President Trump announced Wednesday evening that he will name tax consultant David Kautter as the assistant secretary of the Treasury for tax policy, a position that will be key in the administration’s push for tax reform.
Kautter is a partner in the tax practice for RSM, a firm that provides tax and audit services. Previously, he served as the director of the Kogod Tax Center at American University and had a long career at Ernst and Young.
The position of assistant secretary for tax policy is not one that usually involves a large public role, but it will have more significance given Trump’s push for a sweeping overhaul of the tax code. Kautter would be responsible for thinking through the mechanics of proposals and adding details to administration ideas.
Kautter has testified before Congress in favor of creating a new special tax rate for businesses that file through the individual side of the tax code, a controversial idea included in the Trump tax reform plan. Trump’s plan would set the rate equal to his proposed corporate tax rate at 15 percent, which critics say would create enormous revenue losses and lead high-income earners to set up LLCs to convert their salaries to business income. Democrats also have objected that it would cut Trump’s own taxes, as the Trump Organization includes many pass-through businesses.
Republicans have said that it is possible to write rules to ensure that the special rate doesn’t open new loopholes.
Kautter has a J.D. from the Georgetown Law Center and an accounting degree from the University of Notre Dame.
