Understanding the Intersection of Tax Law and Education

Tax law is complex in application but not so in teaching. In fact, a relatively small number of tax cases appear in textbooks as they relate to businesses and how we interact with one another. But, what about how the law impacts educational institutions? How does something like the deduction for student loan interest tie into tax code sections that provide for deductions for educational expenses?

As an extension of this, how does the average legal (tax) professional work with or educate educational professionals? In a place like Las Vegas, for example, locations like the University of Nevada at Las Vegas may house professionals that are experts on what the tax code says, but are not necessarily experts on what the impact of a specific code section is on taxpayer behavior. For most taxpayers, a tax deduction is little more than an entry on a form. For those who are actively working with code sections, however, there may be some questions about more than just the form entry.

This is why tax law is such an outstanding subject for consideration in education law and administration. With so many regulations and so many changes, few topics can be proposed or debated with so much energy and scholarly passion. The problem here, however, is that because tax law is so interdisciplinary, few academics can weigh in so directly.

It is important that scholars look at how a tax lawyer in Las Vegas might function with an academic institution like a college or university to understand how a tax law education can effect a practical outcome. We must consider then, how does tax law affect us when it is not a primary focus? An decision by Congress, for example, can impact the funds available for every day operations and management of everything from departments to entire institutions. To treat an area of scholarship or instruction as a disconnected silo is a disservice to the students, faculty, and overall institutional population.

To consider how the law impacts, for example, school districts, higher education systems, state governments, federal policies, and other academic entities, it is important that those in the classroom also get out of their places and look at how the more technical aspects of the law impact what faculty members and administrators at those levels must do to operate as a practical matter.

This does not mean, however, that all legal education needs to be of the practical type. What it does suggest is that our educational goals must have a necessary interplay with the real world, and our classrooms and lecture halls should not be an echo chamber for theory alone.

To to this end, one of the most important things that we can do is acknowledge that scholarship must not exist in a vacuum. To truly take advantage of the pedagogical benefits of academic research and instruction, we must make the effort to look beyond the texts and engage legal professionals and professionals from non-academic fields.