The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with the various tax court cases involving individual and corporate transactions that have been decided at all levels of the United States court system. These cases have often established the precedent for the treatment of certain tax transactions, and serve as a source of tax research. Assigned court cases will reinforce the key concepts learned in class. Students will summarizeone of their choices of the following court cases using the "FICA" model of analysis:
Cavaretta v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo 2010-4.
Comm'r v. Indianapolis Power & Light Co., 493 US 203.
Comm'r v. Lincoln Electric Co., 176 F.2d 815
Comm'r v. Sullivan, 356 US 27.
Complete Auto Transit, Inc v. Brady, 430 US 274.
FICA stands for Fact, Issue, Conclusion, and Analysis and allows you to concisely summarize the conclusions of a court case. To summarize the case, follow these steps:
• State the facts of the case in a clear and concise matter
• Identify the issue(s)/laws at hand
• State the conclusion of the court
Complete your analysis of the findings as presented in the case (answer the question: "why did the court rule this way on this issue?")
Briefs should be at least three pages long, double-spaced, 12-point font.