Faculty

KURT KAWAFUCHI

Cabinet member; Deputy Director of Taxation, Supervisor, Tax Division, State of Hawaii Department of Attorney General. Professor Kawafuchi was appointed as the Deputy Director of Taxation in Governor Lingle’s cabinet on January 15, 2003. He also supervises the Tax Division which represents the State in all tax litigation in federal and state courts, and acts a tax counsel to the Department of Taxation, the Governor, and the Legislature. The Tax Division also acts as parens patriae supervising charities and nonprofits. Prior to November, 1999, Kurt practiced law at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, and focused his practice on tax law, business and international estate planning, and representing clients in civil and criminal tax controversies and litigation. From 1986-1992, he was a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Washington, D.C., and represented the IRS in the federal and state courts in Hawaii and California. Kurt is licensed as an attorney and C.P.A. in Hawaii and California. He is a Certified Tax Law Specialist, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Kurt has served as Chairs of the HSBA Tax Section and the HSCPA Tax Committee, and is currently a director of the HSCPA. He teaches tax and business courses at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hawaii Pacific University. In 1987, he received his Masters in Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.