52nd Annual Spring Symposium Keynote Speakers

Alan Auerbach

Alan Auerbach

Tax Reform in Theory and Practice

Alan J. Auerbach is the Robert D. Burch Professor of Economics and Law, Director of the Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance, and former Chair of the Economics Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and previously taught at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, where he also served as Economics Department Chair. Professor Auerbach was Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation in 1992 and has been an adviser to several government agencies and institutions. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association, having previously served as an Executive Committee Member and Vice President of that association and as Editor of its Journal of Economic Perspectives and American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Professor Auerbach is a past President of the Western Economic Association International and the National Tax Association, from which he received the Daniel M. Holland Medal. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Robert Carroll

Perspectives on Tax Policy Keynote Panel 

Robert Carroll

Bob is the Co-Director of E&Y’s US National Tax Quantitative Economics and Statistics Group that serves to advise public and private clients on federal tax policy issues, including revenue and economic impact effects. Before joining E&Y, Bob was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis of the US Treasury Department, where he served as the Department’s top economist working on tax policy issues. Bob oversaw the department’s work on developing business tax reforms to improve the global competitiveness of the United States and efforts to reform the tax system. In this role, Bob also led the Department’s efforts on tax reform and support for the 2005 President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform.

Adam Looney

Perspectives on Tax Policy Keynote Panel 

Adam Looney

Adam Looney is a professor in the Department of Finance and Executive Director of the Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis. Previously, he was the Joseph A. Pechman senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings and the Director of the Center on Regulation and Markets. While at Brookings, he has been called to testify in the Congress by members of both parties on tax and student loan policy, and his research has influenced the development of federal tax policies and education reforms.

He returned to Brookings in 2017 after three years of service in the U.S. Treasury Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis. At Treasury, he advised the Secretary on economic issues related to tax policy, analyzed current and proposed legislation, and provided the official receipts forecasts and revenue estimates for the Administration’s budgets.

Prior to joining the Treasury, Mr. Looney was policy director of The Hamilton Project and was a senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings from 2010-2013. Previously, he served as the senior economist for public finance and tax policy with President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and was an economist at the Federal Reserve Board.

James Mackie

Perspectives on Tax Policy Keynote Panel 

James Mackie

James Mackie is the Co-Director of E&Y’s US National Tax Quantitative Economics and Statistics Group that serves to advise public and private clients on federal tax policy issues, including revenue and economic impact effects.

Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP (EY), he was the Director of the US Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis. There he led a group of 50 PhD economists who did academic research and supported the administration’s tax policy initiatives. He worked closely with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in developing and analyzing the TCJA. When leaving Treasury, James received the prestigious Hamilton Award.

At E&Y, he has worked on analyses of the macroeconomic and tax revenue effects of the TCJA, causes and consequences of the federal budget deficit, causes and consequences of trade deficits and the effects of tariffs on the US economy, and the effects of tax and other policy reforms on the economies of the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. He has spoken frequently to industry groups on these issues.

Pam Olson

Perspectives on Tax Policy Keynote Panel 

Pam Olson

Pam Olson is currently a consultant for PwC. She previously served as the U.S. Deputy Tax Leader and Washington National Tax Services (WNTS) Practice Leader of PwC. In this role, she led a team of former senior government officials, policy advisers and prominent law-firm partners. 

Prior to joining PwC, Ms. Olson was Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and head of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s Washington Tax Practice. She has significant experience representing clients in a broad range of matters—including IRS controversies; private-letter ruling requests, proposed regulations, and other administrative guidance; and in Congressional investigations. She regularly advises clients on tax and Social Security reform, legislative matters and the structuring of transactions.