Meet NTA’s Officers

William G. Gale, President

“The National Tax Association brings together experts in all areas of tax policy and a variety of disciplines that explore tax issues. It is a focal point for research and policy; federal, state and local issues; for economists, accountants, lawyers, and others. It is also a remarkably collegial and dynamic group of colleagues. For graduate students to seasoned professionals, NTA conferences represent a great way to meet and keep up with other tax experts and to present and critique current research. The National Tax Journal offers a visible way to get research results into the mainstream. I am honored to have the opportunity to build on these traditions and encourage everyone, young and ‘forever young,’ to be involved.”

William Gale is the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy in the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. His research focuses on … more

James Alm, First Vice President

“I joined the National Tax Association even before finishing my doctorate at Wisconsin. And I joined for some simple reasons. If you want to be well-informed and up-to-date on current tax issues, if you want to be part of the discussion of these issues, and if you want to contribute your own research to these debates, you have to be a member of the NTA – there is simply no better organization working on tax issues than the NTA. My membership has given me countless opportunities to learn from, participate in, and contribute to these dialogues. The conferences, the symposia, and the National Tax Journal – as well as the wonderful personal relationships that these generate – are all excellent ways to participate in the tax ‘conversation’.”

James Alm is Chair of the Department of Economics at Tulane University. Previously, he was Regents Professor in the Department of Economics at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies … more

James Mackie, Second Vice President

James B. Mackie III is the National Co-Director QUEST, a tax focused economic consulting group in EY’s National Tax office. He specializes in federal tax and trade policy. Prior to joining QUEST in January of 2018 he was the Director of Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis (OTA). There he supervised a team of 50 PhD economists who analyzed, developed, and implemented proposed and enacted tax legislation for the Secretary of the Treasury and the President.

Mr. Mackie is a recognized expert in business taxation. He represented the Treasury at regular meetings of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has spoken at numerous conferences around the world, and published numerous papers in professional journals. He received the National Tax Journal’s Richard Musgrave prize for the best paper published in 2000. Upon his retirement from the Treasury, he received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Treasury. Mr. Mackie holds a PhD in economics from the University of Virginia.