Starving the Hidden Beast: New Approaches to Tax Expenditure Reform

Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center & Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Friday, January 14, 2011 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., PST

Girardi Building, Courtroom of the 90s

Loyola Law School
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, California 90015 [map]

View the event's webcast here.

For further information, call 213.736.1423 or hamid.jahangard@lls.edu. Attendees may stay at the Omni Hotel Los Angeles, at California Plaza, 251 South Olive Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

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Starving the Hidden Beast: New Approaches to Tax Expenditure Reform

The United States faces serious fiscal issues. There is a consensus among tax policy and public finance experts that any successful budgetary solution must tackle the problem of tax expenditures. The purpose of this conference is to highlight new work that may contribute toward tax expenditure reform and therefore toward reform of the federal budget as a whole. Panel 1 will explore how the impact of different tax policies may depend on their salience. Panels 2 and 3 will focus on aspects of the tax expenditure budget. Panel 4, finally, will explore possible approaches to reform. Each panel will include presentations of two papers, a comment on those papers by a discussant, and time for audience discussion on the topic.

Please note that conference registration will start at 7:30 a.m. Continental breakfast will be available starting at 7:30 a.m.

Conference Schedule

8:00 a.m.- Welcome from DEAN VICTOR GOLD, Loyola Law School, L.A.

8:15-9:45 a.m.- Panel 1: The Salience of Tax Expenditures and Implications for Reform

Moderator: ELLEN APRILL, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

DEBORAH SCHENK, New York University School of Law

DAVID GAMAGE, Berkeley Law, University of California

Commentator: DAMON JONES, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

9:45 a.m.- Break

10:00-11:30 a.m.-Panel 2: Reforming the Tax Expenditure Budget Presentation

Moderator: SARAH LAWSKY, UC Irvine School of Law

LINDA SUGIN, Fordham Law School

ERIC TODER and DONALD MARRON, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center

Commentator: DANIEL SHAVIRO, New York University School of Law

11:30 a.m.- Lunch

12:45-2:15 p.m.- Panel 3: Evaluating Tax Expenditures

Moderator: ROSANNE ALTSHULER, Rutgers University

THEODORE SETO, Loyola Law School, L.A.

THOMAS HUNGERFORD, Congressional Research Service

Commentator: EDWARD KLEINBARD, USC Gould School of Law

2:15 p.m.- Break

2:30-4:00 p.m.- Panel 4: Approaches to Tax Expenditure Reform

Moderator: KATHERINE PRATT, Loyola Law School, L.A.

MARVIN PHAUP, Federal Budget Reform Initiative, Pew Economic Policy Group

DIANE LIM ROGERS, Chief Economist, Concord Coalition

Commentator: ELIZABETH GARRETT, USC Gould School of Law

4:00 p.m.- Reception, Loyola Law School, L.A., Student Lounge


Biographies & Presentations

Biographies and presentations of conference particpants are available on Loyola Law School's event page.