Article
Author: Neil A. Harl (Iowa State University)
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, in an obscure section of the Act, seemingly took the first step to address the issue of whether the Congress, perhaps innocently, and the Internal Revenue Service, perhaps less innocently, created the opportunity to give “partnerships” a black eye many years ago by basically denigrating the partnership as a recognized form of organization. That led to more than two decades of unrest and disagreement as to what is a partnership. Hopefully, this amendment, passed in December 2017, brief as it was, will send a message that will resonate, loud and clear, that partnerships play a useful role as one of the oldest forms of business organization in existence. Many years ago, Congress wittingly or unwittingly, decreed that “interests in a partnership” were not to be listed in definitions that essentially otherwise included partnerships. In a series of rulings and regulations, the twisted logic was used to outlaw the partnership form of business organization.
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How to Cite: Harl, N. A. (2018) “A Step in the Right Direction”, Agricultural Law Digest. 29(6).