State Taxation

John Swain

John Swain has devoted most of his professional life to the study and practice of state and local taxation and is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading academic authorities on state and local taxation. He is co-author of the leading treatise on state taxation, State Taxation, vols. I & II (3d ed., Warren Gorham & Lamont, 2015 rev.) (with Jerome and Walter Hellerstein), and one the leading casebooks on state and local taxation, State and Local Taxation (10th ed., Thomson/West, 2013) (with Hellerstein, Stark, & Youngman). He is also co-author of Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (4th ed. 2007-08) (with Walter Hellerstein). In addition, he has written over 50 articles and essays regarding state taxation and related topics. Swain's work is regularly cited by courts and administrative tribunals throughout the nation. Professor Swain has also testified before Congress on matters of state tax policy and has appeared as an expert witness in state tax controversies, most recently in a matter regarding the property taxation of the Alaskan Pipeline.

Professor Swain has also practiced extensively in the state tax field. While a member of the Arizona Law faculty, he argued a case before the Ohio Supreme Court regarding the federal constitutionality of a state tax levy. DIRECT TV, Inc. v. Levin, 128 Ohio St.3d 68, 941 N.E.2d 1187 (2010) (amicus). Before joining the Arizona Law faculty, Swain was a partner with Streich, Lang, Weeks & Cardon (now Quarles & Brady), where he represented clients in a broad range of state and local tax matters.

In 2010, Professor Swain was named to the All-Decade State and Local Tax Team by State Tax Notes magazine.

Swain earned his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Journal of Law and Policy.