U.S. Department of the Treasury

OTA works closely with the other divisions of the Office of Tax Policy (OTP) to develop legislative proposals and regulations. Staff members are active researchers, producing economic research in all areas related to domestic and international tax policy, often in collaboration with academic economists. OTA develops and operates several major microsimulation models and maintains large statistical databases to analyze the economic, distributional, and revenue effects of alternative tax proposals and tax systems. OTA assists the IRS in conducting studies of tax compliance and taxpayer compliance burdens, developing and revising tax forms and, alongside OTP staff, in formulating and reviewing tax regulations. OTA staff engage in tax treaty negotiations with foreign governments and participate in meetings of international organizations. 

Organization

Gregory Leiserson, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax Analysis), provides advice and economic analysis to the Assistant Secretary and oversees the work of the Office of Tax Analysis.

The Director, Robert Gillette, leads the activities of the economists and statisticians in the five divisions of OTA.

The Business and International Taxation Division, directed by Neviana Petkova, provides economic analyses and conducts research on tax provisions affecting corporations, partnerships and other unincorporated businesses, financial institutions and products, and energy and the environment, including taxes on income, consumption, and capital income, and business excise taxes. The division analyzes and researches the taxation of both income earned outside the United States by U.S. citizens, residents, and domestic corporations and income earned within the United States by foreign corporations and nonresidents.

The Economic Modeling and Computer Applications Division, directed by John Eiler, develops and maintains several major simulation models which are used to provide estimates and analyses of changes in current or proposed tax legislation. The five major modeling systems are: the individual income tax model, the corporate tax model, the corporate panel model, the depreciation model, and the estate tax model. The Division continually works to develop new data sources and improve simulation methodologies to meet Office of Tax Policy needs.  

The Individual Taxation Division, directed by Adam J. Cole, develops policy proposals and provides analysis of the impact of existing and proposed individual income tax provisions on economic activity and welfare, marginal tax rates, and the distribution of the tax burden among families. The Division is responsible for policy development and analysis of payroll taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, and nonprofit organizations. Policy issues include the structure of tax rates, the tax treatment of different types of families, savings incentives, the tax treatment of pensions and health insurance, education incentives, tax-exempt bonds, and income tax compliance.

The Business and Individual Revenue Divisions, directed by Curtis Carlson and J. Scott Jaquette, respectively, produce estimates of revenue changes associated with the Administration’s, as well as major Congressional, tax proposals. These estimates are used to evaluate the proposals and assist in determining related Administration policy positions. The Divisions also provide the official Administration forecasts of all Federal receipts and estimates of Tax Expenditures included in the President's Budget and Mid-Session Review. The Divisions provide the Office of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary with monthly receipts forecasts for use in determining the timing and size of government borrowing, and calculate amounts to be deposited into numerous federal trust funds.

The Health Economics and Taxation Division, directed by Catherine Crato, develops, analyzes, and models Federal tax policies related to health. The Division provides economic analyses and conducts research on health insurance markets, employer-provided health benefits, premium tax credits, and health savings accounts. Staff members also implement the State Innovation Waiver Program. The Division develops and maintains a health insurance model which simulates changes in enrollment, Federal health spending, and premiums in response to proposed changes in legislation and administrative guidance.

Gerald Auten is the Stanley Surrey Senior Economist for the Office of Tax Policy. Dr. Auten has served as an economist in this office for over 30 years, providing high-quality economic analysis on tax policy under the administrations of eight presidents while conducting and publishing academic research that made important contributions to the literature on public finance.  Dr. Auten is best known for his research on behavioral responses to changes in capital gains tax rates and the effects of charitable deductions on donations. In recognition of his significant contributions to the profession, he received the 2023 National Tax Association Davie-David Public Service Award.

Resources

The Policy Issues section of the Office of Tax Policy website contains a wide variety of papers, tables, reports and other documents of interest to policy makers and economists.

• The Policy Issues page for the Office of Tax Analysis (economists) is here. 
  • This page includes links to Distribution Analyses, the Analyses of Key Provisions and Proposals, OTA Working Papers, and more.
• The Policy Issues page for the Office of Tax Policy is here. 
  • This page includes links to Revenue Proposals, Tax Expenditures, International Tax Documents, Reports, and more. 

For help with paying your taxes, tax regulation, and other administrative guidance, please visit the Internal Revenue Service at https://www.irs.gov/.

Contact

Office of Tax Analysis
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 4116
Washington, DC  20220