New Tax Law Chair Endowed

Officials at Harvard Law School announced last week that they have established a new endowed professorship to honor tax specialist and former faculty member Stanley S. Surrey.

"Stanley Surrey combined the best of theory and practicality to become the dominant figure in world and U.S. tax policy over a 30-year period," said his former colleague and international tax specialist, Professor Emeritus Oliver Oldman.

Surrey was a professor at the Law School from 1950 to 1961 and from 1969 until his retirement in 1981. Surrey died in 1984.

As U.S. Treasury Department assistant secretary for tax policy during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Surrey worked to design the Revenue acts of 1962 and 1964.

He also prepared materials that led directly to the Tax Reform Act of 1969, and led indirectly to subsequent tax Reform through the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Surrey was chief reporter for the American Law Institute's Federal Income Tax project from 1948 to 1961. And he helped develop a new tax system for Japan as a member of the American Tax Mission to Japan in 1949-50.

"[The chair is named for] a distinguished law school professor who had a remarkable impact on thousands of students and a remarkable impact on how we think about tax policy," Dean of the Law School Robert C. Clark said in a press release.

"The chair helps to make perma- nent the bond between Stanley Surrey and the[Law School] and to ensure that his memory liveson to inspire generations to come," Clark said.

Professor Bernard Wolfman said of his formercolleague: "From the early 1940s to his death in1984, every major piece of federal tax legislationcame to fruition only after the views of StanleySurrey were heard and considered, sometimesendorsed and sometimes not."

Three former Secretaries of theTreasury--Douglas Dillon, Henry Fowler and JosephBarr-- served as chairs of the professorship fund,which was organized in the 1985-86 academic year.Attorneys Joseph Guttentag and Donald Lubick werevice-chairs. Professor Oldman coordinated theirefforts.

The fund's committee in Japan, responsible forraising more than $500,000, was chaired byProfessor Hiroshi Kaneko, who was a Harvard LawSchool student under Surrey and Oldman from 1961to 1963 and a visiting scholar from 1976 to 1977.

Kaneko became the first tax law professor atthe University of Tokyo, following arecommendation by Surrey during the Japan TaxMission in 1949-50 that the Japanese Ministry ofEducation create a professorship of that title atthe country's leading national university.

The Japanese fund committee was co-chaired byKeichiro Hirata prior to his death in 1992. Hirataserved as director-general of the Japan Tax Bureauand vice-minister of finance while Surrey was inJapan

Professor Bernard Wolfman said of his formercolleague: "From the early 1940s to his death in1984, every major piece of federal tax legislationcame to fruition only after the views of StanleySurrey were heard and considered, sometimesendorsed and sometimes not."

Three former Secretaries of theTreasury--Douglas Dillon, Henry Fowler and JosephBarr-- served as chairs of the professorship fund,which was organized in the 1985-86 academic year.Attorneys Joseph Guttentag and Donald Lubick werevice-chairs. Professor Oldman coordinated theirefforts.

The fund's committee in Japan, responsible forraising more than $500,000, was chaired byProfessor Hiroshi Kaneko, who was a Harvard LawSchool student under Surrey and Oldman from 1961to 1963 and a visiting scholar from 1976 to 1977.

Kaneko became the first tax law professor atthe University of Tokyo, following arecommendation by Surrey during the Japan TaxMission in 1949-50 that the Japanese Ministry ofEducation create a professorship of that title atthe country's leading national university.

The Japanese fund committee was co-chaired byKeichiro Hirata prior to his death in 1992. Hirataserved as director-general of the Japan Tax Bureauand vice-minister of finance while Surrey was inJapan