Mark Mazur To Replace Len Burman As Director Of Tax Policy Center

Wall Street Journal, Treasury Tax Policy Chief to Lead Tax Policy Center Think Tank:

The top tax policy expert at the U.S. Treasury Department will take over the Tax Policy Center, the nonprofit Washington think tank best known for its analyses of political and congressional tax proposals.

Mark Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy, will become the center’s director on Feb. 1, the group announced today. The Tax Policy Center is a project of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, and it operates a model that allows policymakers to see the impact of tax plans on different income groups.

Mr. Mazur, an economist, has had a long career in the government, including a stint as the Internal Revenue Service’s director of research, analysis and statistics. President Barack Obama nominated him to his current job, which he has held since 2012.

Tax Vox:  Mark Mazur to Take Over as TPC Director, by Leonard E. Burman:

Mark received a B.A. in financial administration from Michigan State University and Ph.D. in economics, business and public policy from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Mark is universally liked and admired in the tax policy community. He has a knack for explaining complex topics to a lay audience, but also has deep and comprehensive knowledge about all aspects of federal taxation. Mark has a reputation for objective analysis, and proven ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans to fashion solutions to difficult tax problems. His remarkable breadth of experience and strong management skills make him the perfect choice to lead TPC at a time when, more than ever, policymakers and the public need unbiased analysis based on facts and evidence.

I will remain at the Urban Institute as an Institute Fellow, focusing on several high priority research projects. They’ll include using administrative tax data to study the effects of tax policy on the behavior of individuals and firms, and working with the IRS and experts in data privacy and statistics to find ways to expand access to these data while safeguarding taxpayer privacy.

• Bloomberg BNA, Partisanship Harmed ACA, Business Tax Overhaul, Mazur Says
• The Hill, Treasury Official to Lead Tax Policy Center