USC Law Dean Edward J. McCaffery presented a keynote address at the 2007 Tax Institute Jan. 24. McCaffery, an internationally renowned expert
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| Dean Edward J. McCaffery |
The estate tax – in its current form – may simply encourage the decadent lifestyles of the rich and famous and their heirs.
“I think you can make a very good case that the existence of the estate tax has led to greater problems,” McCaffery said.“It’s the existence of the estate tax, and the existence of generation-gifting tax, that has led to dynasty trusts.”
Although Congress has voted on proposed repeals of the tax more than once in recent years, the estate tax isn’t going anywhere soon, McCaffery said. A number of factors combine to make repeal unlikely: It is an issue of high stakes to only a small group; any repeal of the tax would be permanent; the issue has more than two sides (19 sitting Senators have flipped their votes); and the tax has little or no “ballot box significance.”
“Nobody is getting elected – or not getting elected – because of this issue,” McCaffery said.
McCaffery spoke during the institute’s final day. The three-day conference, dedicated to exploring trends and pressing issues in estate planning, also explored topics in corporate and business tax planning, real estate, ethical dilemmas facing tax practitioners, and partnerships and individual tax planning.
Held Jan. 22 to 24 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, the 2007 USC Law Tax Institute also featured keynote addresses by Lindy L. Paull, former chief of staff, U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation; and Donald L. Korb, chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service, who also presented a session on tax court litigation.
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| Dean McCaffery with Nancy Iredale |
The institute is one of six organized annually by USC Law’s Continuing Legal Education program. For more information on the events, visit the CLE web site.
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