To Save State Residents: States’ Use of Community Property for Federal Tax Reduction, 1939-1947

Law and History Review, Vol. 27, p. 585, 2009

U of Cincinnati Public Law Research Paper No. 08-21

42 Pages Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Last revised: 13 Nov 2009

Date Written: August 30, 2008

Abstract

This essay analyzes the forces that led five common law states to adopt community property regimes between 1939 and 1947. Focusing on Oklahoma, the first state to switch, this article traces these laws from initial proposals through their repeal after Congress enacted nationalized income-splitting in 1948. Earlier studies have focused on the impact of these laws, primarily on wives as secondary earners within families, and not on their development. From the various political and social forces precipitating this trend, this study explores the actual reasons states adopted these regimes and shows that an economic goal, namely reducing married couples' federal income taxes, drove state legislatures. Thus, while examining state legislative processes, this paper shows the goal of federal tax reduction led to changes in an entirely separate area of state law. This analysis also provides a new perspective on the American federal system, illustrating the complex and reciprocal relationship between state and federal laws and incentives. While initially states altered their domestic laws to give their residents a benefit under the federal tax code, using the federal system to win benefits for their residents vis-a-vis those of other states, these state-law changes ultimately induced the federal government to adopt a uniform national policy on income-splitting.

Suggested Citation

McMahon, Stephanie Hunter, To Save State Residents: States’ Use of Community Property for Federal Tax Reduction, 1939-1947 (August 30, 2008). Law and History Review, Vol. 27, p. 585, 2009, U of Cincinnati Public Law Research Paper No. 08-21, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1256242

Stephanie Hunter McMahon (Contact Author)

University of Cincinnati - College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 210040
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040
United States
513-556-4206 (Phone)
513-556-1236 (Fax)

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