Tax gets a bad rap.

For many people, including law students, tax is often thought of as: too boring, too complicated, too mathematical, too volatile, and too arcane. It is also thought to be too much like accounting, relevant only for the rich and their advisors who help them keep as much of their money as possible. What’s more, the suggestion that there might be an interesting tax lawyer is an oxymoron, and popular media depictions of tax lawyers are limited to white men: Tom Cruise in The Firm, Michael Tucker in L.A. Law and Paul Newman in The Young Philadelphians. Viola Davis plays a lawyer on TV and Julia Roberts has played one on film, but neither has been a tax lawyer.

That tax can be complex is undeniable, but the rest of the stereotype misses the breadth of the tax law and the ways in which it can be a concrete and succinct expression of social policy. Indeed, the tax system is now a cornerstone of the contemporary social safety net.

For nearly two decades, the tax law has been the Federal government’s largest source of cash transfers from the government to the working poor – bigger than TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families, which replaced welfare) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Aid Program, which replaced food stamps) combined.

The tax law affects millions of individuals who have no positive tax liability – that is, they owe no Federal income tax – but who nevertheless have to and want to file tax returns to receive IRS ‘refunds’ that consist of significantly more money than they’ve had withheld.

And the tax law affects U.S. individuals regardless of whether they are legally present here. Not only does the tax law have its own definition of a U.S. resident, which is more expansive than the immigration definition, the IRS has developed a mechanism that allows individuals who lack valid social security number to file returns, and a large number of immigrants do so. Among other things, undocumented immigrants know that the path to normalizing their immigration status is barred without proof of compliance with tax obligations.

In sum, tax law is not just for the rich. Immigrants, the working poor, and victims of crimes or domestic abuse all deserve tax representation – roughly 70% of litigants in Tax Court are unrepresented. The need for pro bono and public service work in tax is so great that the Tax Section of the ABA has established two annual public service fellowships designed to provide recent law school graduates an opportunity to work in the public interest in tax, at ABA expense. In addition, Congress appropriates money for low-income taxpayer clinics, and the IRS runs Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), a program through which even non-tax professionals can be trained and certified to assist low-income taxpayers to prepare returns. This service helps participating taxpayers keep the entirety of their refunds, without diminution by large and sometimes predatory preparer fees.

“That tax can be complex is undeniable, but the rest of the stereotype misses the breadth of the tax law and the ways in which it can be a concrete and succinct expression of social policy.”

Tax law can affect the decision to marry and should be a lead player in the negotiation of a divorce. It can drive charity and can make some jury awards taxable while others are exempt. It determines whether a client can deduct your fee, perhaps allowing you to charge a somewhat larger fee. In short, the narrow view of tax as the province of dweebs or lawyers to Scrooge McDuck is completely inaccurate. But until the tax law can enlist Beyonce, Ellen, or Lady Gaga to give it a public makeover, it will have to settle for law students who enlighten themselves by taking tax and thinking about making it a career choice.

If you’ve taken tax and think a career in tax might be for you, or if you want to know more about what a life in the tax law might offer, please come to Temple Law’s Careers in Tax Program on Monday, October 26, 2015 at 4 pm in room K2B. Not only will food (DiBruno’s), wine, and beer be served, but there will be a number of tax lawyers from a range of practice areas, including a current public interest fellow, who will discuss their practices and answer questions. The program is co-sponsored by the ABA Tax Section and the Temple Tax Faculty.

You can find additional information about the event in the image below: