Government tax treasures: legislatures, governmental agencies, and the Tax Court generate a trove of free resources for teaching tax principles and provisions.

• Author: Nellen, Annette

Governments at all levels produce a lot of materials, many of which are excellent resources to better understand and appreciate tax law and policy.

This column describes five types of governmental documents and videos and how they can be incorporated into a classroom and tax pedagogy, making readings and class discussion more interesting and real. They can illustrate the current relevance of the course topics from both practice and policy perspectives. Some government materials will remind students of the need to understand taxation from the perspective of their roles as both accountants and as citizens. Furthermore, these resources are free, and they allow students to engage in a favored activity--searching the web.

The five resources described here include general ones available from most governments at all levels, as well as two specific ones. Certainly, more than the five types of government documents selected here can be incorporated into any tax class at any level. These documents can also enrich continuing education courses for tax practitioners and serve as wonderful resources for faculty to generate ideas for research and publication.

The five government resources addressed in this column are:

1. Legislative proposals;

2. Legislative hearings;

3. Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) reports;

4. Tax Court summary opinions; and

5. City government documents.

Legislative Proposals

At the federal level, numerous legislative tax proposals can be selected from for use in a tax course. For just the first five months of the 114th Congress (January through May 2015), a search at congress.gov for the term "tax" resulted in a listing of over 750 bills and resolutions. A similar search at a state legislature's website is likely to produce far fewer items, but still likely plenty of material.

Activities for bringing legislative proposals into an undergraduate or graduate tax course can include:

Proposals to change rules that are covered In class: Have students search congress.gov using words that relate to a Code section covered in class. For an introductory tax course, proposals should be available on depreciation (Secs. 168, 179, and 280F), charitable contributions (Sec. 170), and the mortgage interest deduction (Sec. 163(h)(3)). The instructor can ask students to explain how the proposal changes the rule and why it was introduced (a visit to the sponsor's website may help) and to provide an example of a taxpayer affected by the change. Also, students can be asked what they think of the proposal and why.

This also can help students consider ways to evaluate a legislative proposal, such as by its effects on government revenues, individuals of varying income levels, different sizes and types of businesses, the national and local economies, and state governments. Students can then analyze whether the change would help the tax system to better meet key principles of good tax policy, such as equity, simplicity, and economic efficiency. A 2005 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Understanding the Tax Reform Debate: Background, Criteria & Questions (GAO Rep't No. GAO-05-1009SP), as well as the AICPA's Guiding Principles of Good Tax Policy...