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Professor David Gamage was recently quoted extensively in a New York Times article discussing his work designing the “billionaire tax” on the upcoming California ballot.
“Last, meet the wealth tax architects: Brian Galle (UC Berkeley), David Gamage (University of Missouri), and Darien Shanske (UC Davis).
These men are some of the most-cited tax law scholars in the country. They’ve drafted regulations at the state and federal level. They’ve been cited by the Supreme Court in tax cases. One of them — Galle — was a federal prosecutor specializing in criminal tax cases and enforcement. Another — Gamage — was one of the Treasury’s top lawyers responsible for the drafting and implementation of Obamacare’s tax provisions.
Galle, Gamage, Shanske, and Saez drafted the proposed billionaire tax in California. And when it comes to the rest of the above proposals, two or more of these folks were usually involved. For instance, Gamage, Shanske, and Saez worked directly on NY’s wealth tax; whereas in Vermont, we lose Saez but gain Galle.
The point here is these men have made a career out of figuring out how to tax the ultra-wealthy, with a focus on unrealized gains.”