Inspires students to aim high and excel.
Dr. Benjamin W. Akins serves as Professor of Legal Studies and Taxation and Assistant Dean for the School of Business at Georgia Gwinnett College, a position he has held in the latter role since 2018. He has been a full-time faculty member in the School of Business since 2012. In his administrative capacity, Akins coordinates the school's four centers, assists with course scheduling, liaises with the Office of Advancement on development initiatives, and oversees part-time faculty. Before entering academia, he practiced as an attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. In the first phase of his IRS tenure, Akins worked alongside the Treasury Department to formulate policy on non-profit organizations, including drafting regulations governing government interactions with houses of worship and providing guidance on exempt organizations involved in prohibited tax shelter transactions. Subsequently, he functioned as a litigator in the Large Business & International Division, offering legal counsel during IRS audits of major corporations and advocating for the government's position in U.S. Tax Court litigation. Akins obtained his Bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Georgia. He earned his J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, Mississippi, while clerking for the Business Regulation and Enforcement division of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office. He further advanced his expertise with an LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law in Manhattan.
Akins instructs courses in business law, utilizing class discussions, quizzes, multiple-choice exams, and narrative techniques to illustrate concepts, and in income taxation, incorporating lectures, sample problems, homework assignments, quizzes, problem-based exams, and practical projects requiring the preparation of tax returns for hypothetical clients. His research and academic interests encompass exempt organizations, charitable giving, law and technology, and law and society. Notable publications include “A whole new world: Income tax considerations of the Bitcoin economy” in the Pittsburgh Tax Review (2014), “The Case for the Regulation of Bitcoin Mining as a Security” in the Virginia Journal of Law & Technology (2014), “A Broken Vesper: Questioning the Relevancy and Workability of the Church Audit Procedures Act” in the Seton Hall Legislative Journal (2020), “Fiduciary Duty within the Parent-Adolescent Entrepreneurial Relationship” in the Cumberland Law Review (2020), and “Addressing the Supply of Frozen Embryos in a Post-Dobbs America” in the University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy (2024). In September 2025, he received promotion to the rank of full professor during Georgia Gwinnett College's Fall Recognition ceremony. Akins contributes to public discourse as a tax expert, featured in college news articles and media on topics such as IRS audits, tax filing strategies, and new tax laws.