Franciscus (Frans) Vanistendael (1942-2021) was a Belgian expert on tax law and former professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) and the Brussels Tax College (HUBrussel).
Frans Vanistendael is a brother of the writer Geert van Istendael.
From 1986 until 1987 he was Royal Commissioner for Tax Reform and from 1980 until 1982 he was cabinet advisor to the Minister of Finance.
From 1989 until 1997, he was Director of the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies and from 1995 until 1997, he was the first and founding president of the European Law Faculties Association.
In addition to his role in Belgian tax law, he was an expert for the European Commission on the harmonisation of tax law in Europe and a consultant with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).