DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. (LO 1) When enacting tax legislation, Congress often is guided by the concept of revenue neutrality so that any changes neither increase nor decrease the net revenues raised under the prior rules. Revenue neutrality does not mean that any one taxpayer’s tax liability remains the same. Since this liability depends on the circumstances involved, one taxpayer’s increased tax liability could be another’s tax saving. Revenueneutral tax reform does not reduce deficits, but at least it does not aggravate the problem. 2. (LO 2) Economic, social, equity, and political factors play a significant role in the formulation of tax laws. Furthermore, the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the courts have had impacts on the evolution of tax laws. For example, control of the economy has been an important economic consideration in passing a number of laws (e.g., rapid depreciation, changes in tax rates). But ultimately the tax law is written by Congress. 3. (LO 2) The tax law encourages technological progress by allowing immediate (or accelerated) deductions and tax credits for research and development expenditures. 4. (LO 2) Saving leads to capital formation and makes funds available to finance home construction and industrial expansion. For example, the tax laws provide incentives to encourage savings by giving private retirement plans preferential treatment. 5. (LO 2) a. Code § 1244 allows ordinary loss treatment on the worthlessness of small business corporation stock (discussed in Chapter 4). Since this stock normally would be a capital asset, the operation of § 1244 converts a less desirable capital loss into a more attractive ordinary loss. This tax treatment was designed to aid small businesses in raising needed capital through the issuance of stock