Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a legal context. The rates and merits of the various taxes, imposed by the authorities, are attained via the political process inherent in these bodies of power, and not directly attributable to the actual domain of tax law itself.
22-565: The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( IRC ), is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States. It is codified in statute as Title 26 of the United States Code . The IRC is organized topically into subtitles and sections, covering federal income tax in the United States , payroll taxes , estate taxes , gift taxes , and excise taxes ; as well as procedure and administration. The Code's implementing federal agency
44-538: A 4 percent dividend tax credit for individuals. The Internal Revenue Code of 1954 was enacted in the form of a separate code by act of August 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 1 . The Tax Reform Act of 1986 changed the name of the 1954 Code to the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986". In addition to being published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, the Internal Revenue Code
66-470: A Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.), a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.), or a Doctor of Laws degree (LL.D.) with emphasis on tax law. A list of tax faculty ranked by publication downloads is maintained by Paul Caron at TaxProf Blog. Taxable income Taxable income refers to the base upon which an income tax system imposes tax . In other words, the income over which the government imposed tax. Generally, it includes some or all items of income and
88-622: A lawyer. Further post-graduate practical training is required. Graduates earn an undergraduate law degree, viz. the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), via a four-year program (as in Malawi, Kenya, Zambia, and most of South African law universities). Subsequently, graduates with the Bachelor of Laws seek to earn the Master of Laws or greater in order to become practitioners of the law. Some law institutions offer tracks to
110-597: Is a specialisation of accountants, tax agents, and lawyers. Accountants are required by either CPA Australia to complete a course in law of taxation and law of financial services. There is a legal obligation to complete taxation law and commercial law for registration as a tax agent with the Tax Practitioner's Board. Law students are not typically required to complete a unit in tax law, but may opt to take it as an elective in Australian universities. Most African countries use
132-479: Is derived or levied, e.g. income tax, estate tax, business tax, employment/payroll tax, property tax, gift tax and exports/imports tax. There have been some arguments that consumer law is a better way to engage in large-scale redistribution than tax law because it does not necessitate legislation and can be more efficient, given the complexities of tax law. Primary taxation issues differ among various countries, although similarities might exist. Tax law education
154-467: Is imposed by Internal Revenue Code esection 11. The organization of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted in hundreds of Public Laws passed by the U.S. Congress since 1954, is identical to the organization of the Internal Revenue Code separately published as Title 26 of the U.S. Code. For example, section 45(b)(7)(B)(i)(I)(aa)(AA) ( 26 U.S.C. 45(e)(7)(B)(i)(I)(aa) ) would be as follows: Title 26: Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code
176-428: Is reduced by expenses and other deductions. The amounts included as income, expenses, and other deductions vary by country or system. Many systems provide that some types of income are not taxable (sometimes called non-assessable income) and some expenditures not deductible in computing taxable income. Some systems base tax on taxable income of the current period, and some on prior periods. Taxable income may refer to
198-542: Is separately published as Title 26 of the United States Code. The text of the Internal Revenue Code as published in title 26 of the U.S. Code is virtually identical to the Internal Revenue Code as published in the various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large . Of the 50 enacted titles, the Internal Revenue Code is the only volume that has been published in the form of a separate code. With respect to
220-561: Is the Internal Revenue Service . Prior to 1874, U.S. statutes (whether in tax law or other subjects) were not codified. That is, the acts of Congress were not organized and published in separate volumes based on the subject matter (such as taxation, bankruptcy, etc.). Codifications of statutes, including tax statutes, undertaken in 1873 resulted in the Revised Statutes of the United States , approved June 22, 1874, effective for
242-451: Is topically organized and generally referred to by section number (sections 1 through 9834). Some topics are short (e.g., tax rates) and some quite long (e.g., pension & benefit plans). Key IRC Topics By Section: (This is not intended to be a complete list of sections.) Tax law Tax law is part of public law. It covers the application of existing tax laws on individuals, entities and corporations, in areas where tax revenue
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#1732844183928264-486: The federal income tax on individuals, the 1954 Code imposed a progressive tax with 24 income brackets applying to tax rates ranging from 20% to 91%. For example, the following is a schedule showing the federal marginal income tax rate imposed on each level of taxable income of a single (unmarried) individual under the 1954 Code: References to the Internal Revenue Code in the United States Code and other statutes of Congress subsequent to 1954 generally mean Title 26 of
286-479: The "Internal Revenue Code" (later known as the "Internal Revenue Code of 1939"). The 1939 Code was published as volume 53, Part I, of the United States Statutes at Large and as title 26 of the United States Code. Subsequent permanent tax laws enacted by the United States Congress updated and amended the 1939 Code. On August 16, 1954, in connection with a general overhaul of the Internal Revenue Service ,
308-524: The 1986 Code retained most of the same lettering and numbering of subtitles, chapters, subchapters, parts, subparts, sections, etc. The 1986 Code, as amended from time to time (and still published as title 26 of the United States Code), retains the basic structure of the 1954 Code. Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes the federal income tax on the taxable income of U.S. citizens and residents, and of estates and trusts. The corporate income tax
330-482: The British legal education curriculum in their law educational system to train lawyers. Overall, legal education, across African countries, starts at the university level as an undergraduate course although a few universities have promulgated a law degree as a graduate program "akin to [that] … in the United States, Canada, and India." In most African countries, a law degree does not necessarily qualify one to practice as
352-667: The Code as amended. The basic structure of Title 26 remained the same until the enactment of the comprehensive revision contained in Tax Reform Act of 1986 , although individual provisions of the law were changed on a regular basis. Section 2 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 provides (in part): Thus, the 1954 Code was renamed the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by section 2 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 . The 1986 Act contained substantial amendments, but no formal re-codification. That is,
374-461: The IRC was greatly reorganized by the 83rd United States Congress and expanded (by Chapter 736, Pub. L. 83–591 ). Ward M. Hussey was the principal drafter of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The code was published in volume 68A of the United States Statutes at Large . To prevent confusion with the 1939 Code, the new version was thereafter referred to as the "Internal Revenue Code of 1954" and
396-476: The United Kingdom and the United States. Some systems allow tax deductions for certain nonbusiness expenses (sometimes called personal or domestic expenses). Such outlays may include personal expenses, such as a home mortgage interest deduction , and vary widely by jurisdiction. In addition, many systems only levy taxes on earnings above an income tax threshold , allow deductions for personal allowances or
418-562: The United States, gross income includes all income realized from whatever source but excludes particular tax-exempt items, such as municipal bond interest. In 2010, the United Kingdom and the United States both provided reduced rates of tax for capital gains and dividends. Most systems and jurisdictions allow businesses to reduce taxable income by cost of goods or other property sold, as well as deductions for business expenses . Many systems limit some sorts of business deductions. For example, deductions for automobile expenses are limited in
440-494: The income of any taxpayer, including individuals and corporations, as well as entities that themselves do not pay tax, such as partnerships, in which case it may be called “net profit”. Most systems require that all income realized (or derived) be included in taxable income. Some systems provide tax exemption for some types of income. Many systems impose tax at different rates for differing types (e.g., capital gains or salaries) or levels of income (e.g., graduated rates ). In
462-534: The laws in force as of December 1, 1873. Title 35 of the Revised Statutes was the Internal revenue title. Another codification was undertaken in 1878. In 1919, a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives began a project to recodify U.S. statutes, which eventually resulted in a new United States Code in 1926 (including tax statutes). The tax statutes were re-codified by an Act of Congress on February 10, 1939 as
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#1732844183928484-625: The prior version as the "Internal Revenue Code of 1939". The lettering and numbering of subtitles, sections, etc., was completely changed. For example, section 22 of the 1939 Code (defining gross income) was roughly analogous to section 61 of the 1954 Code. The 1954 Code replaced the 1939 Code as title 26 of the United States Code . The 1954 Code temporarily extended the Revenue Act of 1951 's 5 percentage point increase in corporate tax rates through March 31, 1955, increased depreciation deductions by providing additional depreciation schedules, and created
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