Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

DES MOINES LAWYER PUBLISHES LAW REVIEW PIECE ON 'MURPHY' ISSUES

February 20, 2007

The TaxProf notes that John Fatino of the Whitfield and Eddy law firm has published "The Tax Treatment of Verdicts and Settlements Following the Adoption of the Jobs Creation Act of 2004: Paradise Found for the Employment Lawyer?" in the Northern Illinois University Law Review. It covers the issues that rose to prominence following the now-withdrawn Murphy decision on whistleblower damages.

Mr. Fatino seems to think that the original Murphy logic may hold up:

Shortly before this article went to press, a panel of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held § 104(a)(2) unconstitutional, in so far as it permits the taxation of an award of damages for mental distress and loss of reputation, because such items would not have been income to the framers of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Practitioners should closely examine this opinion for additional grounds of attack on the taxation of physical and non-physical injuries. Moreover, there is an excellent discussion as to whether a payment on account of physical injury is compensation for loss of capital.

Congratulations to Mr. Fatino for his work and for getting published.

 • Murphy decision       Bookmark: del.icio.us • Digg • reddit