Introduction to Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Tax Opinions

Abstract

Could a feminist perspective change the shape of the tax law? Most people understand that feminist reasoning has tremendous potential to affect, for example, the law of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and reproductive rights. Few people may be aware, however, that feminist analysis can likewise transform tax law (as well as other statutory or code-based areas of the law). By highlighting the importance of perspective, background, and preconceptions on the reading and interpretation of statutes, Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Tax Opinions shows what a difference feminist analysis can make to statutory interpretation. This volume, part of the Feminist Judgments Series, brings together a group of scholars and lawyers to rewrite tax decisions in which a feminist emphasis would have changed the outcome or the court’s reasoning. The volume includes cases that implicate gender on their face (like medical expense deductions for fertility treatment or gender confirmation surgery as well as special tax benefits for married individuals), as well as cases that require a more nuanced understanding of history, politics and economics (such as the tax treatment of tribal lands and the business expense deduction). This book opens the way for a discussion of how viewpoint is a key factor in statutory interpretation.

Keywords: feminist, tax, judgment, opinion, rewritten, perspective, statute, constitution, interpretation, method, theory, race, sexual orientation, gender, American Indian, class