2017 Tax Cuts and Deficits: with Hank Gutman and Mark Mazur, moderated by Richard Bard

Video Description

Tax Cuts and Ballooning Deficits: When Will It Matter? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “TCJA”) was touted as just what the country needed to modernize its tax system. Supporters stated that wages would rise; the economy would grow at no less than 3% annually; business profits previously maintained offshore would return to the United States and stimulate increased business investment; United States businesses would become more competitive internationally and, best of all, the tax cut legislation would pay for itself. This session will examine the process by which the TCJA was enacted. A current evaluation of the economic and legal consequences of the Act will be presented. Recognizing that the country faces staggering budget deficits for the foreseeable future, the session will also explore the reasons for the federal budget deficit, its possible consequences and reasonable ways to approach the problem—including tax increases and spending reforms. The potential consequences of the most popular solutions that have been proposed by the Presidential candidates and the Trump Administration will be examined. Harry L. (Hank) Gutman, Of Counsel at the Washington law firm of Ivins, Phillips & Barker, has over 45 years of tax experience and expertise that includes federal government Treasury and Congressional positions, full time teaching at the University of Virginia and Pennsylvania law schools and private law practice. As Joint Committee Chief of Staff from 1991 through 1993, Gutman was the primary nonpartisan adviser to the House Way and Means and Senate Finance Committees concerning the technical, economic and revenue aspects of tax legislation. Gutman also served as deputy tax legislative counsel in the Treasury Department Office of Tax Policy. Throughout his career, Gutman has counseled major multinational corporations on various implications of tax legislative change. He has represented clients in legislative and administrative matters before the Congress, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service and has testified as a invited witness before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance and Budget Committees. Gutman received his undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, a BA degree in Jurisprudence from University College, Oxford University and his LLB degree from Harvard Law School. Mark J. Mazur is the Robert C. Pozen director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and a vice president at the Urban Institute. His research interests cover all aspects of tax policy. From 2012 until early 2017, he was the assistant secretary for tax policy at the US Department of the Treasury. Mazur served in the federal government for 27 years in various positions, including policy economist at the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, senior economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; senior director at the National Economic Council; chief economist and senior policy adviser and director of policy at the US Department of Energy; acting administrator of the Energy Information Administration; director of research, analysis, and statistics at the Internal Revenue Service; and deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis in the Office of Tax Policy. Before entering public service, Mazur was an assistant professor in Heinz College at Carnegie-Mellon University. He has a bachelor’s degree in financial administration from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in economics and a PhD in business from Stanford University. Moderator Richard Bard is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bard Capital Group, LLC, a middle-market private equity firm with a diversified portfolio. He has been involved in the acquisition and operation of several private and publicly traded businesses over the past 30 years. He previously served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Bard serves as the key interviewer for the Vail Symposium’s Financial Series.