Perspectives on Taxation Series

The start of a new presidential administration is always an interesting time for reflecting on tax policy.  What are the new administration’s tax policy goals?  Where does tax policy fall on the new administration’s list of priorities?  What tax legislation might Congress consider?  

The Honorable Pam Olson is the U.S. Deputy Tax Leader and Washington National Tax Services Practice Leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, heading a team that includes many former senior government officials and policy advisors.  Before joining PwC, she retired from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where she was the leader of the Washington office tax practice.  From 2001 to 2004, she served with the U.S. Treasury Department as Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, with supervisory responsibility for providing the Secretary with policy analysis and recommendations for all domestic and international tax issues related to federal taxation, including legislative proposals, regulatory guidance, and tax treaties, as well as for providing the official estimates of all government receipts for the President’s budget and Treasury cash management decisions.  In 2000 and 2001, Ms. Olson was the first woman to serve as chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation.  She has served as tax and economic adviser to two presidential campaigns and as tax adviser to the National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform.  She is a frequent speaker on a range of tax, economic, and federal budget matters and has testified before several congressional committees.  She received her B.A., M.B.A., and J.D. from the University of Minnesota.