Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-26-2010

Publication Title

State Tax Notes

Publication Title (Abbreviation)

St. Tax Notes

Issue

56

First Page

307

Last Page

310

Abstract

The last installment of this column began an examination of the use of the federal civil RICO Act in state and local tax administration controversies. This installment closes the loop by answering questions posed, but not resolved, last time. This column explores whether uncollected tax revenue - or loss of the opportunity to collect tax revenue - constitutes “business or property” under the civil RICO statute. This exploration also takes up the related question whether tax authorities will be able to overcome judicial reluctance to turning RICO into a tax collection statute.

Part I of this column reprises how RICO can come into play in state and local tax controversies. Part II describes why the “business or property” issue may determine the outcome in some future cases. Part III evaluates whether the opportunity to collect tax revenue should constitute business or property for RICO purposes. It concludes that although the question is a close one, that opportunity is unlikely to be held to be business or property by the current U.S. Supreme Court.

Rights

© 2010 Steve R. Johnson

Comments

First published in State Tax Notes.

Faculty Biography

http://www.law.fsu.edu/our-faculty/profiles/johnson

Download

Share

COinS