Davie-Davis Public Service Award

Members of the NTA are encouraged to nominate individuals using this form. In order that this year’s nominee may be selected in a timely manner, proposals should be received by August 25.

The Davie-Davis Public Service Award was created in 2005 in memory of two long-time National Tax Association members, Bruce F. Davie and Albert J. Davis.

Although he began as an academic, Bruce Davie spent the majority of his almost forty-year career in public service. He served as chief economist for the Ways and Means Committee during the development and enactment of the landmark Tax Reform Act of 1986, and subsequently in the executive branch in the Department of the Treasury. He played an instrumental role in the development of many tax policies and analyses, especially in the areas of tax-exempt bonds, tax expenditures, and tax shelters, and was known for his witty and insightful presentations at NTA conferences. The NTA honored Davie’s many contributions to the analysis of tax issues at the May 2004 symposium, and articles relating to his interests can be found in the September 2004 issue of the National Tax Journal.

After a brief stint at the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Al Davis spent the remainder of his career on Capitol Hill. He served for many years as a tax economist at the House Budget Committee, and in the mid-1990s became chief economist for the Democrats at the Ways and Means Committee. Davis was an expert on virtually all aspects of individual and corporate income taxation, and was among the first analysts to point out the problems that would eventually arise from an ever-expanding alternative minimum tax. He was especially known for bringing his sharp intelligence to bear in exposing budget scams and introducing thorough economic analysis into political debates. The National Tax Association honored Davis with a session at the Fall 2003 meetings.

The Davie-Davis Award honors NTA members who have followed Bruce F. Davie and Albert J. Davis in serving the public through the provision of insightful analyses and objective advice on issues of taxation and government finance to elected officials, other policymakers, and the general public. The award is presented annually at the National Tax Association’s annual spring symposium. Other than current NTA officers and members of the Board of Directors, all policy analysts and advisors are eligible for this award.

2024 James Cilke, Joint Committee on Taxation
2023 Gerald Auten, US Department of Treasury
2022 Janet McCubbin, Tax Policy Economist and Research Director
2021 Martin A. Sullivan, Tax Notes
2020 Janet Holtzblatt, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
2019 Mark Mazur, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
2018 Donald Kiefer, U.S. Department of the Treasury
2017 Geraldine Gerardi, U.S. Department of the Treasury
2016 Leonard E. Burman, The Urban Institute
2015 Allen H. Lerman, U.S. Department of the Treasury
2014 Thomas Barthold, Joint Committee on Taxation
2013 Rosemary Marcuss, Internal Revenue Service
2012 Dennis Zimmerman, American Tax Policy Institute (formerly Congressional Research Service)
2011 Emil Sunley, International Monetary Fund
2010 Harry Grubert, U.S. Department of the Treasury
2009 James Nunns, New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department
2008 Eric Toder, The Urban Institute (formerly the Internal Revenue Service)
2007 Jane Gravelle, Congressional Research Service
2006 Seymour Fiekowsky, U.S. Department of the Treasury
2005 C. Eugene Steuerle, The Urban Institute