Dennis J. Ventry, Jr.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Phone: 202-274-4146
E-mail: dventry@wcl.american.edu
Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. is visiting for the 2008-09 academic year from UC Davis School of Law. He was previously an Assistant Professor at Washington College of Law (2006-08), the Visiting Scholar in Taxation at UCLA School of Law (2005-06), and an associate at O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
Professor Ventry is a graduate of UC Los Angeles (B.A., History), UC Santa Barbara (Ph.D., Economic and Legal History), and New York University School of Law (J.D.). He is the author of dozens of articles, book chapters, and an edited volume. His research interests include tax policy, tax theory and history, family taxation, legal ethics and professional standards, tax administration and compliance, distributive justice, and public finance. He is a frequent contributor to TAX NOTES, the leading publisher of tax policy and tax information, and he has provided commentary to popular media including USA TODAY and CNN.
Professor Ventry has been awarded numerous fellowships, including residential appointments from the UCLA School of Law, NYU School of Law, the Brookings Institution, the American Bar Foundation, Harvard University, and the UC Washington Center. He is also an accomplished teacher, having won department and university-wide teaching awards while a graduate student.
Currently Teaching
Degrees & Universities
- B.A., University of California at Los Angeles
- M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara
- Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
- J.D., New York University School of Law
Selected Publications
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Whistleblowers and Qui Tam for Tax, 61 The Tax Law. 357 (Winter 2008). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Save the Economic Substance Doctrine from Congress, 118 Tax Notes 1405 (2008). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Cooperative Tax Regulation, 40 Conn. L. Rev. __ (2008). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Welfare by Any Other Name: Tax Transfers and the EITC, 56 Am. U. L. Rev. 1261 (2007) (reprinted in 114 Tax Notes 955). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Raising the Ethical Bar for Tax Lawyers: Why We Need Circular 230, 111 Tax Notes 823 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., No Income Splitting for Domestic Partners: How the IRS Erred, 110 Tax Notes 1221 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Equity vs. Efficiency and the U.S. Tax System in Historical Perspective, in Tax Justice: The Ongoing Debate (Joseph J. Thorndike & Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., eds., Urban Inst. Press 2002).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., The Collision of Tax and Welfare Politics: The Political History of the Earned Income Tax Credit, in Making Work Pay: The Earned Income Tax Credit and Its Impact on American Families (Bruce Meyer & Douglas Holtz-Eakin, eds., Russell Sage Found. 2001) (reprinted in 53 Natl. Tax J. 983, Dec. 2000). SSRN Link
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More Publications...
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Books
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Tax Justice: The Ongoing Debate (Joseph J. Thorndike, ed., Urban Inst. Press, 2002).
Other Publications
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Whistleblowers and Qui Tam for Tax, 61 Tax Law. __ (2007). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Tax Politics and the New Substantial Understatement Penalty, 113 Tax Notes 98 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., IRS Penalty Report: A Call for Objective Standards, 112 Tax Notes 1183 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Vices and Virtues of an Objective Reporting Standard, 112 Tax Notes 1085 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Filling the Ethical Void: Treasury's 1986 Circular 230 Proposal, 112 Tax Notes 691 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Lowering the Bar: ABA Formal Opinion 85-352, 112 Tax Notes 69 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., No Joke: Circular 230 Is Here To Stay, 111 Tax Notes 1409 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., ABA Formal Opinion 346 and a New Statutory Penaly Regime, 111 Tax Notes 1269 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., The Reaction to the 1980 Proposed Amendments to Circular 230, 111 Tax Notes 1141 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Tax Shelter Opinions Threatened the Tax System in the 1970s, 111 Tax Notes 947 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Reasonable Basis and Ethical Standards Before 1980, 111 Tax Notes 1047 (2006). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. & Chris Campbell, State and Local Taxes: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Property Taxes, Sales and Use Taxes and State and Local Income Taxes, in Tax FAQ's (O’Melveny & Myers LLP 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. & Winston Chang, Small Business Stock: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Qualified Small Business Stock and Section 1244 Stock, in Tax FAQ's (O’Melveny & Myers LLP 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), in Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy (Alice O’Connor & Gwendolyn Mink, eds., ABC-CLIO Press 2004).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Straight Talk About the 'Death' Tax: Politics, Economics and Morality, 89 Tax Notes 1159 (2000). SSRN Link
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., The Not-So-Hidden Welfare State, Review of Julian E. Zelizer, Taxing America: Wilbur D. Mills, Congress and the State, 1945-1975, EH-Net and H-Net (June 2000).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Full Exposure: Tax Policy as Social Policy, Review of Christopher Howard, The Hidden Welfare State: Tax Expenditures and Social Policy in the United States, Tax Notes 393 (1998).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Taxing Women: A Taxing Book, review of Edward J. McCaffery, Taxing Women, Tax Notes 905 (1998).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., The Negative Income Tax: An Intellectual History, Tax Notes 491 (1997).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. & Joseph J. Thorndike, The Plan That Slogans Built: The Revenue Act of 1943, Tax Notes 1241 (1997).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., The Victory Tax of 1942, Tax Notes 1549 (1997).
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Selected Works in Progress
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Ownership as the Basis of Family Taxation, (forthcoming).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., The Politics and Economics of Gender Norms in U.S. Tax Policy, 1969-2007, (forthcoming).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. & Jay Soled, Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Lessons for Tax Enforcement from Tax Shelter Malpractice Litigation, (forthcoming, 2008).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., The (Ignominious) Rise and (Predicted) Fall of the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction, 72 L. &. Contemp. Probs. __ (forthcoming, Fall 2009).
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Selected Presentations
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Presentation, The (Ignominious) Rise and (Predicted) Fall of the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction (Key Developments in the History of the U.S. Federal Income Tax, Sponsored by Law & Contemporary Problems, Duke University School of Law, Durham, N.C., Fall 2009).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Presentation, The Federal Regulation of Tax Lawyers (Panel on “The Lawyer’s Role in Compliance” (with William Simon), Legal Ethics “Schmooze,” Fordham University School of Law, N.Y.C., N.Y., June 2-3, 2008).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Presentation, Whistleblowers and Qui Tam for Tax (Advanced Topics in Taxation Colloquium, Northwestern University School of Law, Chi, Ill., Feb. 7, 2008).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Presentation, The Politics and Economics of Gender Norms and Family Forms under the U.S. Federal Income Tax, 1969-2006 (Historical Perspectives on Tax Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law, L.A., Cal., July 16-17, 2007).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Presentation, From Competition to Cooperation: Imagining a New Tax Compliance Norm (Jr. Tax Scholars Workshop at Boston University School of Law, Bos., Mass., June 8-9, 2007).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Presentation, Welfare by Any Other Name: Tax Transfers and the EITC (Interschool Junior Faculty Poverty Law Workshop, American University Washington College of Law, Wash., D.C., May 31 - June 1, 2007).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Presentation, From Competition to Cooperation: Imagining a New Tax Compliance Norm (Critical Tax Theory Conference, UCLA Schol of Law, L.A., Cal., Apr. 13-14, 2007).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Paper Presentation, Welfare By Any Other Name: How We Can ‘Save’ the EITC (The Janet R. Spragens Memorial Symposium on Low-Income Workers and the Federal Tax System, American University Washington College of Law, Wash., D.C., Feb. 23, 2007).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, The Politics of Economics of Gender Norms and Competing Family Forms Under the U.S. Federal Income Tax, 1969-2006 (Gender, Tax Policies, and Tax Reform in Comparative Perspective,The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., May 17-18, 2006).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Suspicious Minds: Circular 230 and the Dysfunctional Relationship Between Tax Practitioners and the IRS (Tax Policy and Public Finance Colloquium, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, Cal., Apr. 13, 2006).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Family Tax Inequities and Community Property Law, 1913-30 (Legal History Workshop, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, Cal., Feb. 1, 2006).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Panelist Chair, War Taxes: The Crucible of Fiscal Reform (The Annual Meeting of the National Tax Association, Miami, Fla., Nov. 17-19, 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, For Richer, For Poorer: How Tax Policymakers Have Protected and Punished American Families, 1913-2005 (Monday Faculty Colloquium, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, Cal., Nov. 14, 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Tax Justice New Deal Style: FDR, the Treasury Department, and Family Taxation in the 1930s (American Society for Legal History, Austin, Tex., Oct. 28, 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Tax Shelters: Career of a Concept, Historical Perspective on Tax Law and Policy, sponsored by Tax Analysts (UCLA School of Law and Cambridge University Centre for Tax Law, Los Angeles, Cal., July 18, 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Commentator, Rethinking Redistribution: Tax Policy in an Era of Rising Inequality (UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, Cal., Jan. 28, 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Race to the Bottom: Tax Justice, Tax Philosophers, and Tax Reduction (The Annual Meeting of the National Tax Association, Orlando, Fl., Nov. 14, 2005).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Strategies for Scholarship in Tax History (Critical Tax Theory Conference, Washington University School of Law, St. Loius, Mo., Apr. 20-22, 2001).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Gender Injustice?: Using History to Evaluate the Social Effects of the U.S. Income Tax (National Policy History Conference, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, June 1-3, 2000).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, Liberals, Loopholes, and Long-term Growth: Equity, Growth, and Gender in Postwar Tax Policy (American Society for Legal History, Toronto, Can., Oct. 12-23, 1999).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Lecture, Till Death Do Us Part: Marriage, Taxes, and Gender (Visiting Fellows Lecture Series, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, The Dudley House, Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 15, 1999).
- Dennis J. Ventry, Jr., Speech, The Collision of Tax and Welfare Politics: The Political History of the Earned Income Tax Credit, 1969-1999 (The EITC: Early Evidence Conference, Joint Center for Poverty Research, Evanston, Ill., Oct. 7-9, 1999).
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Selected Media Appearances
- USA Today, "A Little Shame Might Just Deter Tax Cheaters" (Gannett Co. Inc. Apr. 10, 2008) (Op-Ed).
- How the U.S. Income Tax Affects Different Kind of Families and on the Phenomenon of Marriage Tax Penalties and Bonuses (The Marc “Mr. K.” Germain Show, KTLK AM 1150, L.A., Cal. Apr. 16, 2007) (Radio Program).
