Making Partnerships Work for Mom and Pop and Everyone Else

Entities treated as partnerships for tax purposes cover the spectrum from small Mom and Pop operations to mammoth enterprises owned by sophisticated partners. Designing tax law to govern this diverse array of entities is a challenging exercise since rules that are well suited to provide simplicity for entities at the small, unsophisticated end of the continuum may be poorly designed for preventing manipulation by entities at the large, sophisticated end of the continuum. However, a careful examination of how tax rules can best promote simplicity reveals opportunities for reform that would make the law more appropriate for entities all along the continuum