Position Title
Professor of Law Emeritus
Many lawyers fall into their fields, more often as a result of circumstance rather than planning. Take, for instance, Dan Simmons. "I came to law school your typical political science major. I had no economics background. I left law school expecting to be a litigator."
Working as a clerk for the California Supreme Court, Simmons discovered "litigation is 90 percent paperwork. When an opportunity arose to work for my tax teacher, I took it." Fifteen years later, as Congress rewrote the Internal Revenue Code, Simmons would occupy the prestigious position of professor in residence in the Office of the Chief Counsel of the IRS.
"You cannot practice law without understanding the income tax system," said the 1971 King Hall alumnus. "There's very little we can do in today's society that doesn't have income tax implications."
For this reason, the tax lawyer is both the ultimate specialist and ultimate generalist, practicing an esoteric brand of law that touches practically every transaction in American society. "Contracts, marital property, trusts, estate planning, immigration, corporations, partnerships, securities, torts, constitutional law, employment discrimination-the tax lawyer must be knowledgeable in all," said Simmons.
Simmons is a member of the American Law Institute.
- B.A. Political Science, University of California, Davis, 1968
- J.D. University of California, Davis, 1971
- Professor in Residence, Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, 1986-87
- Associate Provost Educational Relations, University of California, 1996
- Co-author of Federal Income Taxation of Business Organizations, 1991
- Federal Income Taxation of Partnerships and S Corporations, 1991; Federal Income Taxation of Corporations, 1991; Federal Income Taxation, 1998
- Federal Income Taxation
- Taxation
- National Security
- Chair, UC Systemwide Academic Senate, 1994-95, 2010-11
- Vice Chair, UC Systemwide Academic Senate, 1993-94, 2009-10
- Chair, Davis Division of the Academic Senate, 1991-93, 2004-06
- UC Board of Regents, Faculty Representative, 1993-95, 2009-2011
- UC President's Council on the National Laboratories, 1993-2000
- Presentations: Current Developments in Federal Income Taxation
- Montana Tax Institute: Partnership Built in Gains and Losses, 2008; A Field Guide to Discharge of Indebtedness, 2010; Subchapter S and Subchapter C, 2011; Partnership Sales and Liquidations, 2012; Current Developments in Business Tax, 2013
- Tulane Tax Institute: Current Developments in Corporate Tax, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013
Publications
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF CORPORATIONS: CASES AND MATERIALS, (Foundation Press 1996, 2d ed. 1999) (Supplements 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) (with P. R. McDaniel, H. J. Ault, M. J. McMahon, Jr.)
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS: STUDY PROBLEMS, (Foundation Press 1999) (with P. R. McDaniel, M. J. McMahon, Jr.)
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF PARTNERSHIPS AND SUBCHAPTER S CORPORATIONS: STUDY PROBLEMS, (Foundation Press 1999) (with P. R. McDaniel, M. J. McMahon, Jr.)
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS: TEACHER'S MANUAL FOR THE STUDY PROBLEMS, (Foundation Press 1999) (with P. R. McDaniel, M. J. McMahon, Jr.)
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS: CASES AND MATERIALS, Foundation Press 1991) (2d ed., 1996, 3d ed. 1999) (Supplements, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999) (with P. R. McDaniel, H. J. Ault, M. J. McMahon, Jr.)
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF PARTNERSHIPS AND SUBCHAPTER S CORPORATIONS: CASES AND MATERIALS, (Foundation Press 1991, 2d ed. 1996, 3d ed. 1999) (Supplements, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) (with P. R. McDaniel, H. J. Ault, M. J. McMahon, Jr.)
An Essay on Federal Income Taxation and Campaign Finance Reform, 54 FLORIDA LAW REVIEW 1 (2002)
FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION: CASES AND MATERIALS, (3rd Edition, Foundation Press 1994) (4th Edition, 1998) (Supplements 1995, 1996, 1997, 1997, 1999) (with P. R. McDaniel, H. J. Ault, M. J. McMahon, Jr.)
ESOP-Owned Subchapter S Corporations: A Mistake in Need of a Fix, 82 TAX NOTES 1325 (1999) (with Joseph G. De Angelis), reprinted at 24 EXEMPT ORGANIZATION TAX REVIEW 41 (April 1999)
Taxes and Public Entity Employees: The Scope of Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978, 4 TAX EXECUTIVE 359 (1992)
Net Operating Losses and Section 382: Searching for a Limitation on Loss Carryovers, 63 TULANE LAW REVIEW 1045 (1989)
The Future of Section 355, 40 TAX NOTES 291 (1988) (with K. Simon)
The Tax Reform Act of 1986: An Overview, 1987 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 151
Worldwide Unitary Taxation: Retain and Rationalize, or Block at the Water’s Edge, 1 STANFORD JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 157 (1985)
Federal Income Taxation of Wealth Transfers on Divorce: A Policy Analysis and Proposal, 7 SOUTHWESTERN LAW JOURNAL 941 (1984)
Tufts v. Commissioner: Amount Realized Limited to Fair Market Value, 15 UC DAVIS LAW REVIEW 577 (1982)
Nonrecourse Debt and Amount Realized: The Demise of Crane's Footnote 37, 59 OREGON LAW REVIEW 3 (1980)
Mrs. Crane Where Are You Now? — Nonrecourse Debt in Basis, 53 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW 1 (1979)
Piggybacking in California State Tax Simplification, A Report to the California Commission on Governmental Reform, (1978) (with Crandall & Worley, third-year law students)
Low Tax, Simple Tax, Flat Tax, 17 UC DAVIS LAW REVIEW 1009 (1984)