Burnet Maybank III


Burnet Rhett Maybank III is a lawyer, author, and former director of the South Carolina Department of Revenue, appointed under both Governor David Beasley as the first director of the department, and Governor Mark Sanford. As director, in 2005 Maybank testified to the United States Senate about the influence of the tax code on land conservation.
In addition to receiving other honors, he has been selected by peer review for The Best Lawyers in America since 2009.

Early life and education

Maybank was born into one of Charleston's oldest blueblood families, whose ancestors became established there in 1672. His father, Burnet R. Maybank Jr., was a former Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and his paternal grandfather, Burnet Maybank, was the former United States Senator and Governor of South Carolina.
Maybank attended Porter-Gaud School and graduated from St. Paul's School, in 1974. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 1978. Maybank received his law degree from the University of South Carolina Law School in 1981. He also holds a master of laws from Emory University, where he studied taxation.

Career

Maybank is a member of the Nexsen Pruet law firm and works in the firm's Columbia and Charleston offices. He concentrates on economic development, local and state tax issues, as well as maritime, and administrative law.
While his father and grandfather were active in the Democratic Party, Maybank has become a member of the Republican Party. He has been appointed to several positions in state government by Republican governors to make use of his expertise: Legal Counsel to Gov. Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., as Deputy Securities Commissioner and General Counsel in the Secretary of State's Office, as a Commissioner on the South Carolina Public Service Commission, and as a member of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control board. He served as the SC Deputy Securities Commissioner in SC Secretary of State's Office.
In 1995 Maybank was appointed as the state's first director of the South Carolina Department of Revenue, under Governor David Beasley. As director, he also received national attention when he testified on the state's review of land conservation easements in June 2005 to the US Senate Committee on Finance, which was investigating "The Tax Code and Land Conservation", with a view to improvements.
He also served three years as Chairman of the Enterprise Zone Subcommittee of the Coordinating Council for Economic Development. While in the government, Maybank was co-author of legislation related to economic development: the Enterprise Zone Act, Rural Development Act, and Fee-in-Lieu Simplification Act.
Maybank has co-authored a number of books and law review articles. In addition, he co-authored Summary of South Carolina Not-for Profit Laws, 21.3 The Exempt Organization Tax Review and Limited Liability Companies, as well as several books on insurance published by the South Carolina Bar.

Published works