Keith Fogg To Retire As Harvard's Tax Clinic Director

Law360, This Change Could Ease Filing Burden, Retiring Tax Prof. Says:

As Harvard tax clinic director, Fogg has seen or done most of what there is to see and do in tax law over his career. He's seen a lot of the U.S., too — he biked from California to Florida a couple of years ago while on sabbatical — and is looking forward to doing some international travel once he retires from the Harvard Federal Tax Clinic this summer.

As that date approaches, [T. Keith] Fogg took the time to speak with Law360 about his career, challenges facing the IRS and the outlook for the future of tax policy.

Prepopulating tax returns is one policy change that would help people save money and stay compliant, as tax filing can get complicated for folks who work several jobs or have multiple bank or brokerage accounts, Fogg said.

Taxpayers spend around $300 billion annually to file their tax returns, according to a recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, which found that more than two-fifths of returns could be accurately prepopulated and that such a system could reduce the tax gap [Lucas Goodman (Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department), Katherine Lim (Federal Reserve Bank, Minneapolis), Bruce Sacerdote (Dartmouth) & Andrew Whitten (Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department), Automatic Tax Filing: Simulating a Pre-Populated Form 1040]. ...

Fogg has held a number of gigs over the years. They run the gamut from waiting tables at the King's Arms Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia, while he was a student at the College of William & Mary, to managing the Richmond office of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. He held various roles in the Office of Chief Counsel from 1977 through 2007, after which he worked at Villanova University School of Law and Harvard.