taxation & Economic
Policy, excerpts from Who Pays? (PM
pp. 19-43)
Excerpts from Mass. Tax Expenditure
Budgets (FY 2004 & FY 1992) (PM pp. 45-72)
Class
2 (Sept. 8) -- Introductory Case-study: Education Financing
READINGS: San Antonio Indep.
School Dist. v. Rodriguez (U.S. 1973) (PM pp. 73-106)
Dupree v. Alma School Dist. No. 30 (Ark. 1983) (PM pp. 107-12)
H&H pp. 50-55, 62-64
Class
3 (Sept. 13) -- Education Financing, concluded and generalized
READINGS:
Claremont School District v.
Governor, I and II (N.H. 1993 and 1997) (PM pp. 113-29)
Missouri v. Jenkins (U.S. 1990) (PM pp. 131-50)
H&H pp. 66-76
Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias (U.S. 1984) (PM pp. 151-54)
II. Property Taxation
NOTE:
An extra class has been scheduled for Tues. Sept. 14 from 12:15 to 1:45.
Classes
4 & 5 (Sept. 14 & 20) B Basic structure and introduction to
valuation
READINGS: H&H pp. 89-90,
95-98, 102-107
Board of Assessment Appeals v. Colorado Arlberg Club
(Colo. 1988) (PM pp. 155-64)
H&H pp. 117-129, 176-182
Class 6 (Sept.
22) -- Statutory and constitutional constraints on valuation
READINGS:
Robert Strauss, Why Homeowners Hate the Local Property Tax (PM pp.
165-69)
H&H pp. 100-102, 107-117
Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Co. v. County
Commission of Webster County
(U.S. 1989) (PM pp. 171-73)
Nordlinger v. Hahn (U.S. 1992) (PM pp. 175-85)
Class
7 (Sept. 27) -- Incidence of the property tax
READINGS:
H&H pp. 98-100
Henry George, excerpt from Progress
and Poverty (PM pp. 187-195)
Henry Aaron, excerpt from Who Pays the Property Tax? (PM pp.
197-208)
Gold & Liebschutz,
excerpt from State Tax Relief for the Poor (PM pp. 209-26)
III. Sales Taxes
Class
8 (Sept. 29) -- Basic concepts
READINGS: H&H
pp. 661-70; 775-77; 790-91
Excerpt from Massachusetts Report on
Tax Expenditures (FY 92) (PM pp. 229-232)
Dine Out Tonight Club v. Dept. of Rev.
Services (Conn. 1989) (PM
pp. 227-228)
H&H pp. 749-53; 777-84
Class 9 (Oct. 4) -- Basic structure:
exemptions for resale and manufacturing
READINGS: H&H pp. 707-717
(through item F); 720-46 (starting with item J on 720).
Class
10 (Oct. 6) -- Basic structure and the value-added tax
READINGS: Excerpt from U.S.
Treasury Dept., Report to the President on the Value-Added Tax (1984) (PM
pp. 233-40)
Class
11 (Oct. 12) -- Sales taxes on services
READINGS: H&H pp. 746-49;
672-700
Excerpt from Massachusetts Report on
Tax Expenditures (FY 93) (PM pp. 241-52)
Class
12 (Oct. 13) -- Sales taxes on services and e-commerce
READINGS: H&H pp. 839-58 [skip
discussion of jurisdiction/nexus on pp. 852-54]
Hellerstein & McLure, Sales
Taxation of Electronic Commerce: What John Due Knew All Along (PM
pp. 253-58)
EXERCISE: Problem 1 (PM pp. 259-65)
Class
13 (Oct. 18) -- Nexus and the use tax
READINGS: McLeod v. J.E. Dilworth Co.,
General Trading Co. v. State Tax Comm=n, and International Harvester Co. v. Dep=t of Treas. (U.S. 1944) (PM pp. 267-74)
H&H pp. 804-17
National Bellas
Hess v. Dept. of Rev.
(U.S. 1967) (PM pp. 275-79)
H&H pp. 336-54; 863-65; and skim 865-884.
IV. Income Taxation -- Personal and
Corporate
Class
14 (Oct. 20) -- Personal Income Taxation
READINGS:
H&H pp. 887-89
Opinions of the Justices (Mass. 1982) (PM pp. 281-87)
Mass. Taxpayers Foundation v. Secretary
of Administration (Mass.
1986) (PM pp. 289-93)
Mass. Initiative Petition 91-22 (PM
p. 295)
H&H pp. 895-904, 913-28
Class 15 (Oct. 25) -- The Power to Tax
Income, cont=d: Corporate Income
READINGS:
H&H pp. 188-201, 412-14, 454-57, 211-223, 385-403
Class
16 (Oct. 27) -- Corporate Taxation: Apportioning Income
READINGS:
H&H pp. 418-23, 457-71, 570-84, 479-92
Classes
17 & 18 (Nov. 1 & 3) -- Corporate Taxation: Apportionment with Complex
Corporations
READINGS:
H&H pp. 496-533 [Yes, I do want you to stop in the middle of the case!],
433-47, 371-78
EXERCISE:
Problem 2 (PM pp. 296-97)
Classes 19 & 20 (Nov. 8 & 10) --
Business Tax Incentives: Economic, Political and Legal Issues
READINGS:
P. Enrich, Business Tax Incentives: A Status Report (PM pp.
299-305)
Wall St. Journal article (July 18, 2001)
on Toledo (PM pp. 307-08)
H&H pp. 258-89
West Lynn Creamery v. Healy (U.S. 1994) (PM pp. 309-20)
THE END.