Christopher H. Hanna

Full-time faculty

Alan D. Feld Endowed Professor of Law and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor

Biography

Christopher H. Hanna is the Alan D. Feld Endowed Professor of Law and the Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor at Southern Methodist University. Professor Hanna has been a visiting professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, the University of Texas School of Law, and the University of Tokyo School of Law. In 1998, Professor Hanna served as a consultant in residence to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. From June 2000 until April 2001, he assisted the U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation in its complexity study of the U.S. tax system and from May 2002 until February 2003, he assisted the Joint Committee in its study of Enron. Upon completion of the study, continued to serve as a consultant to the Joint Committee on tax legislation. From May 2011 until December 2018, he served as Senior Policy Advisor for Tax Reform to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (Republican staff).

Prior to coming to SMU, Professor Hanna was a tax attorney with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Steptoe & Johnson. He has received nine Dr. Don M. Smart Teaching Awards for excellence in teaching at SMU Dedman School of Law. In 1995, he was selected and featured in Barrister magazine, a publication of the ABA Young Lawyers' Division, as one of “21 Young Lawyers Leading Us Into the 21st Century” (Special Profile Issue 1995).

Professor Hanna received his undergraduate degree in accounting at the University of Florida (1984) and his law degrees at University of Florida College of Law (1988) and New York University School of Law (1989). He is a member of the Order of the Coif, Beta Alpha Psi, Beta Gamma Sigma and Omicron Delta Epsilon.

He has authored numerous articles in various areas of taxation including international taxation, corporate taxation, partnership taxation, and tax accounting. Professor Hanna’s first book entitled Comparative Income Tax Deferral: The United States and Japan was released in July 2000. He co-authored his second book entitled Corporate Income Tax Accounting, which was released in October 2007 and is now in its 15th edition (forthcoming 2022). His third book, Tax Policy in a Nutshell, was released in September 2018 and is now in its 2nd edition (2022). He is a member of the American Law Institute, the American College of Tax Counsel and the Dallas Assembly.

Areas of Expertise

  • International Tax Law
  • Corporate Tax Law
  • Tax Accounting

Education

B.S., University of Florida
J.D., University of Florida Levin College of Law
LL.M. (in Taxation), NYU School of Law

Courses

Income Taxation
International Tax
Advanced Corporate Tax
Partnership Tax

Books

CORPORATE INCOME TAX ACCOUNTING (West Academic Publishing Hornbook Series 2023)

CORPORATE INCOME TAX ACCOUNTING (Warren Gorham & Lamont 2007, 2nd ed. 2008, 3rd ed. 2009, 4th ed. 2010, 5th ed. 2011, 6th ed. 2012, 7th ed. 2013, 8th ed. 2014, 9th ed. 2015, 10th ed. 2016, 11th ed. 2017, 12th ed. 2018, 13th ed. 2019, 14th ed. 2020)

TAX POLICY IN A NUTSHELL (West Academic Publishing 2018; 2nd ed. 2022)

COMPARATIVE INCOME TAX DEFERRAL: THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN, (Kluwer Law International 2000) (reviewed in Canadian Tax Journal (vol. 49, no. 3, 2001) and Tax Notes (vol. 95, no. 4, April 22, 2002))

Articles

U.S. International Tax Policy and Corporate America, 48 Journal of Corporation Law (forthcoming 2022-23) (with Cody A. Wilson)

The Rise of the Minimum Tax, 100 Taxes: The Tax Magazine 65 (The University of Chicago Law School’s 74th Annual Federal Tax Conference) (March 2022) (with Michelle Hanlon, Norman Richter and Michael Schler)

Corporate Tax Integration; Past, Present, and Future, 75 The Tax Lawyer 307 (2022)
The ABA

U.S. Tax and Transfer Pricing Developments, Sozei Kenkyu, Journal of Taxation Studies (2019) (in Japanese) (co-author)

BEAT As an Element of the Evolving Global Tax Environment, 10 Columbia Journal of Tax Law 155 (2018) (co-author)

Some Observations on Corporate or Business Tax Reform, 68 SMU Law Review 595 (2015)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Corporate Tax Reform: Listening to Corporate America, 35 Journal of Corporation Law 283 (2009)
SSRN | SMU Repository

The Real Value of Tax Deferral, 61 Florida Law Review 203 (2009)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Taxation of Supernormal Returns, (with David Elkins), 62 Tax Lawyer 93 (Fall 2008)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Tax Theories and Tax Reform, 59 SMU Law Review 435 (Spring 2006—Tax Symposium Issue)
SSRN | SMU Repository

The Magic in the Tax Legislative Process, 59 SMU Law Review 649 (Spring 2006—Tax Symposium Issue)
SSRN | SMU Repository

From Gregory to Enron:  The Too Perfect Theory and Tax Law, 24 Virginia Tax Review 737 (2005)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Some Observations on a Pure Income Tax System, 34 International Lawyer 125 (2000) (Reprinted in A New International Financial Architecture: A Viable Approach (2001))
SMU Repository

Demystifying Tax Deferral, 52 SMU Law Review 383 (1999—Tax Symposium Issue )
SMU Repository

The Virtual Reality of Eliminating Tax Deferral, 12 American Journal of Tax Policy 449 (1995)
SMU Repository

Partnership Distributions: Whatever Happened to Nonrecognition?, 82 Kentucky Law Journal 465 (1994)
SMU Repository

Co-Author, “Interest Under Section 453A(c): Is It or Isn't It?” 56 Tax Notes 1345 (1992) (with Samuel Olchyk)
Tax Notes

A Partnership's Business Purpose Taxable Year: A Deferral Provision Whose Time Has Passed, 45 The Tax Lawyer 685 (1992)

U.S. Tax Treatment of Cross-Border Acquisitive Reorganizations, Part I, 37 Canadian Tax Journal 1074 (1989) (with co-author)

U.S. Tax Treatment of Cross-Border Acquisitive Reorganizations, Part II, 37 Canadian Tax Journal 1318 (1989) (with co-author)

Notice 89-21 Crashes the Interest Rate Swap Party, 45 Tax Notes 337 (1989) (with co-author)

Book Chapters

Some Observations on the Japanese Tax System at the Beginning of the 21st Century, in LAW IN JAPAN: A TURNING POINT (2008)

Income and Consumption: Peru and the United States, in LAW, CULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A LIBER AMICORUM FOR PROFESSOR ROBERTO MACLEAN, CBE (2007)

An Introduction to Taxation in the United States,” to be translated into Spanish and published, in EL DERECHO DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EN MATERIA DE INVERSIONES Y LIBRE COMERCIO (2001) (co-author)

Other Publications

Comprehensive Tax Reform for 2015 and Beyond (Senate Finance Committee December 2014) (Principal Drafter)

The Transfer Pricing of Intangibles, 114 Tax Notes 861 (February 26, 2007) (with Cym H. Lowell) (reprinted in 45 Tax Notes International 1111 (March 19, 2007))

"Additional Options to Improve Tax Compliance,” prepared by the Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (August 3, 2006) (contributor)

Options to Improve Compliance and Reform Tax Expenditures, Contributor Report of the U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation (January 27, 2005)

Report of Investigation of Enron Corporation and Related Entities Regarding Federal Tax and Compensation Issues, and Policy Recommendations, Consultant, Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (3 volumes) (February 2003)

Introduction, Incremental and Fundamental Tax Reform, 56 SMU Law Review 3 (Winter 2003)
SMU Repository

Some Modest Simplification Proposals for Inbound Transactions, 56 SMU Law Review 377 (Winter 2003)
SSRN | SMU Repository

A Tribute to Professor Joseph W. McKnight: Shades of the Highwayman's Case in the 21st Century, 55 SMU Law Review 229 (2002)
SMU Repository

The Alternative Minimum Tax: The Ticking Time Bomb in the Income Tax System, 33 The Brief 32 (Fall 2001)
SMU Repository

Introduction, 54 SMU Law Review 3 (2001—Tax Symposium Issue)
SMU Repository

Study of the Overall State of the Federal Tax System and Recommendations for Simplification, Pursuant to Section 8022(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Assisted in Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (April 2001)

Introduction, 52 SMU Law Review 333 (1999—Tax Symposium Issue)
SMU Repository

Current Trends in American Legal Education, 44 Dokkyo University Law Review 23 (1997)

Initial Thoughts on Classifying the Major Japanese Business Entities Under the Check-the-Box Regulations, 51 SMU Law Review 75 (1998)
SMU Repository

Book Review, U.S. International Taxation, 27 The International Lawyer 811 (1993)
SMU Repository

Supreme Court Decides Two Major Tax Cases, 11 ABA Section of Taxation Newsletter 73 (1992) (co-author)

Presentations

The Rise of the Minimum Tax, 74th Annual Federal Tax Conference, University of Chicago Law School (November 5-6, 2021)

U.S. International Tax Law Developments, 69th Annual University of Texas Law School Tax Conference (December 1-2, 2021)