I am pleased to share that for the summer 2026 academic term, I am teaching TAX508: Taxation of Individuals at William Howard Taft University. This graduate-level course provides a comprehensive framework for navigating the complex statutory, regulatory, and judicial realities governing federal individual income taxation. Guided by the fundamental powers established under the Sixteenth Amendment, our curriculum bridges academic theory with practical, strategic execution.

Throughout this term, our cohort of directed and independent study students will dismantle the technical layers of the individual tax formula. We are diving deep into the operational complexities of gross income definitions, above-the-line versus itemized deductions, the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction, and the mechanics of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Additionally, our weekly modules challenge students to master structural concepts surrounding compensation and retirement planning, passive activity loss limitations, and sophisticated wealth-transfer tax architectures.

A central pillar of the course is mastering the six-step tax research process. Rather than treating tax law as a static set of rules, students learn to interpret primary authorities to evaluate open-fact transactions. This training equips them to move past basic compliance and into proactive tax planning—empowering them to structure prospective transactions that legally optimize economic outcomes.

Beyond pure mechanics, we are examining the normative policy standards used to critique a tax system, specifically balancing horizontal and vertical equity against administrative simplicity. Evaluating real-world market dynamics—such as tax incidence shifting, local property base erosion from non-profit expansion, and the broader economic justifications for preferential rate structures—forces our students to analyze how tax policy actively dictates corporate and personal decision-making.

I am incredibly looking forward to guiding these future tax professionals and business leaders over the next two months as they demystify the internal revenue code and sharpen their professional research capabilities.

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