Perspectives on Taxation Series

In baseball, if the runner touches the base at the same time as the baseman catches the ball or tags the runner, the runner is safe. In other words, a tie goes to the runner. State and federal tax controversies also can involve close calls, either because the facts supporting the two sides are balanced or because the law is unsettled.  When that happens, when the case is close, should the court hold for the taxpayer or the revenue bureau? Courts have answered this question differently in different eras and in different jurisdictions. This program will explore the competing principles bearing on the question, including their history, persuasiveness, and current strength.

Professor Steve Johnson is a nationally recognized scholar on tax litigation and procedure, including legislative and administrative law topics in tax. Among other courses, he teaches Income Taxation, Taxation of Business Entities, Business Planning, International Tax and Administrative Law. His publications include two casebooks, Civil Tax Procedure (2d ed., Lexis-Nexis 2008) (with David Richardson & Jerome Borison) and Tax Crimes (Lexis-Nexis 2008) (with Scott Schumacher, Larry Campagna & John Towensend), as well as numerous articles on tax procedure and tax law. He is a columnist for State Tax Notes and an associate editor of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation NewsQuarterly.

Johnson practiced tax law in New York City, after which he served as a senior attorney with the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office and a Special Assistant United States Attorney. He also has taught at Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law and the University of Alabama School of Law, and has visited at Chicago-Kent College of Law and the University of California Hastings College of the Law.