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The whole article can be downloaded or viewed at the link below. It brings a number of extremely important points to the forefront on how the inevitable zombie Apocalypse will effect our tax code. I'd like to thank law professor Law professor Adam Chodorow of Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law for tackling this incredibly difficult issue

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2045255##

Death and Taxes and Zombies

Adam Chodorow

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Iowa Law Review, Forthcoming

Abstract:
The U.S. stands on the precipice of a financial disaster, and Congress has done nothing but bicker. Of course, I refer to the coming day when the undead walk the earth, feasting on the living. A zombie apocalypse will create an urgent need for significant government revenues to protect the living, while at the same time rendering a large portion of the taxpaying public dead or undead. The government’s failure to anticipate or plan for this eventuality could cripple its ability to respond effectively, putting us all at risk.

This article fills a glaring gap in the academic literature by examining how the estate and income tax laws apply to the undead. Beginning with the critical question of whether the undead should be considered dead for estate tax purposes, the article continues on to address income tax issues the undead are likely to face. In addition to zombies, the article also considers how estate and income tax laws should apply to vampires and ghosts. Given the difficulties identified herein of applying existing tax law to the undead, new legislation may be warranted. However, any new legislation is certain to raise its own set of problems. The point here is not to identify the appropriate approach. Rather, it is to goad Congress and the IRS into action before it is too late.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: income tax, tax policy, estate tax, trusts and estates, zombies, undead, vampires, ghosts

JEL Classifications: H2, H20, H24, H26
Accepted Paper Series

The whole article can be downloaded or viewed at the link below. It brings a number of extremely important points to the forefront on how the inevitable zombie Apocalypse will effect our tax code. I'd like to thank law professor Law professor Adam Chodorow of Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law for tackling this incredibly difficult issue

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2045255##

Death and Taxes and Zombies

Adam Chodorow

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Iowa Law Review, Forthcoming

Abstract:
The U.S. stands on the precipice of a financial disaster, and Congress has done nothing but bicker. Of course, I refer to the coming day when the undead walk the earth, feasting on the living. A zombie apocalypse will create an urgent need for significant government revenues to protect the living, while at the same time rendering a large portion of the taxpaying public dead or undead. The government’s failure to anticipate or plan for this eventuality could cripple its ability to respond effectively, putting us all at risk.

This article fills a glaring gap in the academic literature by examining how the estate and income tax laws apply to the undead. Beginning with the critical question of whether the undead should be considered dead for estate tax purposes, the article continues on to address income tax issues the undead are likely to face. In addition to zombies, the article also considers how estate and income tax laws should apply to vampires and ghosts. Given the difficulties identified herein of applying existing tax law to the undead, new legislation may be warranted. However, any new legislation is certain to raise its own set of problems. The point here is not to identify the appropriate approach. Rather, it is to goad Congress and the IRS into action before it is too late.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: income tax, tax policy, estate tax, trusts and estates, zombies, undead, vampires, ghosts

JEL Classifications: H2, H20, H24, H26
Accepted Paper Series