Corporate tax lawyers like the tax – a lot. Corporate tax managers can’t live without it. The Big Four accounting firms have an army of partners who have become rich working on corporate tax issues. State revenue departments are full of people who earn their living working on corporate taxes. Most of them would like to cash in on their expertise and become partners in big law and accounting firms. State economic development officers love the corporate tax – a big old cookie jar from which to dole out goodies. Those economic development folks soon find themselves working for big consulting firms that manage to get corporate tax breaks for their clients. Think tanks on both the left and right love the tax. The left needs it to champion, the right to decry. Academics like the tax. It is so screwed up that it provides a wealth of research opportunities. These are the people who benefit from auditing, planning, litigating, and talking about the state corporate tax. [David Brunori]
Thursday, December 7, 2023
When accounting goes unaccounted for