In the News: Leonard Burman

According to Leonard Burman, professor of public administration and international affairs, "Trump’s 'tax reform plan' isn’t tax reform and it isn’t a plan. To borrow an analogy from the president’s favorite sport, he should take a mulligan and swing again at tax reform after he’s brought on a tax policy team and they’ve had a chance to do their homework."

“I think at the end of the day, you’re not going to see either the Trump or the House GOP tax plan. It will look a little more like George W. Bush’s 2001 tax bill—mostly just rate cuts,” says Leonard Burman, Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics.

"An Analysis of the House GOP Tax Plan," co-authored by Len Burman, Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics, examines the House GOP tax reform blueprint, which would significantly reduce marginal tax rates, increase standard deduction amounts, repeal personal exemptions and most itemized deductions, and convert business taxation into a destination-based cash flow consumption tax.

Leonard Burman, professor of public administration and international affairs, opines that President Reagan "got people excited about the idea of fixing our broken tax system. It’s hard to imagine President Trump doing that.” 

"A lot of the debate about taxes is really a debate about spending," says Leonard Burman, professor of public administration and international affairs. "What is the role of government, and what is the value of government spending? Those tend to be the real underlying question."