Natural Disasters and the Tax Code
Professor Francine J. Lippman '93, a professor at Chapman University School of Law, wrote an article on the tax consequences of a disaster and the relief provisions under the Internal Revenue Code. Victims of disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, will face an array of costly and complex tax issues, such as reimbursement for immediate shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment, and other needs to longer-term requirements for replacing homes, businesses, and the multitude of lost contents. The article follows a fictitious family through the tragedy of the 2003 Southern California wildfires, but the tax issues analyzed apply to any U.S. disaster, including Katrina. Lippman received her J.D. from UC Davis and an LL.M in Taxation from NYU School of Law. While at Davis, she served as Editor in Chief of the UC Davis Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif. She has written extensively on tax and accounting topics for legal and accounting periodicals. Full article, Anatomy of a Disaster Under the Internal Revenue Code, December 2004, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=795865