Students in tax accounting classes (ACC 445/545, Advanced Tax, and ACC 343, Introduction to Federal Income Tax) were treated to a unique experience in late October. Professor Bill Moser invited Karen Meyers, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Finance and a professional trial attorney, to recreate arguments in “one of the most important cases of the second half of the 20th century” —the Tax Court and 10th Circuit Court of Appeals case of Moritz v. Commissioner. “It was the first time a Federal Court held that Congress could not make laws on the basis of sex/gender,” shared Moser.
This case represented the first time a U.S. Federal Court held that a law was unconstitutional because it was applied based on sex or gender. One outcome of this case was that the decision formed the legal basis and justification for Title IX, which gives equal opportunity to all students irrespective of sex or gender. According to Prof. Moser, “What Brown v. Board of Education (1955) did for desegregation in the United States, Moritz v. Commissioner did as a first step towards gender equality under the law. What is even more remarkable is that this was a humble tax case over a $500 deduction. One of the points I wanted my students to take away from this case is that taxes matter (above and beyond filling out forms or the government collecting revenue).”
In the class re-litigation, students were called upon to provide a summary of the facts in the case, the reason why the IRS pulled the taxpayer’s tax return for audit, and the Tax Court Judge’s reason for issuing a summary judgment in favor of the government (IRS). Moser argued on behalf of the government (the losing side), and Meyers argued on behalf of the taxpayer, before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (made up of three students from the class), who then issued their verdict.
Students who participated in this experience considered it their favorite class of the semester, based on some of their comments.
My favorite part of this class was the tax court days, and I really liked your debate with Dr. Meyers. I have enjoyed learning about these topics, despite the difficultly of them for me.
I greatly enjoyed our Supreme Court day when Dr. Myers visited. I thought that it was an important topic to address and doing so in this manner made the experience much more impactful, especially when compared to simply reading about the case in a textbook.
My favorite part of the class was doing the tax court cases. I wish I could take a class that would just be tax court cases and how they have impacted our world, especially like Mortiz vs. Commissioner.
