Calvin H. Johnson | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Tax lawyer, author, and academic |
Academic background | |
Education | Columbia College (BA) Stanford Law School (JD) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Texas School of Law |
Calvin H. Johnson is an American tax lawyer,author,and academic. He holds the John T. Kipp Chair Emeritus at the University of Texas School of Law. [1]
Johnson's scholarship is in the fields of tax law and Constitutional history. His academic tax work has focused on defending the fairness,and efficiency of the tax base. In constitutional history,he relies on the original sources,usually to defend the plenary reach of the Federal government. He is the author of Righteous Anger at the Wicked States:The Meaning of the Founders' Constitution. [2]
Johnson earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia College in 1966,and received a Purple Heart for combat in an infantry reconnaissance unit in Vietnam in 1968. He earned a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1971 and practiced with Paul,Weiss,Goldberg,Rifkind,and Garrison in the tax department in New York City from 1971 to 1973. Following this he served in the U.S. Treasury,Office of Tax Legislative Council,from 1973 to 1975. [3]
Johnson began his academic career in 1975 as an assistant professor,then associate professor at Rutgers Law School,Newark. He joined the University of Texas School of Law in 1981 as a professor. He now serves as a John T. Kipp Chair in Business and Corporate Law Emeritus at the University of Texas. [3]
Johnson was a Fellow of the Tax Policy Center (joint program of Urban Institute and Brookings Institution) in 2011,a visiting professor at the Office of Chief Counsel,IRS,in 2007,a Member of the Academic Advisers on the Overall Health of the Tax System for the Joint Committee on Taxation in 2001,a Dean's Distinguished Visitor at Vanderbilt Law School in 2000,a Member of the IRS Commissioner's Advisory Group in 1989 and a Guest Scholar at The Brookings Institution in 1980. [1]
Johnson's primary field is tax law,where he has published over 200 articles. In litigation,Johnson's brief in "Thor Power Tool v. Commissioner" in 1977 appeared to provide the rationale and outline for the Supreme Court's opinion,which held that tax law was not governed by GAAP non-tax accounting rules. [4]
His 1982 paper "Tax Shelter Gain:The Mismatch of Debt and Supply Side Depreciation" explained that the law cannot both allow expensing of equipment and an interest deduction without creating wasteful tax shelter subsidies. [5]
The "Financial Impact of the 1986 Tax Reform Act on Real Estate:A View from the Spreadsheets" showed that the Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced the value of depreciable real estate by roughly half. [6]
Later Johnson wrote "A Thermometer for the Tax System:The Overall Health of the Tax System as Measured by Implicit Tax",which showed that the reduction in interest rate generated by the tax exemption on municipal bonds is modest,which demonstrates how ineffective as an incentive device and loophole-ridden America's income tax system is. [7]
In "Was it Lost? Personal Deductions under Tax Reform",he contended that personal deductions are legitimate if they represent the loss of standard of living,but not if they are for the purchase of benefits the taxpayer achieves in return. [8]
"Contributions to Capital from Nonowners," a 2010 article,argued that contributions from nonowners increase the net worth of the corporation and its shareholders and are properly taxed. [9] The article lead Congress to contract the exemption from tax for contributions from nonowners.
In 2011,the Onion published a satirical piece running off his argument that computer games like Doom were the most heavily subsidized industry in America. [10]
The 2011 work,"Corporate Meltdowns Caused by Compensatory Stock Options",showed that high officer stock options give an unbudgeted,uncontrolled subsidy for the officers to go into high-risk investments that have a negative expected value,but which enrich the option holders and endanger the corporation. [11]
His article "Measure Tax Expenditures by Internal Rate of Return",concluded that given the general interest deduction,tax expenditures or tax subsidies need to be measured from a base of reducing internal rate of return by the statutory tax rate. This is the measure both for Samuelson depreciation and in the effective tax rate measure used in the Tax Reform Act of 1986. [12]
"No orchard,no capital gain" argued that,under the original principled conceptual roots of "capital gain," a taxpayer needs to possess a property with the basis for the gain to qualify as capital gain. [13]
Focusing on the necessity to align the adjusted basis with the value set by the smart public market,the paper titled "Fair income tax on the trillion-dollar behemoths" argues for the need to capitalize the costs of intangible investments. [14]
In 2022,Johnson wrote the article "Interest ceiling must be adjusted basis times interest rate",which argued that to avoid negative tax,better than mere tax exemption,a ceiling on interest deductions equal to taxpayers' adjusted basis in property creditors can reach times the interest rate is required. In this structure,he wrote,there would be an exception allowed for loan balances reduced by year-end. [15]
"Determine Dividends by Shareholder Gains,Not Corporate E&P," argues that the current law of dividends,depending on corporate earnings and profits,is dysfunctional and that shareholders need to be allowed recovery of basis not by looking at a corporate account,but only when they have lost basis looking to their own situation. [16]
Johnson's 2022 piece,"Cut off the Equity Funds," published in Tax Notes Federal,emphasized the need to cut off the extraordinary tax-driven subsidy the Private Equity Funds get on their leveraged buyouts,replacing equity with interest-deductible,high-risk debt. He explained the need to expand section 279 of the Code to take away the interest deduction on debt incurred to buy back the issuer's own stock. [17]
Johnson led the 'Shelf Project',published by Tax Notes,which created ideas,in the nature of war plans,to enhance the tax base when Congress is ready. The Shelf Project has published 84 ideas and work on the project continues. [18]
Johnson has also worked in the area of constitutional law. His book,Righteous Anger at the Wicked States:The Meaning of the Founders' Constitution presents an intellectual history of the arguments leading to the adoption of the Constitution. In this book,he argued that the Constitution was written and ratified to create a strong national government with the power to tax to maintain payments to the Dutch on the Revolutionary War debts. [2]
Johnson has consistently argued for the complete overturning of Pollock v. Farmers' Trust in 1894,where apportionment of direct tax among the states was erroneously used as a killing requirement. In the original meaning,the apportionment of tax by population was intended to measure wealth by the contribution to wealth of the labor of its people and to achieve a uniform tax rate on states' wealth. However,when apportionment failed to achieve uniform rates,the Founders strategically clarified the meaning of 'direct tax' to avoid the application of apportionment. [19]
In "Impost Begat Convention:Albany and New York Confront the Ratification of the Constitution" he argued that the New York debates over ratification of the Constitution were primarily over whether New York State or the National government would get the revenue from the impost on the New York harbor import. [20] He has reviewed books on Constitutional history. [21]
His "Sola Scriptura:Slavery,Federalism and the Textual Power to Provide for the General Welfare" argued that the Constitution's text grants Congress the authority to use taxation and other necessary and proper means to ensure the common defense and general welfare. [22]
The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA),or Kemp–Roth Tax Cut,was an Act that introduced a major tax cut,which was designed to encourage economic growth. The Act was enacted by the 97th US Congress and signed into law by US President Ronald Reagan. The Accelerated Cost Recovery System (ACRS) was a major component of the Act and was amended in 1986 to become the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS).
A dividend tax is a tax imposed by a jurisdiction on dividends paid by a corporation to its shareholders (stockholders). The primary tax liability is that of the shareholder,though a tax obligation may also be imposed on the corporation in the form of a withholding tax. In some cases the withholding tax may be the extent of the tax liability in relation to the dividend. A dividend tax is in addition to any tax imposed directly on the corporation on its profits. Some jurisdictions do not tax dividends.
In economics and accounting,the cost of capital is the cost of a company's funds,or from an investor's point of view is "the required rate of return on a portfolio company's existing securities". It is used to evaluate new projects of a company. It is the minimum return that investors expect for providing capital to the company,thus setting a benchmark that a new project has to meet.
In financial accounting,free cash flow (FCF) or free cash flow to firm (FCFF) is the amount by which a business's operating cash flow exceeds its working capital needs and expenditures on fixed assets. It is that portion of cash flow that can be extracted from a company and distributed to creditors and securities holders without causing issues in its operations. As such,it is an indicator of a company's financial flexibility and is of interest to holders of the company's equity,debt,preferred stock and convertible securities,as well as potential lenders and investors.
A corporate tax,also called corporation tax or company tax,is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level,but it may also be imposed at state or local levels in some countries. Corporate taxes may be referred to as income tax or capital tax,depending on the nature of the tax.
Tax advantage refers to the economic bonus which applies to certain accounts or investments that are,by statute,tax-reduced,tax-deferred,or tax-free. Examples of tax-advantaged accounts and investments include retirement plans,education savings accounts,medical savings accounts,and government bonds. Governments establish tax advantages to encourage private individuals to contribute money when it is considered to be in the public interest.
In business and accounting,net income is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold,expenses,depreciation and amortization,interest,and taxes for an accounting period.
Although the actual definitions vary between jurisdictions,in general,a direct tax or income tax is a tax imposed upon a person or property as distinct from a tax imposed upon a transaction,which is described as an indirect tax. There is a distinction between direct and indirect tax depending on whether the tax payer is the actual taxpayer or if the amount of tax is supported by a third party,usually a client. The term may be used in economic and political analyses,but does not itself have any legal implications. However,in the United States,the term has special constitutional significance because of a provision in the U.S. Constitution that any direct taxes imposed by the national government be apportioned among the states on the basis of population. In the European Union direct taxation remains the sole responsibility of member states.
The Tax Reform Act of 1969 was a United States federal tax law signed by President Richard Nixon in 1969. Its largest impact was creating the Alternative Minimum Tax,which was intended to tax high-income earners who had previously avoided incurring tax liability due to various exemptions and deductions.
Return of capital (ROC) refers to principal payments back to "capital owners" that exceed the growth of a business or investment. It should not be confused with Rate of Return (ROR),which measures a gain or loss on an investment. It is essentially a return of some or all of the initial investment,which reduces the basis on that investment.
The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate,which may increase as income increases,to taxable income,which is the total income less allowable deductions. Income is broadly defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable,and estates and trusts may be taxable on undistributed income. Partnerships are not taxed,but their partners are taxed on their shares of partnership income. Residents and citizens are taxed on worldwide income,while nonresidents are taxed only on income within the jurisdiction. Several types of credits reduce tax,and some types of credits may exceed tax before credits. An Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) applies at the federal and some state levels.
The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 is an American law,which was enacted on May 17,2006.
A company is said to be thinly capitalised when the level of its debt is much greater than its equity capital,i.e. its gearing,or leverage,is very high. An entity's debt-to-equity funding is sometimes expressed as a ratio. For example,a gearing ratio of 1.5:1 means that for every $1 of equity the entity has $1.5 of debt.
Corporate tax is imposed in the United States at the federal,most state,and some local levels on the income of entities treated for tax purposes as corporations. Since January 1,2018,the nominal federal corporate tax rate in the United States of America is a flat 21% following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. State and local taxes and rules vary by jurisdiction,though many are based on federal concepts and definitions. Taxable income may differ from book income both as to timing of income and tax deductions and as to what is taxable. The corporate Alternative Minimum Tax was also eliminated by the 2017 reform,but some states have alternative taxes. Like individuals,corporations must file tax returns every year. They must make quarterly estimated tax payments. Groups of corporations controlled by the same owners may file a consolidated return.
In the United States,individuals and corporations pay a tax on the net total of all their capital gains. The tax rate depends on both the investor's tax bracket and the amount of time the investment was held. Short-term capital gains are taxed at the investor's ordinary income tax rate and are defined as investments held for a year or less before being sold. Long-term capital gains,on dispositions of assets held for more than one year,are taxed at a lower rate.
The history of taxation in the United States begins with the colonial protest against British taxation policy in the 1760s,leading to the American Revolution. The independent nation collected taxes on imports ("tariffs"),whiskey,and on glass windows. States and localities collected poll taxes on voters and property taxes on land and commercial buildings. In addition,there were the state and federal excise taxes. State and federal inheritance taxes began after 1900,while the states began collecting sales taxes in the 1930s. The United States imposed income taxes briefly during the Civil War and the 1890s. In 1913,the 16th Amendment was ratified,however,the United States Constitution Article 1,Section 9 defines a direct tax. The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution did not create a new tax.
Crane v. Commissioner,331 U.S. 1 (1947),was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court concerning the value,for tax purposes,of inherited property with a nonrecourse mortgage encumbering it. According to Boris I. Bittker,Crane "laid the foundation stone of most tax shelters."
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a tax imposed by the United States federal government in addition to the regular income tax for certain individuals,estates,and trusts. As of tax year 2018,the AMT raises about $5.2 billion,or 0.4% of all federal income tax revenue,affecting 0.1% of taxpayers,mostly in the upper income ranges.
Taxation in Norway is levied by the central government,the county municipality and the municipality. In 2012 the total tax revenue was 42.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Many direct and indirect taxes exist. The most important taxes –in terms of revenue –are VAT,income tax in the petroleum sector,employers' social security contributions and tax on "ordinary income" for persons. Most direct taxes are collected by the Norwegian Tax Administration and most indirect taxes are collected by the Norwegian Customs and Excise Authorities.
The Abgeltungsteuer is a flat tax on private income from capital. It is used in Germany,Austria,and Luxembourg.