1 of 3 Accounting 816 Special Tax Topics in Federal Taxation
Summer 2015 Tax Policy Student Presentation Tuesday May 26th &
Wednesday May 27th In recent years, there has been a great deal of
discussion regarding the need for tax reform.The Joint Committee on
Taxation prepared the Report to the House Committee on Ways and
Means on Present Law and Suggestions for Reform Submitted to the
Tax Reform Working Groups (May 6, 2013). The report can be found at
www.jct.gov ; report JCS-3-13.You are not expected to read the
report; it is 558 pages.However, it may give you an idea of the
some of the proposals and discussions regarding tax reform.
Additionally, the House Ways and Means Committee issued a draft tax
reform The Tax Reform Act of 2014 (February 2014).The Tax Reform
Act of 2014 can be found at http://tax.house.gov; the Executive
Summary provides an overview of the proposals which may also be
helpful for your presentation. Another article that may be of
interest is a summary of proposals contained in Tax Reform in the
113th Congress: An Overview of Proposals, March 24, 2014
(Congressional Research Service).
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43060.pdf Additional materials
posted on blackboard that may helpful are: Tax News & Views,
February 6, 2015: FY 2016 budget blueprint reflects presidents call
for business tax reform, infrastructure spending, middle-class tax
relief (Deloitte Publication). The politics of tax reform in the
114th Congress, April 15, 2015 (Deloitte Publication). Assignment
100 points Students will prepare and present an 8 to 10 minute
PowerPoint presentation addressing certain aspects of tax
policyEmail your presentation to Kay Maresh at [email protected]
by 1:00 PM on Tuesday, May 26th. Additionally, please bring your
presentation to class on a USB drive/flash drive or your computer.
Each student should ask at least two questions to presenters during
the two days of presentations. There are no right or wrong
answers.Presentations will be graded based on the students ability
to discuss the tax provisions and provide arguments to support
their position. There is no set format for the PowerPoint slides.No
paper is required. BE CREATIVE and HAVE FUN! Pick a tax policy
topic to discuss in your presentation. Turn in your topic sections
on the attached Topic List in class on Wednesday, May 20th
2 of 3 Tax Policy Student Presentation Your presentation should
include: 1)Why you chose the topic 2)Current Law briefly explain
the current law 3)Why do you think the provisions were made law
(encourage certain behaviors, discourage certain behaviors, other
reasons) 4)Do you agree with current law why or why not? 5)Explain
any proposed changes to the law that you can find 6)Would you leave
the current law as is, or change the law?If you would change the
law, how would you change it? (Repeal, revisions to current law,
etc.) 7)Last Slide of every presentation: There have been proposals
to implement a national sales tax in the United States.Do you agree
with implementing a national sales tax?Why or why not? (You may
consider including information on the percentage of taxpayers that
claim the credit/deduction, etc. and/or dollar impact on tax
revenue.This information will not be available on all topics.) Tax
Topic Selection list is on Page 3 3 of 3 NAME:
__________________________________ Tax Policy Student Presentation
Topic List Rank five topics you would like to present from one to
five with first choice indicated with a 1, through fifth choice
indicated with a 5. Turn in this Topic List at the end of class on
Wednesday, May 20th, and topics selections will be finalized at the
end of class on Thursday, May 21st. TopicChoice Rank Research &
Development Credit___________ Education Credits___________ Earned
Income Credit___________ Work Opportunity Credit & other
employment credits___________ Oil & Gas and Alternative Energy
Credits___________ Retirement Savings credits &
deductions___________ Low income housing credit___________ Child
Credit and Child & dependent care credit___________ Residential
Energy Credit___________ New Markets Tax Credit___________ Carried
Interest___________ Limit on deduction for executive
compensation___________ Home mortgage interest and real estate tax
deductions___________ Charitable contribution deductions___________
Investment interest and investment fees & expenses
deductions___________ Minimum tax on foreign earnings___________
Special lower rate for capital gains and dividends___________
Estate Tax___________ Flat tax versus progressive rates___________
LIFO method of accounting for inventory___________ Bonus and
accelerated tax deprecation___________ Alternative Minimum
Tax___________ Corporate dividends-received-deduction___________
Like-Kind Exchanges___________ Income Averaging ___________
Domestic Production Activities Deduction___________ Lower tax rate
for dividends from foreign companies instead of foreign tax
credit___________ Social Security & Medicare taxes on S
corporation earnings and limited partners___________ Non-qualified
deferred compensation plans___________ Charitable Organizations
exempt from taxation (what types, if any, should be
permitted)___________ Tax on Financial Institutions___________
Deduction for research and experimental expenses___________ Foreign
Earned income exclusion for individuals___________ Exclusion for
employer provided health, group term life, and disability
insurance___________ Excise tax on medical devices___________ Other
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