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Tax Law
Just the thought of tax as an area of practice is enough to make some people shudder. For others, the idea of dealing with numbers all day sounds appealing.
Tax law is an area that is constantly changing with the political climate. New tax laws can leave tax lawyers scrambling to handle all of the questions and problems that clients come across.
It is important to note that the tax laws themselves may be federal, state, or local. That’s a lot of information to keep track of, especially when it’s frequently changing!
According to Legal Career Path, these are the tax disputes that tax lawyers deal with:
- Income tax
- Estate tax
- Capital gains tax
- Taxes that promote environmentally sound activities
- Vice tax or sin tax
- Business tax
- Employment and payroll tax
- Property tax
- Import tax
- Taxes on gifts
(What is Tax Law)
As you can see, this really offers a variety of situations that tax lawyers can help out with. What happens if a local business owner gets in trouble for not paying payroll tax? What if a company wants to know what environmentally related taxes apply to it? What if a taxpayer disputes a tax? Better call a tax lawyer!
Note: tax lawyers do not prepare tax returns!
Essentially, tax lawyers help out in these ways:
- Giving advice about tax implications so that sound business decisions can be made
- Helping a client who disputes a tax imposed on him or her
- Helping a client who has been accused of a tax violation
- They may represent clients on civil or criminal matters
Education and Background:
Because tax law is so complicated, having a background in business, accounting, or finance may be useful. Getting an LL.M. may also prepare a lawyer for the complex tax issues he or she will have to deal with.
What if you want to represent clients in front of the IRS? To become an Enrolled Agent, you must either have worked for the IRS before or you must pass a comprehensive IRS test.
Tax is one of those areas that a lot of people are surprised to find they actually like. Taking a tax law class in law school will expose you to the basics, and you will quickly find out whether you enjoy it.
Getting a job:
You know what they say about death and taxes! So, don’t worry, you’re not likely to have a hard time finding some sort of employment in this area of law. Reports state that tax is a relatively safe field to work in, and if anything, demand is only increasing with the heated political climate.
In addition to finding a job as a tax lawyer at either a large or a small firm, opportunities are available to work as in-house counsel for large companies or to work for the government.
Average salary:
In 2014, the median salary for tax lawyers was $99,690 (Lawyer Salary – Top Ten Law Careers).
Would you like this practice area?
If you have a general interest in business and enjoy working with numbers, tax law might be a good area of law for you. Tax law is like solving a puzzle; you must be a creative problem-solver to succeed. If you are looking for an area of law that is “safe,” you don’t have to worry about tax law going away. However, if you are looking for an area of law that is “stable,” tax law is not it! Especially in recent years, tax law has undergone some dramatic changes, leaving taxpayers scrambling to understand new laws.
Consider whether these articles interest you:
Section 199A and Choice of Passthrough Entity (Burke)
“In 2017, Congress drastically reduced the corporate tax rate and provided an unprecedented deduction under section 199A for qualifying passthrough business income. Although purportedly necessary to maintain tax parity between income earned in corporate and noncorporate form, section 199A encourages active high-income passthrough owners to misclassify labor income as business profit, thereby reducing both income and employment taxes.” Read more
The Compulsory Tax Constraint for Foreign Tax Credits Post TCJA & Coca-Cola Co. v. Commissioner (Cohen)
“One condition imposed by the Treasury Regulations for a foreign levy to be creditable is that the tax must be a “compulsory payment pursuant to the authority of a foreign country to levy taxes.” This Article focuses on the purpose and application of that prerequisite which serves to prevent taxpayers from “pursuing the path of least resistance in dealing with foreign tax authorities.” This restriction was the subject of recent litigation in the United States Tax Court in Coca-Cola Co. v. Commissioner.” Read more
No Orchard, No Capital Gain (Johnson)
“As a matter of principle, capital gain is the gain from invested capital or basis. If the taxpayer has no basis in something of value it sells, there is no capital gain. The principle that capital gain is gain from capital is embedded in the ordinary English language meaning of “capital gain,” which reflects the long history of the English property system going back into feudal tenures. Property purchased by expenses charged to the income interest remains part of the income interest and does not become capital gain reserved for the next heir.” Read more
Conclusion:
Although on the surface tax law may seem “boring,” there are actually a wide variety of issues that tax lawyers deal with, and the constantly changing state of the tax laws is sure to keep tax lawyers on their toes.
Transportation
Law
Transportation law involves the regulations of any form of travel including by air, by water, and by rail. Much of the regulation comes from the federal government because transportation impacts interstate commerce and thus falls under the Commerce Clause.
Some of the issues covered by transportation law include requirements for building transportation vehicles, rules for who can own public transportation networks, and determining who may use limited resources.
States also create their own transportation laws such as requirements to obtain a license.
The use of drones is an emerging issue in airspace transportation law. For more information about lawyers who deal with “in the air” issues, see our Aviation and Aerospace section. For more information about lawyers who deal with “in the water” issues, see our Admiralty/Maritime section. Some of the federal transportation agencies for other areas within transportation law include the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Railroad Administration. The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency to improve transportation safety.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is the overarching government department that according to their website was created to, “Ensure our nation has the safest, most efficient and modern transportation system in the world; that improves the quality of life for all American people and communities, from rural to urban, and increases the productivity and competitiveness of American workers and businesses.”
You may want a student membership with the Transportation Lawyers Association to stay on top of what is going on in the transportation industry.
There are jobs available with the government as well as in the private sector. In the private sector, some lawyers choose to focus exclusively on transportation while others incorporate it into a more general practice.
Understanding technical details and the science behind transporta