Fundamentals of Federal Income Taxation: Cases and Materials

by James J. Freeland, Stephen A. Lind, Daniel J. Lathrope

This casebook provides detailed information on federal income taxation, with specific assignments to the Internal Revenue Code, selected cases, and administrative rulings from the Internal Revenue Service. The revised and updated Fourteenth Edition covers all recent legislation, including changes in statutory deferred compensation and medical savings accounts, personal and dependency exemptions, and charitable contributions. The book is updated to include 2006 legislative developments. The new edition of the casebook also contains coverage of the final rules on capitalization of intangibles, the Supreme Court's decision in Commissioner v. Banks, brief coverage of the report by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, and substantially revised text on computation of tax liability, including classification of taxpayers, tax rates, and tax credits.

Genres: Nonfiction, Law

1004 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Freeland was a professor for almost 40 years and co-founder of the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, one of the top-ranked tax law programs in the country.

Freeland earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1950 before attending UF Law, where he received his L.L.B and graduated second in his class. He also was a Graduate Fellow of Yale Law School. Upon graduation he headed to Hugh F. Culverhouse's Miami law firm, where he specialized in federal tax matters and eventually went on to manage the firm. Freeland returned to UF Law and became a member of the faculty in 1957. Except for a brief stint as a law professor at New York University's Graduate Tax Program, he served a law professor at UF until he retired in 1995

While at the University of Florida, Freeland coauthored many books and articles, such as the leading treatises Fundamentals of Federal Income Taxation, the most widely adopted tax law casebook in the United States, and Federal Income Taxation of Estates and Beneficiaries.

He received numerous honors, such as the Florida Blue Key Distinguished Faculty Award, the Distinguished Service Professor Award, the John Marshall Bar Association Outstanding Professor Award and the Florida Law Review Outstanding Professor Award. Freeland was also the first recipient of the Outstanding Tax Attorney in the State of Florida award, which is annually presented by the Tax Section of the Florida Bar, and was named an honorary member of Florida Blue Key.

Reviews

[Meredith Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s weird how with tax, you don’t have as many cases as you have statutes. I guess I don’t have that much else to say about the topic in general. I did the worst I’ve ever done on anything school-related ever on my tax midterm. It was weird, too, because I got full points on the essay part, but I just bombed the 20 multiple choice questions. Twenty questions, and it basically failed me. My opinion is that multiple choice is ridiculous with law – even the MPRE, and I passed that. So there, that is my opinion. Sorry, Ian, I am not good at your topic of law. Gimme Commerce Clause any day over depreciation.

Anyway, everyone basically knows about tax because we have to pay it. Gross income = inclusions and not exclusions (all income from whatever source derived unless it is specifically excluded. Yeah, that’s right, you should have included that). Adjusted gross income = GI – above-the-line deductions. Taxable income = AGI – below-the-line deductions (or standard deduction) and personal and dependent exemptions. Then you calculate the alternative minimum tax to see if you have to take that instead. Then you take the tax credits off. So, I guess I’d say I learned some stuff in this class, and this book is fine. My professor was very smart and accomplished, but is probably an insane person and cannot complete a sentence to save her life. That was a challenge.

There is a part in this book where they make some kind of crack about how women don’t support themselves, or something. I didn’t get the joke, but the professor doesn’t like that. So, if that’s actually the joke they were making, uncool old tax guys. Uncool. If they were saying something else, please be more precise, tax guys.

I’d hate to really say anything else because it might rub up against advice, and no one probably wants to know my advice about tax after the shitshow of that midterm. If the final goes a lot better, I might come back and get bossy. Probably I’ll just thank my lucky stars and walk away, though.

[Robbie McDonagh · Rating 1 out of 5]

How do I give negative stars

[Klaudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too shabby but I prefer a slower burn

Would also prefer if the cases weren’t literal riddles that I had to put into chat gpt to explain in “simpler terms”

I am also a political science major who cursed myself with taking tax. Do not recommend.

[Mar Garcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of this makes sense and the only part that does is basic math and shouldn’t be overly explained in this book.

[cora]

I want to know what kind of fruit tree the Supreme Court was talking about

[Bella Russell · Rating 1 out of 5]

👎

[Ke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sorry for giving this casebook such a low rating, but, the editors should really think about toning it down the tongue-in-cheek comments. I understand that the editors want to make the students interested Tax Law and, for most readers, it's not a sexy topic. However, commentary about hypothetical lawyers not getting enough sleep are really not credible and do not advance our understanding of the subject. The editors may consider studying expository or nonfiction writing if they want to make a tedious subject interesting.

[Kienie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine.

[Flannery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate, hate, hated tax law but somewhat enjoyed this casebook.