The Moore Case: Will it be More or Less?

This will be an interactive discussion of the Supreme Court’s case Moore v. U.S., presently awaiting the Court’s decision.  The question generally before the Court is whether “realization” is required to trigger income tax liabilities, and if so, what does that actually mean?  Traditionally, we think of realization as a specific triggering event (such as a sale or exchange) based on a foundational Supreme Court tax case (Eisner v. Macomber), but many provisions in the Code result in taxable income/reporting obligations when the reporting taxpayer has not personally experienced such a triggering event, such as inclusion of indirect or deemed income under the Subchapter S and partnership rules, or reporting obligations of US Shareholders under our international tax (Subpart F and GILTI) rules, or – as here – pursuant to the Transition Tax under Section 965 enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017.  The Court’s decision could go a long way in fundamentally changing our tax laws, or it could have little if any impact on implementation of our tax laws and tax policy.  We’ll discuss an array of possible outcomes.