Confusion in the Courts: The Failure to Tax Punitive Damages Uniformly in Personal Injury Cases

Authors

Margaret L. Thum

Abstract

This Note compares recent circuit cases reaching different opinions on whether punitive damages received on account of personal injuries are taxable under Internal Revenue Code section 104(a)(2). These differing opinions result in disparate taxation of federal taxpayers that violates the rule of uniformity in Article I, section 8, clause 1 of the United States Constitution. To provide a remedy, this Note proposes a rule to encourage the uniform application of federal income tax statutes.

Recommended Citation

Margaret L. Thum, Confusion in the Courts: The Failure to Tax Punitive Damages Uniformly in Personal Injury Cases, 23 Hastings Const. L.Q. 591 (1996).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly/vol23/iss2/5