Biden Administration Appoints Four to Positions in Office of Tax Policy, Department of Treasury; IRS Announces Director of Taxpayer First Office

The Biden administration recently announced the appointments of new members to the Department of Treasury staff, including appointments to key tax positions within the Office of Tax Policy:

• Kimberly Clausing, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis, Office of Tax Policy
• Itai Ginberg, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Tax Office of Tax Policy.
• Rebecca Kysar, Counselor to the Assistant Secretary, Office of Tax Policy
• Tom West, Assistant Secretary for Domestic Business Tax, Office of Tax Policy

The Office of Tax Policy is responsible for developing and implementing tax policies and programs; providing the official estimates of all Government receipts for the President's budget, fiscal policy decisions, and Treasury cash management decisions; establishing policy criteria reflected in regulations and rulings and guiding their preparation with the Internal Revenue Service; negotiating tax treaties for the United States and representing the United States in meetings and work of multilateral organizations dealing with tax policy matters; and providing economic and legal policy analysis for domestic and international tax policy decisions.

By making these key appointments early on in the new administration, it appears the Biden administration will prioritize tax policy issues. For example, many in the tax community were concerned that it would be difficult to fill key positions at the Department of Treasury quickly enough for the United States to participate in negotiations regarding the OECD’s project to address digital tax issues, which has a mid-2021 deadline. Having new appointees in place with international portfolios will go a long way towards fostering necessary discussions with other countries.

Additionally, the IRS announced that Heather C. Maloy was named director of the Taxpayer First Act Office, reporting directly to the IRS Commissioner. In that position, Ms. Maloy will provide advice and assistance to the commissioner in areas such as implementation strategy, management and organizational issues, and equitable treatment of taxpayers. Ms. Maloy previously served as the Commissioner of LB&I.