Browsing by Author "James, Vaughn E."
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Item The African-American Church, Political Activity, and Tax Exemption(Seton Hall Law Review, 2007) James, Vaughn E.Ever since its inception during slavery, the African-American Church has served as an advocate for the socio-economic improvement of this nation’s African-Americans. Accordingly, for many years, the Church has been politically active, serving as the nurturing ground for several African-American politicians. Indeed, many of the country’s early African-American legislators were themselves members of the clergy of the various denominations that constituted the African-American Church. In 1934, Congress amended the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit tax-exempt entities—including churches and other houses of worship—from allowing lobbying to constitute a “substantial part” of their activities. In 1954, Congress further amended the Code to place an absolute prohibition on political campaigning by these tax-exempt organizations. While these amendments did not specifically target churches and other houses of worship, they have had a chilling effect on efforts by these entities to fulfill their mission. This chilling effect is felt most acutely by the African-American Church, a church established to preach the Gospel and engage in activities which would improve socio-economic conditions for the nation’s African-Americans. This Article discusses the efforts made by the African-American Church to remain faithful to its mission and the inadvertent attempts made by Congress to impede the fulfillment of this mission. The Article will propose a solution to the tug-of-war that would enable the Church to fulfill its mission while acting within the confines of the law. This proposal would allow the future involvement of the Church and other houses of worship in political activity, with these entities funding their involvement with taxable funds. The adoption of this proposal would allow the Church, for the first time since 1954, to fulfill its mission without fear of breaking the law or losing its tax-exempt status.Item The Alzheimer’s Advisor: A Caregiver’s Guide to Dealing with the Tough Legal and Practical Issues(American Management Association, 2009) James, Vaughn E.While James touches on possible causes and symptoms of the disease, the bulk of the book addresses the legal challenges that arise when caring for an Alzheimer's patient. James stresses that legal assistance is needed as soon as possible because once a patient is in the final stages of the disease, he or she may not have the capacity to execute essential estate planning documents. James discusses the various planning documents that are important for anyone to have, especially someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease, including powers of attorney, wills and trusts, living wills, and "do not resuscitate" orders. The presence of the disease complicates issues regarding many of these documents. For example, because Alzheimer's disease is technically not a terminal illness, it may not trigger a living will. James also explains the guardianship process, moving someone who is under guardianship, legal liability for patients who do something wrong, and paying for care. In addition, James provides tips for caregivers on how to cope with the stresses of caring for an Alzheimer's patient. James's experience with family members with Alzheimer's disease lends the book a personal dimension. Using real-life examples, James provides a thorough and easy-to-read explanation of the complicated legal implications of having a family member with Alzheimer's disease.Item No Help for the Helpless: How the Law Has Failed to Serve and Protect Persons Suffering From Alzheimer's Disease(2012) James, Vaughn E.This Article will discuss three areas in which the law is failing Alzheimer's patients: guardianship, tort law, and due process protections in court proceedings. The Article is divided into five parts. Part II will discuss dementia in general and Alzheimer's disease in particular, including the causes of the disease, its symptoms, and its manifestations. Part III will discuss three areas of the law that do not adequately serve and protect Americans who have become vulnerable because of the onset of Alzheimer's disease. This part will first discuss the shortcomings of guardianship law, then move on to tort law and, finally, due process protections in court proceedings. Part IV will propose solutions to the problem. Should the legal system adopt these solutions, the law would finally be able to adequately serve and protect Alzheimer's patients. As this Part will indicate, the reform needed is not necessarily in the written law, but in the agents - lawyers, judges and court officials - who enforce the law. Part V, the Conclusion, will propose that the medical and legal fraternities combine forces to help the law better serve and protect America's most vulnerable citizens.Item Reaping Where They Have Not Sowed: Have American Churches Failed to Satisfy the Requirements for the Religious Tax Exemption?(Catholic Lawyer, 2004) James, Vaughn E.Part I of this Article will review the historical development of the religious tax exemption, tracing the progress of the exemption through Judeo-Christian history to post-revolutionary America. Part II will review current law regarding the religious tax exemption, discussing the benefits churches receive from the grant of the exemptions, as well as the responsibilities thrust upon them in exchange for such exemptions. Part III will review attempts over the last fifty years by American churches to engage in lobbying and political activities, detailing the political activities of three religious groupings: the Roman Catholic Church; the Religious Right; and African-American churches. Part IV will discuss efforts by the Internal Revenue Service ("the Service") to enforce the law by discussing the sole recorded instance wherein the Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of a church for its failure to adhere to the anti-lobbying and anti-political campaigning requirements of the IRC. Recognizing that the Service's efforts have not stemmed the tide of lobbying and other political activity by American churches, Part V will propose a three-part solution to the problem. Section VI will conclude by reviewing the current debate regarding the religious tax exemption and will reiterate the author's opinion that the Service must act now to ensure that churches in America no longer reap where they have not sowed.Item Strategies for Reaching the Welfare-to-Work Population(The Community Tax Law Report, 2002) James, Vaughn E.The Welfare-to-Work Partnership is a government-assisted program which works to train and employ welfare recipients. This article provides strategies for reaching the welfare-to work candidates including first locating these candidates and then convincing them that the workfare program is beneficial.Item Twenty-First Century Pirates of the Caribbean: How the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Robbed Fourteen Caricom Countries of Their Tax and Economic Policy Sovereignty(2002) James, Vaughn E.This article is concerned with a controversy that has been raging for over four years - the anti-harmful tax competition initiative launched by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD") in April 1998, and that organization's subsequent blacklisting of several small defenseless jurisdictions who have dared to use tax competitive measures to secure for themselves a small piece of the global financial pie. On one side of the controversy sits the OECD: rich, powerful, domineering, and exhibiting many of the features of the colonial powers of the late fifteenth through twentieth centuries. On the other side sits the targeted jurisdictions: mostly island nations of the Pacific and Caribbean, with their fragile economies and a constant struggle to survive in today's globalized economy. This article focuses on the OECD and on one group of targeted jurisdictions - the member states of CARICOM. The article demonstrates how the OECD, through its anti-harmful tax competition initiative, has robbed these Caribbean countries of their sovereign right to determine their tax and economic policies.