Below is a hypothetical tax research problem that surfaced while you were preparing a client’s tax return. Your task is to research the issues and find a court case (or cases) and statutes that resolve the issues using the internet and/or a university provided research database.
The university provides you access to the following research databases: RIA Checkpoint and International Tax Library and Westlaw Next. To access these databases, use the URL https://shsulibraryguides.org/busdb. The Accounting, Tax and Law databases are in the lower right corner of the webpage. If you encounter a technical issue, you may contact Lisa Shen at [email protected].
Once you find primary legal authority (you are looking for a court case and statutes), prepare an internal workpaper memorandum documenting your position with respect to the tax issue presented. To complete the memorandum, use the IRAC format for analyzing complex legal issues. An example memo that utilizes this format from a prior semester is included below.