Steven Dean

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)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Dana Brakman Reiser, Steven Dean & Giedre Lideikyte Huber, Social Enterprise Law: A Multijurisdictional Comparative Review (2023)
    Scholarly Commons
  • 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)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven Dean, Surrey's Silence: Subpart F and the Swiss Subsidiary Tax that Never Was 86 Law and Contemporary Problems (2023)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven Dean, Filing While Black: The Casual Racism of the Tax Law 2022 Utah Law Review (2022)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, Beyond the "Made in America Tax Plan": GILTI and International Tax Cooperation's next Golden Age 18 Pittsburgh Tax Review (2021)
    Scholarly Commons
  • 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)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven Dean, Predatory Cooperation: Reaction to L. Ahrens, L. Hakelberg & T. Rixen 49 Intertax (2021)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean & Attiya Waris, Ten Truths about Tax Havens: Inclusion and the "Liberia" Problem 70 Emory Law Journal (2021)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven Dean, A Constitutional Moment in Cross-Border Taxation 1 Journal on Financing for Development (2021)
    Scholarly Commons
  • 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)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven Dean, FATCA, the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus, and the OECD Blacklist Tax Notes International (2020)
    Scholarly Commons
  • 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)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven Dean, Social Enterprise Law: Trust, Public Benefit and Capital Markets (2017)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven Dean & Bradley Borden, Federal Taxation of Corporations and Corporate Transactions (2017)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven A. Dean, Financing the Benefit Corporation 40 Seattle University Law Review (2017)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean & Rebecca M. Kysar, Reconsidering the Tax Treaty 41 Brooklyn Journal of International Law (2016)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven A. Dean, SE(c)(3): A Catalyst for Social Enterprise Crowdfunding 90 Indiana Law Journal (2015)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven Dean, Creative Financing for Social Enterprise 12 Stanford Social Innovation Review (2014)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, Space Madness: Subsidies and Economic Substance 99 Cornell Law Review Online (2014)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Dana Brakman Reiser & Steven A. Dean, Hunting Stag with Fly Paper: A Hybrid Financial Instrument for Social Enterprise 54 Boston College Law Review (2013)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, The Tax Expenditure Budget Is a Zombie Accountant 46 U.C. Davis Law Review (2012)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, Neither Rules Nor Standards 87 Notre Dame Law Review (2011)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, Tax Deregulation 86 NYU Law Review (2011)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, More Cooperation, Less Uniformity: Tax Deharmonization and the Future of the International Tax Regime 84 Tulane Law Review (2009)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, The Incomplete Global Market for Tax Information 49 Boston College Law Review (2008)
    Scholarly Commons
  • 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)
    Scholarly Commons
  • 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)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean & Lawrence M. Solan, Tax Shelters and the Code: Navigating between Text and Intent 26 Virginia Tax Review (2007)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Steven A. Dean, Attractive Complexity: Tax Deregulation, the Check-the-Box Election, and the Future of Tax Simplification 34 Hofstra Law Review (2005)
    Scholarly Commons

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.
    read more

  • 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.
    read more

  • Tax Justice Network June 17, 2025

    US Ignored as Sevilla ‘Financing for Development’ Outcome Is Adopted by Consensus

    Steven Dean is mentioned.
    read more

  • Tax Prof Blog May 25, 2025

    Today’s Law, Society, And Taxation Panels

    Steven Dean is mentioned.
    read more

  • TaxProf Blog May 16, 2025

    Tax Prof Presentations At The Biennial Conference on International Economic Law Today At Michigan

    Steven Dean is mentioned.
    read more

  • gbh April 15, 2025

    “It’s a Hot Mess”: Michelle Singletary on Tariffs, Jobs and What’s Next

    Steven Dean is interviewed.
    read more

  • TaxProf Blog January 14, 2025

    2025 Tax Prof Rankings: Google Scholar H-Index All

    David Walker and Steven Dean are mentioned.
    read more

  • Tax Notes December 16, 2024

    Person of the Year: Dorothy Brown, Champion for Change

    Steven Dean is quoted.
    read more

  • TaxProf Blog December 2, 2024

    Tax Panel at the United Nations on Global Tax Reform to Produce Financing for Development

    Steven Dean is mentioned.
    read more

  • 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.
    read more

  • Tax Class October 28, 2024

    Steven Dean on Business Deductions and Racial Disparities

    Steven Dean is interviewed.
    read more

  • 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.
    read more

  • Diverse Education July 24, 2024

    The Law School Hiring Market Undervalues Women, Minorities

    Steven Dean pens an opinion.
    read more

  • Tax Justice Network June 24, 2024

    G20 Blueprint Adds to Growing Wealth Tax Momentum

    Steven Dean's research is featured.
    read more

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Stories from The Record

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Activities & Engagements

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Courses

LAW JD 889

Introduction to Federal Income Taxation

4 credits

The income tax is a pervasive feature of life in the United States and lawyers encounter tax issues in virtually every field of practice. This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of the federal income tax, and its impact on a wide range of matters, including employment, tort claims, divorce, retirement, and especially business activities and investments of all types Topics include: the concept of income, determination of gross income, allowance of deductions and the determination of taxable income, identification of the taxpayer, taxable periods and timing, the determination of gain or loss (including realization and recognition) from dealings in property, the concept of income tax basis, and the process of change in the tax law. GRADING NOTICE: Professor Dean's section does not offer the CR/NC/H option.


FALL 2025: LAW JD 889 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Fri 9:00 am 10:20 am 4 Theodore S. Sims LAW 212
Tue,Thu 9:00 am 10:25 am 4 Theodore S. Sims LAW 212
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 889 B1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 8:30 am 10:30 am 4 Steven Dean
LAW TX 906

Tax Aspects of International Business

2 credits

Undergraduate Prerequisites: TX 901; Undergraduate Corequisites: TX 901 - Tax aspects of international business transactions, both "inbound" and "outbound", with particular attention to fiscal jurisdiction, the foreign tax credit, allocation of income among affiliated companies, treaties, anti-abuse measures aimed at tax haven operations, information reporting and foreign investment in U.S. securities and real estate. Prerequisite or corequisite: Federal Income Taxation I.


FALL 2025: LAW TX 906 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon 4:20 pm 6:20 pm 2 Steven Dean LAW 211
FALL 2025: LAW TX 906 OL, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am 2 Steven Dean
LAW JD 692

Taxation and Racial Capitalism

3 credits

Taxation and Racial Capitalism will explore the ways that anti-Black racism has shaped legal rules and institutions both domestically and globally. It will illustrate the dynamics of racial capitalism by tracing the evolution of international tax rules once shaped and now sustained by racial fears, perpetuating a false fiscal scarcity that has impoverished vulnerable states and eviscerated social safety nets in wealthier ones. Cycles of liberation and backlash from Reconstruction to decolonization have granted political power and economic autonomy to formerly enslaved individuals and erstwhile possessions only to watch it be stripped away, whether through Jim Crow laws or treaties designed to constrain fiscal sovereignty. This course will tell that familiar story from an unconventional perspective. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.


FALL 2025: LAW JD 692 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 3 Steven Dean LAW 702