This April, the UNC Tax Center once again welcomed guests from across the country and around the world to Chapel Hill for our 20th Annual UNC Tax Symposium. The event was a great success, with participants ranging from academic researchers in accounting, finance, law and economics to policymakers and practitioners with an interest in evidence-based tax research.
As in prior years, authors presented papers on a variety of timely topics including the effect of U.S. tax on foreign subsidiary repatriations, capital expenditures, tax evasion and CEO stock transactions. In addition, in a session moderated by Michelle Hanlon (MIT Sloan School of Management), panelists Michael Devereux (Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation), John McClelland (Tax Analysis at the Congressional Budget Office), Christopher Hanna (advisor to the Senate Committee on Finance) and Peter Merrill (PricewaterhouseCoopers) shared their insights on the state of U.S. tax reform. Finally, Terry Shevlin (University of California Irvine) delivered a keynote address that started with a history lesson in tax research and concluded by considering how future research can best build on this history.
This year, the Tax Center is commemorating this milestone event with our first ever proceedings issue. In it, you will find high-level summaries of all of the symposium presentations and discussions mentioned above, as well as other information about the UNC Tax Center and the 21st Annual UNC Tax Symposium, which will be held in Chapel Hill April 20-21, 2018. Thanks to Courtney Edwards, UNC Tax Center’s newly appointed associate director, for all her hard work making this issue a reality.
I also would like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s symposium so engaging, interesting and informative, including our authors, presenters, discussants, moderators and panelists. My gratitude extends to our participants as well, who provided incredibly thoughtful and challenging contributions throughout the conference. Thank you also to our outstanding Program Committee, which this year included Jeff Hoopes (Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC), Jennifer Blouin (The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania), and Scott Dyreng (Fuqua School of Business, Duke University). And finally, thank you to our sponsors, the KPMG Foundation and the James C. and Ethel M. Crone Faculty Fund in Tax Excellence, for the financial support that helps make the symposium possible year after year.
Best regards,
Ed Maydew
Director, UNC Tax Center