Foreword: The Lasting Legacy of Stanley S. Surrey

Abstract

This paper is the preface to a Law & Contemporary Problems Symposium on “The Legacy of Stanley S. Surrey.” It provides a brief introduction to Surrey’s continuing influence on tax law scholarship and policymaking, as well as summaries of the twelve articles contained in this issue.

In the century-plus history of the federal income tax, no tax lawyer –practitioner or academic – has had as pervasive and enduring an influence on the development of tax law and policy as Stanley S. Surrey. With the publication last year of Surrey’s annotated and edited memoirs, the time is right for a detailed consideration of the many facets of Surrey’s legacy. The articles in this journal issue take up that challenge by exploring the many facets of Surrey’s professional and personal life. The recently published memoirs and the articles collected in this issue are not offered as the last words on the subject; rather, they are part of a robust ongoing dialogue among scholars and practitioners on the twenty-first century impact of Surrey and his ideas.

Keywords: Tax Law, Tax Policy, Legal History, Legal Biography, Taxation, Economic History

JEL Classification: K10, K30