Tax Panel Announces Witness List For Third Meeting On Tuesday

WASHINGTON , DC - Senators Connie Mack and John Breaux, Chairman and Vice -Chairman of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, today announced the witness list for the Panel's third meeting, on Tuesday, March 8, 2005, in Tampa, Florida. The witnesses will provide the panel additional perspectives on corporate tax reform and how the tax system affects businesses and entrepreneurs. Biographical information for each witness is attached.

WITNESS LIST

Welcome by the Honorable Jeb Bush (Video)

Governor of the State of Florida

Panel:  Corporate Income Tax Basics

Testimony of Jack S. Levin

Partner, Kirkland & Ellis

Testimony of Douglas A. Shackelford

Meade H. Willis Distinguished Professor of Taxation and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina

Testimony of William M. Gentry

Associate Professor of Economics, Williams College

Testimony of Sam M. Gibbons

Former Representative (FL) and Former Ways and Means Committee Chairman, U.S. House of Representatives

Panel:  Impact of Taxes on Small Business and Entrepreneurs

Testimony of Roger Harris

President, Padgett Business Services

Testimony of Todd Fleming

Chief Executive Officer, Infrasafe, Inc.

Testimony of David Hurley

Owner and Principal, Landmark Engineering and Surveying Corporation

Testimony of Donald J. Bruce

Research Assistant Professor, Center for Business and Economic Research and Assistant Professor of Economics , The University of Tennessee

The meeting will be held on  Tuesday, March 8, 2005 , at 9:30 AM at SAGO Networks at 4465 W. Gandy Boulevard, Tampa, Florida, 33611.

This meeting will be available via webcast at www.taxreformpanel.gov .

Members of the media that wish to listen in via conference call, please contact Tara Bradshaw at 202.622.0988 or tbradshaw@taxreformpanel.gov.

About SAGO Networks:

Sago Networks is a technology services company that provides solutions for all of its customers' bandwidth and custom telecommunications needs. From its headquarters in the Tampa Bay area and satellite offices in Miami and Dallas, Sago has implemented multiple rapidly deployable, high-speed wireless networks and maintains one of the largest bandwidth datacenters in the country. 
www.sagonetworks.com

The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform does not endorse the products or services provided by the host or any other company for this meeting

About the Tax Reform Panel:

The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform was established by President Bush on January 7, 2005.  President Bush has charged the bipartisan panel with recommending reforms to the tax code that will make the U.S. tax system simpler, fairer and more growth oriented. 

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Jack S. Levin is a Senior Partner in the international law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Jack is also a lecturer at University of Chicago Law School and Harvard Law School. He is author of Structuring Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurial Transactions and co-author of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Buyouts . He is also a CPA and winner of the Illinois Gold Medal. He graduated summa cum laude, first in a class of 500, from Harvard Law School and summa cum laude from Northwestern University School of Business. Mr. Levin served as Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States under Archibald Cox and Thurgood Marshall, and before that as law clerk to the Chief Judge of the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Douglas A. Shackelford is the Meade H. Willis Distinguished Professor of Taxation and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Dr. Shackelford has two degrees in business administration--a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a CPA and previously was a senior tax consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co.

William M. Gentry is an Associate Professor of Economics at Williams College. Professor Gentry taught economics at the Columbia Business School and Duke University before accepting his current position. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of the National Tax Journal and has published numerous articles on the effects of taxation on business decisions. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University and his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sam Gibbons is Chairman of Gibbons & Company, a public policy and government relations firm.  Mr. Gibbons served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years and was Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.  Mr. Gibbons, an officer during World War II with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, led parachute infantry forces in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the invasion of Holland, and the Battle of Bastogne.  Mr. Gibbons was awarded the Bronze Star for valor.  French President Chirac recently presented Mr. Gibbons with France's most prestigious award, the Legion of Honor.  Mr. Gibbons is the subject of Tom Brokaw's best-selling book "The Greatest Generation."  Before election to the United States Congress, Mr. Gibbons served for 10 years in the Florida Legislature, where he was instrumental in establishing the University of South Florida.  Prior to that, he practiced law in Tampa, Florida.  He received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida.

Roger Harris is President and C.O.O. of Padgett Business Services, a SmallBizPros company. Padgett has over 400 offices in the United States and Canada that provide tax, accounting, and financial guidance to service and retail businesses. He served on the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) from 2000 - 2004, including two years as its chairman. He is enrolled to practice before the IRS and is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, where he served as the Chair of its Legislative Affairs Subcommittee. He is also a member of the National Society of Accountants, where he served as Chair on its Federal Taxation Committee. He has provided testimony several times on IRS reform and other issues to the Senate Small Business Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Mr. Harris has been recognized by the Small Business Administration as the Small Business Advocate of the Year for Georgia.

Todd Flemming is the Chief Executive Officer of Infrasafe, Inc. Prior to co-founding Infrasafe, he served as President and CEO of Advantor Corporation in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Flemming has over fourteen years of broad-based management experience in the security industry, including business start-up, design, marketing, strategy, research, development, and manufacturing. Mr. Flemming also serves on the board of Gemesis in Sarasota, Florida. He holds dual B.S. degrees in Economics and Biology from Hampden Sydney College and an M.B.A. from Duke University.

David Hurley is the owner and principal of Landmark Engineering and Surveying Corporation. He is a Professional Surveyor with nearly 40 years of experience in the fields of surveying and also civil engineering. His experience includes work with the Federal Housing Administration and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Hurley is a member of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, the National Commercial Builders Council, and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. He attended the University of Maryland, United States Armed Forces Institute and Ball State University.

Donald Bruce is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and the Department of Economics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He holds a B.A. with honors in economics from Drew University in New Jersey, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics, both from Syracuse University in New York.  Dr. Bruce specializes in policy research, particularly on the economic and behavioral effects of tax policies. Since earning his Ph.D. in 1999, he has published numerous articles in academic journals and presented his work at several professional meetings. He helped organize a 2001 conference on Tax Policy and Small Business for the U.S. SBA Office of Advocacy. His paper on tax policy and entrepreneurial endurance was awarded the National Tax Association's Richard Musgrave Prize for the most outstanding article published in the National Tax Journal in 2002. Dr. Bruce's most recent research, conducted with support from the SBA Office of Advocacy, considers the impacts of a diverse array of federal and state taxes on entrepreneurial start-up and survival rates. 

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