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Robert Ricketts Frank M. Burke Chair in Taxation Rawls College of Business
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Taxation with representation aint so hot either. Gerald Barzan, humorist
Courses
ACCT 5318Tax Research
Case 1due Tuesday, September 2 by noon. Submit via Word attachment to email. You must use the following naming convention in saving your file: your first initial followed by your last name_5318_Ass #. For example, I would name my file rricketts_5318_Ass 1.
Case 2due Wednesday, September 10 by 3:25.
ACCT 5327Advanced Income Tax (Corporate Tax)
Syllabus
Case 1
ACCT 5334Accounting Capstone Course
ACCT 5311MBA for Working Professionals Tax Course
Syllabus, including assignments
Masselli's Demonstration Cases:
MBA-WP Demonstration Case 1
MBA-WP Demonstration Case 2
Here's the WSJ on the relationship between the value of the dollar and the price of oil ... editorial 5/23/08
Here's the graph for 2002-May 16, 2008:
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As of the end of 2002, the dollar and the euro traded even up ($1: 1). The exchange rate is now about $1.60: 1. Thus, while a barrel of oil cost about 75 on May 16, 2008, in dollars, that cost was $120. If the exchange rate was still 1:1 as it was 6 years ago, our cost would also be about $75. Thus, $45 of the $120 May 16 price, or 37.5%, can be attributed to the decline of the dollar.
More starkly, the value of the euro on June 1, 2001 was 85 cents. That is, one euro cost 85 cents. At that exchange rate, the cost of a barrel of oil as of May 16, 2008 would have been $63.75. This indicates that almost 47% of the dollar price of a barrel of oil is attributable to the decline in the value of the dollar since June 2001. This cost is an implicit tax on the American economy.
Another WSJ editorial on The Dollar and the Market Mess
You Can't Soak the Rich ... How true is this argument?
WSJ articles on Walmart and state taxes: Walmart Saves Taxes by Paying Rent to Itself
Inside Walmart's Bid to Slash State Taxes
Here's a front page article (also WSJ) on how Federal Express avoids the payroll tax
Check back periodically for additional articles. Also, if you come across articles that would potentially be of interest to the class, send them along, and I'll post them. (I may move these links to a different page as quantity grows).
Here's an interesting discussion: Does Business Really Want Low Tax Rates? What do you think of this argument? What about the comment suggesting that the corporate tax be abolished altogether, paying for the lost revenue by increasing tax rates on the highest income taxpayers?
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Issues in Tax Policy
2008 Alternative Minimum Tax Patch--Distribution Tables from the Tax Policy Center
David Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States on the "tsunami" of debt and the implications for our economic future (9 minute video from 60 Minutes)
Do Tax Cuts Increase Revenues? Here's the data ...
Warren Buffett on current tax policy and argument that increasing tax rates discourages economic activity (8 minute video).
How American attitudes toward taxes have changed! See these Disney cartoons about taxes during WWII ... Donald Duck in the Spirit of '43
The Other Donald Duck Tax Propaganda Film
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Quotes to Live By ..
"How many efficient markets theorists does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer: None. If the lightbulb needed changing the market would have already done it." (John Allen Paulos, author of Innumeracy)
"Accounting Saves Lives," (Ricketts' ACCT 2300 course, Spring 2007)
"Minds are like parachutes: they only function when they're open." (Lord Thomas Robert Dewar, Scottish whisky distiller)
"The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent" (John Maynard Keynes)
"You cannot make a good deal with a bad person." (Warren Buffett)
"No one can make you inferior without your consent." (Eleanor Roosevelt ?)
"When you combine ignorance with borrowed money, the results can be interesting." (Warren Buffett)
"Most people have a very hard time forgiving those whom they have deeply wronged." (Molly Ivins)
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. That is the principal difference between dogs and men." (Mark Twain)
"A Canadian is merely an unarmed American with healthcare." (Anonymous internet blogger)
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General Information for Tax Students
Link to CCH Online Tax Research
Tax Jobs -- updated link
Applying for and taking the CPA Exam by Sarah Darby (Brown, Graham & Co., PC)
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Good Reads
What Explains the Growing Gap in Wages? ("Only some people are coming out of college with the high-level abstract reasoning skills that fully complement the new information technologies and command high salaries. Workers with "midlevel" skills, by contrast, are more likely to see their tasks simply replaced by computers...")
Does Business Really Want Low Tax Rates? (short blog post on Tax Policy Center blog)
Taxes are the Basis of Civilization (Argument in favor of taxes, written by Neil Brooks, Canadian Law Professor--published in the Winnipeg Free Press, Dec 23, 2005)
If, When, How? A Primer on Fiscal Stimulus (Elmendorf, Furman -- with Congress and the administration talking about a $150 billion stimulus package, now is a good time to consider how effective such efforts have been historically)
Debtor Nation (Harvard Magazine article on the rising risks of our country's fiscal irresponsibility)
The Secrets of Intangible Wealth (Reason article on the importance of the rule of law, and education, for all nations)
The Most Praised Generation Goes to Work (WSJ article on need for praise in the workplace)
Why Income Inequality Matters (Charles Wheelan, the Naked Economist)
The Tyranny of the Market (Joel Waldfogel on the market's blind eye, from Slate magazine)
Tax Cuts Spur the Alpaca Market (WSJ article on the sometimes irrational manner in which people respond to tax incentives)
Deep in Debt, Deeper in Denial (short commentary on "Maxed Out," an upcoming documentary on predatory lenders -- sounds good)
Saving Our Nation's Future (David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States)
Ordered to Commit Fraud, A Staffer First Balked Then Caved
Rude to the Receptionist? Too Bad, You Just Blew the Interview
Summary of Major Tax Legislation 1981-2006
State Individual Income Tax Progressivity (research article comparing state income tax systems)
The Simple Return: Reducing America's Tax Burden Through Return-free Filing
Options for Reforming the Estate Tax
If You Think Taxes are a Pain Now ...
Taxing the Future: Fiscal Policy in the Bush Administration (book) -- order here
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Miscellaneous
Other Tax Links -- Links to Revenue Procedures, Revenue Rulings, Tax Forms, and more.
Statistical Abstract of the United States -- collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the U.S.
Consumer Price Index -- price change data (current and historical).
Compare Cities -- how would relocation affect your standard of living?
Best Places to Live -- compare crime rates, education, health, climate, etc. across cities.