Rodney P. Mock

A recognized tax scholar, Professor Mock has published numerous tax law and policy articles in the areas of tax practice and procedure, international, estate and gift, partnership and corporate taxation. His published articles can be viewed in top-ranking tax journals such as, Florida Tax Review, Virginia Tax Review, Akron Tax Journal, The Tax Lawyer, Journal of Taxation, Tax Notes, Taxes, Houston Business and Tax Law Journal, Australian Tax Forum, Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law, Issues in Accounting Education, DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal, Temple Law Review, University of Cincinnati Law Review, Practical Tax Strategies, Financial and Estate Planning, The CPA Journal, Exempt Organization Tax Review and Practical Estate Planning. Professor Mock’s publications have on multiple occasions received national recognition in Amicus Curiae briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, congressional reports for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, and other notable tax policy institutes.

His research has also been cited by the United States Tax Court and the United States District Court. He is also a frequent commentator on Fox News discussing tax topics ranging from the constitutionality of a retroactive estate tax to the policy implications associated with a high corporate tax rate. His research has also been discussed in articles, television and radio appearances for Forbes, Wall Street Journal, CNN, US News, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Hill and other media outlets.

At the moment, Professor Mock teaches several courses at Cal Poly at the graduate and undergraduate level; including, Advanced Taxation of Flow-Through Entities, Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships, Federal Taxation of Trusts, Estates and Transfer Taxation, Tax Research and Administrative Procedures and Individual Income Taxation. Dr. Mock continually receives exceptionally high evaluations from his students and has been the recipient of several outstanding educator awards.

Prior to joining Cal Poly, Professor Mock’s previous professional experience entailed working on sophisticated tax, estate and business transactions, as an associate attorney at Merrill-OSullivan, LLP in Bend, Oregon. Dr. Mock’s former experience in Oregon also involved significant participation in community organizations as a board director for The Center Foundation, Awbrey Butte Neighborhood Association, and as a member of the Central Oregon Community College Investment Committee. Before the practice of law, Professor Mock was actively engaged in the entertainment business in Los Angeles, California, on television and film productions; most notably, all three seasons of Nickelodeons The Journey of Allen Strange.

Dr. Mock received his B.A. degree Summa Cum Laude from University of California Davis, J.D. at the University of Oregon School of Law, and LL.M. in taxation from the University of Washington School of Law.

Education

• University of Washington School of Law, LL.M. Taxation
• University of Oregon School of Law, J.D.
• University of California Davis, B.A. Summa Cum Laude
• Portland State University, Pre Law

Publications

• The Zero Value Tax Fantasy, 42 Virginia Tax Review 1 (2022)(with Kathryn Kisska-Schulze and David Chamberlain)
• Saving The Nonessential With Radical Tax Policy, 90 University of Cincinnati Law Review 1 (2021)(with Kathryn Kisska-Schulze)
• The Robotic Revolution: A Tax Policy Collision Course, 2 Temple Law Review 93 (2021)(with Kathryn Kisska-Schulze)
• Disappearing Forks and Magical Airdrops, 165 Tax Notes 791 (2019)(with David G. Chamberlain and Kathryn Kisska-Schulze)
• Section 199A: Job Creator or Tax Giveaway?, 161 Tax Notes 11 (2018)(with David G. Chamberlain)
• When Economics Makes Bad Tax Policy: Tax Phase-Outs, Virginia Tax Review 421 (2018)(with Herb Hunt and Jeffrey Tolin)
• Getting to the Bottom of Bottom Dollar Guarantees, 157 Tax Notes 11 (2017)(with Kathryn Kisska-Schulze)
• Who’s on First: The GP, LP, or Management Company, 153 Tax Notes 97 (2016)
• Mandatory E-Filing: A Digital Age Solution, 146 Tax Notes 9 (2015)
• Partnership Basis Seepage: A Charitable Deduction Arbitrage,74 Exempt Organization Tax Review 4 (2014); 144 Tax Notes 1079 (2014)(original publication)
• Whats Mine is Mine: Taxing Pre-Contribution Gains, 29 Akron Tax Journal 105 (2014)(with Jeffrey Tolin)
• The TurboTax Defense, 15 Florida Tax Review 6 (2014)(with Nancy E. Shurtz)
• Realization and Its Evil Twin Deemed Realization, 31 Virginia Tax Review 4 (2012)(with Jeffrey Tolin)
• I Should Have Been a Rockstar: Deconstructing Section 1221(a)(3), 65 The Tax Lawyer 1 (2012)(with Jeffrey Tolin)
• The Mystery Behind the Treatment of Removal Costs, 116 Journal of Taxation 4 (2012)(with Jeffrey Tolin)
• Burning Down the House and the Charitable Deduction, 11 Houston Business & Tax Law Journal 2 (2012)
• Crane and Tufts in Reverse: The Fair Market Value Firewall, 9 DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal 2 (2011)
• The IRS: Americas New Health Care Police? 18 Westlaw Journal – Health Law 11 (2011)
• Permanently Reinvested Earnings: Priceless, 25 Australian Tax Forum 4 (2010); 121 Tax Notes 835 (2008)(original publication)(with Andreas Simon)
• How to Publish without Financially Perishing, 97 Academe 1 (2011)(with Arline Savage and Mark G. Simkin)
• Skipping and Tripping: The Code Sec. 2611(b)(2) Exclusion, 3 CCH Financial and Estate Planning (Report No. 370) 33,341 (2010); 88 Taxes 8 (CCH)(2010)(original publication)
• The Bait-and-Switch Estate Tax, 12 Practical Estate Planning 5 (CCH); 85 Practical Tax Strategies 4 (WG&L)(2010)(original publication)(with Jeffrey E. Quijano)
• The Ethics of Indemnity Clauses in Academic Publication Contracts, 25 Issues in Accounting Education 2 (2010)(with Arline Savage and Mark G. Simkin)
• I.R.C. 7430 Attorneys Fees: Navigating Section 7430 and a Call for the Final Act, 15 Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law 3 (2010)(with Jeffrey E. Quijano)
• Beating the Dead Horse: Revisiting McDougal in Search of Substantial Authority, 63 The Tax Lawyer 3 (2010)
• Purchase or Else: The Health Insurance Tax, 126 Tax Notes 224 (2010)(with Jeffrey Tolin)
• The LIFO, IFRS Conversion: An Explosive Concoction, 123 Tax Notes 741 (2009)(with Andreas Simon)
• Using the New Qualified Joint Venture Opportunities for Husband-and-Wife Partnerships, 79 The CPA Journal 44 (2009)

Media

• “Inflation is Sky-High-Retirement Plans Aren’t Keeping Up”  The Hill (April 21, 2022)(With Larry Gorman)
• Brief for Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America as Amicus Curiae in support of Petitioners, Charles G. Moore, et. al. v. United States of America, No. 22-800 (United States Supreme Court, March 27, 2023)(cited)
• Brief for Landmark Legal Foundation as Amicus Curiae in support of Petitioners, Charles G. Moore, et. al. v. United States of America, No. 22-800 (United States Supreme Court, March 27, 2023)(cited)
• Brief for Americans for Tax Reform as Amicus Curiae in support of Petitioners, Charles G. Moore, et. al. v. United States of America, No. 22-800 (United States Supreme Court, March 27, 2023)(cited)
• “Higher Mortgage Fees for Those with Good Credit? Not so Fast” FoxNews.com (May 22, 2023)(with Larry Gorman)
• “Section 199A Deduction: Economic Effects and Tax Policy Option” CRS for Congress (January 6, 2022)(Cited)
• “Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasions” CRS for Congress (January 6, 2022)(Cited)
• “Should COVID Vaccine Makers Be Taxed For Profiting on Misery?” Forbes.com (November 8, 2021)(Cited)
•  Romano-Murphy v. Commissioner, 152 T.C. 16 (2019)(Cited)
• “Taxation and Development – A Comparative Study,” Ius Comparatum Global Studies in Comparative Law (2017)(Cited)
• “Reform the Tax System: End preferred Rates for Capital Gains,”San Francisco Chronicle“Philosophically, tax simplification would be a reform more akin to a flat tax, where the overall ordinary-income tax rates would be reduced, the tax base broadened and the tax code less complex. Reform would also have to be revenue neutral, meaning if government revenue is lost by one kind of tax decrease, then it must be made up by a tax increase.” (April 12, 2015)
• United States v. Gwilliam, 110 A.F.T.R.2d 2012-5589 (2012)(Cited)
• “Ditch Paper Tax Returns – The IRS Could Save Billions by Moving to Mandatory E-Filing” US News.com “Processing paper returns costs the IRS $2.87 per return versus $.35 cents for e-filing. The taxpayer error rate with paper returns exceeds 25 percent versus less than 2.5 percent for e-filed. If all returns were e-filed, the Treasury would collect billions of dollars in additional revenue.” (April 10, 2015)
• Notable Tax Accounting Articles of 2012 139 Tax Notes 661 (May 6, 2013)(Cited)
• “Should the IRS Just Send us a Bill?” Foxnews.com “Does it have to be this complicated? Cant we just get a bill (or check) in the mail?” (April 15, 2013)
• “The TurboTax Crime Wave,” The Wall Street Journal “So far the U.S. Tax Court has nearly always rejected the TurboTax defense. Only two cases have offered taxpayers penalty relief for software reliance.” (April 16, 2012)(with Nancy Shurtz)
• “This One’s For You Mr. and Ms. Last Remaining Taxpayer,” FoxNews.com “As Franklin D. Roosevelt once remarked, Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society. But apparently the duty is exclusively and squarely on you, to keep the privileges going, to keep society civilized. As the number of Americans filing tax returns and paying zero in federal income tax has skyrocketed to an all time high of 42% of tax filers (or 58.6 million filers) according to 2009 IRS data (excluding Social Security and Medicare taxes). And, if you add all of the non-tax filers this number increases over 50% according to some estimates. You are becoming a minority – you are becoming a relic – Mr. and Ms. last remaining taxpayer.” (April 16, 2012)
• “TurboTax Made Me Do it,” The Wall Street Journal (April 10, 2012) (Television appearance)
• Tax Avoidance in Silicon Valley and How Americas Richest Company Pays a Lower Tax Rate than You Do, The Greenlining Institute (April, 2012)(Cited)
• “The TurboTax Defense,” San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com “The correct application of the law to the facts has always been the taxpayer’s primary responsibility, and therefore it cannot easily be shifted to the software. So TurboTax’s final error check and its audit risk meter might provide you some comfort, but these tests are not going to save you from IRS tax penalties.” (March 27, 2012) (with Nancy Shurtz)
• UTP Reporting Dominates 2011 Tax Accounting Articles, 134 Tax Notes 1446 (March 12, 2012)(Cited)
• Research in Accounting for Income Taxes, 53 Journal of Accounting and Economics 412 (February, 2012)(Cited)
• “The Repatriation Tax Trap,” San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com “Lowering the highest corporate tax rate for U.S. corporations is one thing, and a good thing. Enacting another tax holiday for overseas earnings is an entirely different matter. Why should we reward certain U.S. multinational corporations for their unpatriotic tax-dodging behavior of shipping jobs and profits overseas? Meanwhile, corporations remaining in the United States are penalized for not incorporating foreign subsidiaries and storing their profits in them.” (January 15, 2012)
• “Repatriating Offshore Funds: 2004 Tax Windfall for Select Multinationals,” U.S. Senate Subcommittee (October 11, 2011)(Cited)
• “America Loses: Corporations That Take ‘Tax Holidays’ Slash Jobs,” Institute for Policy Studies (October 3, 2011)(Cited)
• “Issues in U.S. Taxation of Cross-Border Income,” Joint Committee on Taxation (September 6, 2011)(Cited)
• “Corporate America Untaxed: Tax Avoidance on the Rise,” The Greenling Institute (August, 2011)(Cited)
• The Benefits for the U.S. Economy of a Temporary Reduction on the Repatriation of Foreign Subsidiary Earnings, BRG Working Papers (Fall, 2011)(Cited)
• “Should We Raise the Debt Ceiling to Pay for Grandpa’s RV?” FoxNews.com “Why is it that being a senior citizen in and of itself automatically entitles one to free medical insurance, prescription drugs and retirement benefits? Rather, if a senior cannot demonstrate financial hardship based on income level and net-worth then perhaps he or she should not qualify for Social Security and Medicare. These entitlement programs need to end for those with their own (and often very significant) financial resources. And, this is especially necessary if we want to preserve them for those impoverished seniors without external resources.” (June 27, 2011)
• Thomas A. Barthold Chief of Staff of U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation to U.S. House, Letter (April 15, 2011)(Cited)
• “Do the Math – Lower Corporate Tax Rates = More Jobs, Growing Economy,” FoxNews.com “At the moment, under our current system, while Americans may be the society of great innovators, when that next rocket ship is created and sold at Best Buy on the weekend, it will mostly likely be developed and manufactured overseas, where the jobs are cheap, the sun is shining, and the profits remain untouched from the grasp of scraggly old Uncle Sam.” (April 8, 2011)
• “Obama Should Ditch Mortgage Deduction,” CNN.com “Americans would be better off with a much larger standard deduction, or lower tax rates for all, or another more equitable tax reduction option. And, for those underwater, whether rich or poor, the deduction is merely delaying the inevitable realization that you no longer own your home – the bank does.” (February 15, 2011)
• “District Court Finds Healthcare Mandate Unconstitutional,” Tax Notes “Congress cannot turn an unconstitutional penalty specifically designed to regulate and punish wrongdoers into a tax by merely calling it so, … This has nothing to do with generating revenue, which was also a congressional afterthought, and it is not similar to Social Security, as it is not associated with a privilege, namely the right to future federal benefits, unless the failure to participate in federalized healthcare has suddenly become a benefit.” (December 20, 2010)(Quoted in article)
• “Forget the Rich, Let’s Increase the Tax Base,” FoxNews.com “In 2008, according to the Tax Foundation and the IRS Office of Statistics of Income, there were 51.6 million individual income tax filers with absolutely no federal income tax obligation. That figure means that more than 36% of all Americans filing tax returns paid absolutely nothing into the system. Now, how is that for fair taxation, when we all utilize the same federal government? And how can we expect our government to ever be fiscally accountable when we have so many tax-takers? “ (December 13, 2010)
• “The 500-Pound Wild Gorilla,” FoxNews.com “Is it any wonder that Albert Einstein once stated, The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. Imagine for a moment, your gross income at the end of the year being fed into a highly complex machine with millions of levers, switches, buttons, dials, throttles and gears; and depending on which switch is thrown, which lever is pulled, the end result of your tax exposure differs. Well, that pretty much sums up every American’s varying annual federal tax bill.” (November 29, 2010)
• “Will Congress Take a Pass on the Estate Tax and Send Us Back to 2001?” FoxNews.com “What Carlton indicates is that the Supreme Court is unlikely to apply the strict due process analysis to future taxpayer claims regarding the constitutionality of retroactive estate tax legislation. In fact, the Court appeared indifferent to taxpayer reliance on the existing tax legislation, and whether there is sufficient notice of any potential retroactive changes.” (October 18, 2010)(with Jeffrey E. Quijano)
• “Virginia Victory Encourages Healthcare Mandate Opponents,” Tax Notes “The very fact that the court recognizes the core issue of the state’s case entails the federal regulation of an inactivity is a great victory for the state of Virginia.” (August 9, 2010)(Quoted in article)
• “Virginia Victory Lifts Spirits of Healthcare Mandate Opponents,” Tax Notes Today “Prof. Rodney Mock of California Polytechnic State University’s Orfalea College of Business noted that Judge Hudson’s decision turns on the conflict between the federal statute and the HCFA, granting the commonwealth standing “wholly apart from any general harm the purchase mandate may cause.” (August 5, 2010)(Quoted in article)
• “Interview with Dick Helton on the Tax Consequences of the BP Oil Spill,” CBS – KNX 1070“The tax code governs taxpayer behavior, which is why we do not have a flax tax…At the end of the day, we all go to the same trough for our revenue and to the extent BP pays less in taxes, we the American people pay for it.”(July 7, 2010)
• “A Crude Joke on American Taxpayers – we will pay,” San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com “In any case, we can anticipate a protracted fight by BP with regard to any violations of the nation’s pollution control laws and non-environmental laws that may apply. In this fight, BP will certainly characterize any civil monetary sanctions as compensatory payments to the government for harm suffered, therefore qualifying them as tax-deductible expenses.” (June 27, 2010)(with Arline Savage)
• “Can the Government Really Force You to Buy Health Insurance?” FoxNews.com “To be clear, Congress cannot regulate our right to purchase what we want, when we want, and if we want. The Constitution and years of Supreme Court precedent simply doesnt allow it. If Congress manages to pass either health care reform bill, or any compromise version that contains a purchase requirement, the Supreme Court most likely will declare it unconstitutional.” (March 8, 2010)(with Jeffrey Tolin)
• “Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion,” CRS for Congress (July 9, 2009)(Cited)
• “Tax Cuts on Repatriation Earnings as Economic Stimulus: An Economic Analysis,” CRS for Congress (February 11, 2009)(Cited)
• “Proposed Tax Break for Multinationals Would be Poor Stimulus,” CBPP (January 23, 2009)(Cited)

Teaching Specializations

• Advanced Taxation of Flow-Through Entities (GSA 549)
• Tax Research and Administrative Procedures (GSA S546)
• Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships (BUS 417, GSA 540)
• Current Developments in Taxation (GSA 538)
• Federal Taxation of Estates, Trusts and Gifts (GSA 536)
• Individual Income Taxation (BUS 320)

Professional Experience

• Professor, California Polytechnic State University (SLO, CA)
• Associate Professor, California Polytechnic State University
• Assistant Professor, California Polytechnic State University
• Associate Attorney, Merrill-OSullivan, LLP (Bend, OR)
• Summer Associate, Speer, Hoyt et. al., P.C. (Eugene, OR)
• Location Manager/Assistant Location Manager, Nickelodeon – Lynch Entertainment (LA, CA)

Community Involvement

• Committee Member, Retention, Promotion, Tenure and Appointment, San Luis Obispo, CA
• Director of Accounting Minor, Cal Poly Undergraduate Programs, San Luis Obispo, CA
• Chair, Cal Poly Graduate Programs Committee, San Luis Obispo, CA
• Committee Member, Cal Poly Graduate Programs Committee, San Luis Obispo, CA
• President, Western Academy of Legal Studies in Business, Monterey, CA
• Vice President/Program Chair, Western Academy of Legal Studies in Business, Monterey, CA
• Committee Member, COCC Foundation Investment Committee, Bend, OR
• Board Director, The Center Foundation, Bend, OR
• Land Use Chair, Awbrey Butte Neighborhood Association, Bend, OR

Professional Certifications

• Present Member, United States Tax Court (Admitted to Practice)
• Present Member, Oregon State Bar Association

Awards and Grants

• PwC Faculty Fellowship
• Ernst & Young Outstanding Educator Award
• PwC Inquires Grant
• Cal Poly State Faculty Support Grant
• Fluor Corporation Teaching Award
• KPMG Outstanding Educator Award