Publication Information

The ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research (JLTR), a double-blind peer-reviewed journal, publishes creative and innovative studies that employ legal research methodologies that logically and clearly:

• Identify, describe, and illuminate important current tax issues including the history, development, and congressional intent of specific provisions
• Propose improvements in U.S., state and local, or foreign tax systems, and unique solutions to tax or fiscal problems
• Critically analyze proposed or recent tax law changes from both a technical and a policy perspective
• Discuss improvements in tax compliance, tax complexity, or tax policy
• Provide critical discussions for strategically structuring transactions, considering tax and non-tax ramifications
• Critically analyze recent or proposed legislative or regulatory changes
• Critically analyze similarities and differences between tax accounting and financial accounting issues
• Critically analyze similarities and differences between U.S. and other tax regimes

Legal tax research articles in all areas are appropriate for the journal, including state and local taxation, international taxation, estate and gift tax law, and federal income taxation.  Manuscripts analyzing tax issue of countries other than the U.S., particularly if it includes a comparison to U.S. tax law, are also encouraged. 

JLTR seeks the submission of unpublished manuscripts not under consideration by another journal or publisher.  Each manuscript will be published electronically as soon as the Editor, based on the advice from the reviewers, determines that the manuscript meets the objectives and standards set forth by the American Taxation Association and JLTR’s editorial board.

Review Process

Each manuscript submitted to The ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research is subject to the following review procedures:

• The manuscript is screened by the editor for general suitability.
• If the manuscript passes the initial editorial screening, it will be blind-reviewed by at least two reviewers.
• In light of the reviewers' recommendations, a decision will be made by the editor as to whether the article will be accepted as is, revised, or rejected. It is anticipated that the decision will be communicated to the author within four to six weeks after submission.

The process described above is a general one. The editor may, in some circumstances, vary this process at his or her discretion. Through its constructive and responsive editorial procedures, the journal aims to render research efforts relevant and rewarding for all concerned.

Submission Requirements

Manuscripts are expected to be original research that has not been previously published and is not currently under review by another journal. If measurement instruments (questionnaires, case, interview plan, etc.) have been developed by the authors and are an integral part of the study, copies should be included with the manuscript. Manuscripts are to be submitted using the Manuscript Submission and Peer Review System, at https://publications.aaahq.org/atajltr. The site contains detailed instructions regarding the preparation of files for submission. To ensure anonymous review, the title page is submitted as a separate file from the manuscript text.

The nonrefundable submission fee in U.S. funds is $50 payable by credit card (VISA or MasterCard only) online at https://my.aaahq.org/Shop/Product-Catalog/Product-Details?productid={86561C8F-77DE-EB11-BACB-002248206FBF}. If you are unable to pay by credit card or have any questions please contact the AAA Member Services Team at (941) 921-7747 or info@aaahq.org. Revisions must be submitted within 12 months from notification; otherwise the manuscript will be considered a new submission.

Style

The ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research manuscript preparation guidelines follow (with modifications) Documentation 1 of The Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed.: University of Chicago Press). Citations to authorities should be presented in accordance with The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (17th ed.:Harvard Law Review Association). Spelling follows Webster's International Dictionary.

Format

1. All manuscripts should be double-spaced, except for indented quotations.
2. Margins settings should provide for at least one inch top, side, and bottom margins.
3. A cover page should include the title of the paper, the author's name, title and affiliation, any acknowledgments, and a footnote indicating whether the author is willing to share the data (see policy statement below).
4. All pages, including tables, appendices, and references, should be serially numbered.
5. Spell out numbers from one to ten, except when used in tables and lists, and when used with mathematical, statistical, scientific, or technical units and quantities, such as distances, weights and measures. For example: three days; 3 kilometers; 30 years. All other numbers are expressed numerically.
6. In non-technical copy use the word percent in the text.
7. Use a hyphen to join unit modifiers or to clarify usage. For example: a well-presented analysis; re-form. See Webster's for correct usage.
8. Equations should be numbered in parentheses flush with the right-hand margin.
9. Headings should be arranged so that major headings are centered, bold, and capitalized. Second level headings should be flush left, bold, and both upper and lowercase. Third level headings should be flush left, bold, italic, and both upper and lower case. Fourth level headings should be paragraph indent, bold, and lower case.

Plagiarism Policy

The AAA's Policy Statement regarding plagiarism applies for ATA journals. The policy can be found at
http://aaahq.org/Portals/0/documents/about/Policies&ProceduresManual/PlagiarismPolicy.pdf

Editor

Blaise M. Sonnier
The University of Southern Mississippi, College of Business and Economic Development, School of Accountancy,
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA
E: Blaise.Sonnier@usm.edu

Editor-Elect(TBA)