Emily Cauble, Tax Law's Loss Obsession, 2018 Utah L. Rev. 979 (2018).
Abstract
This Article will address tax law's inconsistent treatment of gains and
losses-focusing in particular on certain instances in which a taxpayer is
prevented from shifting a built-in loss to another taxpayer but would be
allowed to shift a built-in gain to another taxpayer. The article will explore
whether any legitimate justification can explain the inconsistency. Finding
no such legitimate justification for at least some of the examples, this
Article will conclude that lawmakers ought to have also addressed gains
and the failure to do so results from lawmakers crafting an overly narrow
response that addressed only the most recent, high-profile gimmick in
engineering transactions to reduce tax liability.
