The University of California, Davis, has faculty who are available to comment on a broad range of tax issues in advance of the April 15 deadline to file income tax returns.

Tax filing and deductions

Law professor Dennis J. Ventry Jr. can comment on simplified tax filing services including IRS Free File, ReadyReturn for California state taxes and Simple Return, a proposal supported by President Obama. He also can comment on the home mortgage interest deduction, which he believes played a major role in the collapse of the housing and financial markets. Professor Ventry is an expert in tax policy and has written widely in the field. His research interests include tax expenditure analysis, legal ethics and professional standards, family taxation, tax and legal history, tax compliance and administration and public finance. Contact: Dennis J. Ventry Jr., School of Law, (530) 752-4566, office; (949) 433-4292, cell; djventry@ucdavis.edu.

Business, income and most other tax questions

Robert Yetman, an associate professor in the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, is an expert on corporate tax, financial accounting, income tax, U.S. and international financial accounting and nonprofit accounting and tax issues. His research concentrates on the effect of taxes on business decisions and the response of nonprofit organizations to economic incentives. He teaches a course on business taxation and has lectured on cost accounting at executive education programs for wine industry professionals. Contact: Robert Yetman, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-3571, rjyetman@ucdavis.edu.

California Tax Court

Law professor Daniel L. Simmons can discuss the proposal to create an administrative California Tax Court modeled after the United States Tax Court. The court — a recommendation from the Governor's Commission on the 21st Century Economy — would hear income and sales tax appeals, providing taxpayers with a system to contest taxes before an independent tribunal. Professor Simmons is scheduled to testify before the state Assembly’s Revenue and Taxation Committee in May regarding the creation of a California Tax Court. Contact: Daniel L. Simmons, School of Law, (530) 752-2757, office; (510) 987-9303, Academic Senate office; dlsimmons@ucdavis.edu.

About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 32,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $600 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.