
Steven Dean
Professor of Law
Paul Siskind Research Scholar
BA, Williams College
JD, Yale Law School
Biography
Steven Dean is Professor of Law and Paul Siskind Research Scholar at Boston University School of Law. His scholarship explores international tax policy, racial equity, and the intersection of tax law with philanthropy and social enterprise. He teaches courses including International Tax, Introduction to Federal Income Taxation, and Taxation and Racial Capitalism.
Dean is the author of Racial Capitalism and International Tax Law: The Story of Global Jim Crow (Oxford University Press, 2025) and coauthor of For-Profit Philanthropy: Elite Power and the Threat of Limited Liability Companies, Donor-Advised Funds, and Strategic Corporate Giving (Oxford University Press, 2023), which received the ARNOVA Outstanding Book Award. His other books include Social Enterprise Law: A Multijurisdictional Comparative Review(Intersentia, 2023) and Social Enterprise Law: Trust, Public Benefit, and Capital Markets(Oxford University Press, 2017). He has also published widely in leading journals, including the NYU Law Review and the Emory Law Journal.
A leading voice in the movement to bring racial equity into tax scholarship and policymaking, Dean’s work has influenced debates from the halls of Congress to the United Nations and has forced President Biden and the OECD to abandon racially charged rhetoric and imagery. He has served on the boards many of the leading voices in US tax policy and public finance, including the National Tax Association. He has also advised organizations including the Tax Justice Network, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and the OECD. Dean serves on the steering committee of BU’s Global Development Policy Center and is a core Faculty member of its Global Economic Governance Initiative. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Before joining BU Law, Dean served on the faculty of Brooklyn Law School, where he was Vice Dean and Co-Director of the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law. He has also held visiting positions at NYU School of Law and taught internationally. Earlier in his career, he practiced tax law at Debevoise & Plimpton and Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and worked as a transfer pricing researcher at KPMG.
Dean earned his BA in political economy from Williams College and his JD from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Tax Law Professors
- Areas of Interest
- Tax Law
Publications
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Steven Dean, Racial Capitalism and International Tax Law: The Story of Global Jim Crow (2025)
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Dana Brakman Reiser, Steven Dean & Giedre Lideikyte Huber, Social Enterprise Law: A Multijurisdictional Comparative Review (2023)
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Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven Dean, For-Profit Philanthropy: Elite Power and the Threat of Limited Liability Companies, Donor-Advised Funds, and Strategic Corporate Giving (2023)
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Steven Dean, Surrey's Silence: Subpart F and the Swiss Subsidiary Tax that Never Was 86 Law and Contemporary Problems (2023)
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Steven Dean, Filing While Black: The Casual Racism of the Tax Law 2022 Utah Law Review (2022)
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Steven A. Dean, Beyond the "Made in America Tax Plan": GILTI and International Tax Cooperation's next Golden Age 18 Pittsburgh Tax Review (2021)
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Steven Dean & Dana Brakman Reiser, Chapter 27: Trust and For-Profit Philanthropy: from Surrey’s Private Foundation to Zuckerberg’s Limited Liability Company, in The Routledge Handbook of Taxation and Philanthropy (Henry Peter and Giedre Lideikyte Huber,2021)
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Steven Dean, Predatory Cooperation: Reaction to L. Ahrens, L. Hakelberg & T. Rixen 49 Intertax (2021)
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Steven A. Dean & Attiya Waris, Ten Truths about Tax Havens: Inclusion and the "Liberia" Problem 70 Emory Law Journal (2021)
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Steven Dean, A Constitutional Moment in Cross-Border Taxation 1 Journal on Financing for Development (2021)
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Steven Dean, Lawrence M. Solan & Lukasz Stankiewicz, Text, Intent and Taxation in the United States, the United Kingdom and France The Routledge Companion to Tax Avoidance Research (2020)
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Steven Dean, FATCA, the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus, and the OECD Blacklist Tax Notes International (2020)
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Steven Dean & Dana Brakman Reiser, The Social Enterprise Life Cycle, in The Cambridge Handbook of Social Enterprise Law (Benjamin Means and Joseph W. Yockey,2018)
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Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven Dean, Social Enterprise Law: Trust, Public Benefit and Capital Markets (2017)
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Steven Dean & Bradley Borden, Federal Taxation of Corporations and Corporate Transactions (2017)
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Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven A. Dean, Financing the Benefit Corporation 40 Seattle University Law Review (2017)
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Steven A. Dean & Rebecca M. Kysar, Reconsidering the Tax Treaty 41 Brooklyn Journal of International Law (2016)
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Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven A. Dean, SE(c)(3): A Catalyst for Social Enterprise Crowdfunding 90 Indiana Law Journal (2015)
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Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven Dean, Creative Financing for Social Enterprise 12 Stanford Social Innovation Review (2014)
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Steven A. Dean, Space Madness: Subsidies and Economic Substance 99 Cornell Law Review Online (2014)
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Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven A. Dean, Hunting Stag with Fly Paper: A Hybrid Financial Instrument for Social Enterprise 54 Boston College Law Review (2013)
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Steven A. Dean, The Tax Expenditure Budget Is a Zombie Accountant 46 U.C. Davis Law Review (2012)
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Steven A. Dean, Neither Rules Nor Standards 87 Notre Dame Law Review (2011)
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Steven A. Dean, Tax Deregulation 86 NYU Law Review (2011)
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Steven A. Dean, More Cooperation, Less Uniformity: Tax Deharmonization and the Future of the International Tax Regime 84 Tulane Law Review (2009)
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Steven A. Dean, The Incomplete Global Market for Tax Information 49 Boston College Law Review (2008)
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Allison Christians, Steven Dean, Diane Ring & Adam H. Rosenzweig, Taxation as a Global Socio-Legal Phenomenon 14 ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law (2008)
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Steven A. Dean, Philosopher Kings and International Tax: A New Approach to Tax Havens, Tax Flight, and International Tax Cooperation 58 Hastings Law Journal (2007)
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Steven A. Dean & Lawrence M. Solan, Tax Shelters and the Code: Navigating between Text and Intent 26 Virginia Tax Review (2007)
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Steven A. Dean, Attractive Complexity: Tax Deregulation, the Check-the-Box Election, and the Future of Tax Simplification 34 Hofstra Law Review (2005)
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In the Media
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The Center for Economic and Social Rights September 23, 2025
Key Voices: Steven Dean on global tax justice, racial capitalism, and dismantling Global Jim Crow
Steven Dean is interviewed.
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TaxProf Blog August 8, 2025
Back To The Future: How The Pre-OECD Global Tax Landscape Offers Lessons For Today
Steven Dean's work is featured.
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Tax Justice Network June 17, 2025
US Ignored as Sevilla ‘Financing for Development’ Outcome Is Adopted by Consensus
Steven Dean is mentioned.
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Tax Prof Blog May 25, 2025
Today’s Law, Society, And Taxation Panels
Steven Dean is mentioned.
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TaxProf Blog May 16, 2025
Tax Prof Presentations At The Biennial Conference on International Economic Law Today At Michigan
Steven Dean is mentioned.
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gbh April 15, 2025
“It’s a Hot Mess”: Michelle Singletary on Tariffs, Jobs and What’s Next
Steven Dean is interviewed.
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TaxProf Blog January 14, 2025
2025 Tax Prof Rankings: Google Scholar H-Index All
David Walker and Steven Dean are mentioned.
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Tax Notes December 16, 2024
Person of the Year: Dorothy Brown, Champion for Change
Steven Dean is quoted.
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TaxProf Blog December 2, 2024
Tax Panel at the United Nations on Global Tax Reform to Produce Financing for Development
Steven Dean is mentioned.
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Tax Justice Network November 21, 2024
Joint statement: It’s time for the OECD to walk the talk on human rights
Steven Dean is a signatory.
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Tax Class October 28, 2024
Steven Dean on Business Deductions and Racial Disparities
Steven Dean is interviewed.
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September 10, 2024
Meet the 2024 GDP Center Faculty Steering Committee
Steven Dean is mentioned.
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ARNOVA August 23, 2024
2024 Award Recipients
Steven Dean is mentioned.
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Diverse Education July 24, 2024
The Law School Hiring Market Undervalues Women, Minorities
Steven Dean pens an opinion.
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Tax Justice Network June 24, 2024
G20 Blueprint Adds to Growing Wealth Tax Momentum
Steven Dean's research is featured.
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Stories from The Record
Activities & Engagements
No upcoming activities or engagements.