Tax Stars

The University of Virginia School of Law's tax faculty are known for converting students who are fearful of studying tax into fans of the field. They're also among the nation's top scholars, collectively making the school's tax program one of the best in the nation.

The faculty bring experience from Congress, the Treasury Department and private practice; influence tax decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court; and share their work on an international stage, speaking at forums such as the International Fiscal Association Congress in Basel, Switzerland. Here's a closer look at their expertise:

Michael Doran

• Former partner at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C., practicing federal tax and federal pension law.
• Served twice in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department.
• Most recent scholarship challenges conventional theory of executive compensation.

Andrew Hayashi

• Ph.D. in economics from University of California, Berkeley; M.Sc. in economics and philosophy from the London School of Economics.
• Was a research fellow at the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University, where his research focused on the effects of tax policy on real estate and housing markets.
• Hayashi's research on "tax salience" — meaning how visible a tax is — showed a correlation between higher salience and a higher number of appeals of property tax assessments.

Ruth Mason

• National reporter for the United States to the 2008 IFA Congress on tax discrimination and the 2014 European Associate Tax Law Professors Congress on tax information exchange. 
• Co-editor of Kluwer's "Series on International Taxation" and a member of the editorial board of the World Tax Journal.
• Mason's research focuses on comparative taxation, with an emphasis on EU tax law.
• Amicus brief cited by U.S. Supreme Court in Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne.
• Has a four-part special report on EU state aids forthcoming in Tax Notes.

Mildred W. Robinson

• Commissioner from Virginia to the National Conference on Uniform State Laws from 1990-94.
• Teaches courses on estate planning and gift taxes, federal income tax, and how gender and status relate to economics.
• Was a member of the inaugural Board of Directors for Law Access Inc. (currently The Access Group).
• Has proposed tax solutions to stabilize K-12 education funding.

Paul B. Stephan '77

• Worked on a variety of projects involving law reform in former socialist states after the collapse of the Soviet Union, including Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Albania and Slovakia on behalf of the U.S. Treasury, and in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan on behalf of the International Monetary Fund.
• Helped win case against Russian government's seizure of an oil company.
• Worked as a reporter on the Fourth Restatement, providing guidance on foreign relations law.

Thomas R. White III

• A faculty member since 1967, White has been actively involved in developing and administering the tax curriculum.
• Is a member of various committees of the American Bar Association's Tax Section; as a Tax Section member, he participated in study groups set up to propose simplification of domestic relations tax laws.
• For two years was attorney-adviser in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel for the U.S. Treasury Department.

Ethan Yale

• Research and teaching emphasizes the taxation of business entities and complex transactions, including tax shelters.
• Received the Law School's Carl McFarland Prize for outstanding research. 
• Selected to present at the Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum.

George K. Yin

• Served as chief of staff of the U.S. Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation, one of the most influential tax positions in the country.
• As tax counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, he coordinated a major project to revise the tax laws dealing with corporate-shareholder transactions, including corporate mergers and acquisitions.
• Was a co-reporter on an American Law Institute project to reform the taxation of private businesses organized as corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies.
• Served as a consultant to a number of organizations, including the Department of Treasury and the IRS. 
• Now in the media for suggesting how Congress could release President Donald Trump's tax returns.

 
Studying Tax at UVA Law

From EU taxation to the nonprofit clinic, students have access to a full range of topics in tax law at the law school.

Outside of the classroom, about 50 students each year assist the Volunteer Income Tax Association in helping low- and moderate-income residents file their taxes. VITA's efforts were recognized by the American Bar Association in September. Many students also participate in the Virginia Tax Review, one of the school's oldest student-run journals and a top tax specialty journal. Each year the Law School hosts the Virginia Tax Study Group, a meeting of some of the nation's leading experts in tax policy, including scholars, practitioners and government officials.

2014-17 Courses

• Accounting: Understanding and Analyzing Financial Statements
• Corporate Tax
• Employee Benefits Law
• Estate Planning: Principles and Practice
• EU Taxation
• Federal Income Tax
• Federal Income Tax: Advanced Topics
• Federal Taxation of Gratuitous Transfers
• Gender, Status and Taxation
• International Tax Policy
• International Taxation
• Issues in State and Local Taxation and Fiscal Policy
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Partnership Tax
• Practical Trust and Estate Administration
• Private Equity and Hedge Funds
• Professional Responsibility for Tax Lawyers
• Providing K-12 Education; Taxes and Money
• Quantitative Methods
• Real Estate Transactions: Principles and Practice
• Retirement Security
• State Tax in the U.S. and EU
• Tax Discrimination
• Tax Policy
• Tax Policy and Reform
• Tax Practice and Procedure Seminar
• Taxation and Economic Development

Clinic

Nonprofit Clinic