6th Annual Global Economic Policy Forum

Today NYU Law School will be hosting the 6th Annual Global Economic Policy Forum.  As per the official announcement, the Forum "brings together world government and economic leaders to discuss issues of economic policy and the capital markets."  This year's Forum will focus in particular on "global, tax, spending, and market issues."  Here is the calendar of main events:

Afternoon Keynote Address by William Dudley, 10th President and Chief

Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
1:30-2:30 p.m.

Panel 1: The Current Budget Stalemate and Beyond:  Outlook for Federal Spending

Chaired by David Kamin, Assistant Professor of Law at New York University.

Panelists: Robert Greenstein, Founder and President of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; and Bob Reischauer, Public Trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund, former president of the Urban Institute.

2:45-4:00 p.m.

Panel 2: The Current Budget Stalemate and Beyond:  Outlook for Federal Taxes 

Chaired by Dan Shaviro, Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation.

Panelists: Michael Graetz, Justus S. Hotchkiss Professor Emeritus of Law and Professorial Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School, Fred Goldberg, co-head of Skadden’s Tax Group and Global Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee;  and Len Burman, First Daniel Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

4:00-5:15 p.m.

Panel 3: Market Opportunity and Market Risk

Chaired by Alan N. Rechtschaffen, Co-Chair Comfort Global Economic Policy Forum.

Panelists: Gerald Rosenfeld, Advisor to the CEO and Vice Chairman Investment Banking at Lazard Ltd; Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Senior Lecturer, and

Co-Director, Leadership Program on Law and Business at NYU; Abby Cohen, Senior U.S. Investment Strategist at Goldman Sachs; and ….

5:30-6:45 p.m.

Evening Keynote address by Sir Mervyn King, former head of the Bank of England, Distinguished visiting professor at New York University Law School.
6:45-7:45 p.m.

Cocktail Reception
7:45-8:15 p.m.

As you can see, I am chairing Panel 2, at 4 pm (right after teaching a two-hour class), with an eminent panel featuring Len Burman, Fred Goldberg, and Michael Graetz.  Insofar as I'm the point guard for this panel, I will be pass-first, not shoot-first.  But let's face it, these guys can create their own shots.

Our very rough game plan is as follows.  First we'll discuss the short-term outlook for significant tax law changes (such as revenue-raising or structural reform).  Just a wild guess, but I would be unsurprised if the panelists agreed with me that the short-term outlook for the enactment of significant changes, be they good or bad, is not exceptionally rosy. We will then more particularly discuss the short to medium term prospects for enactment of significant corporate and/or international tas reform, followed by the long-term picture, going to the prospects both for structural reform and for revenue-raising, whether by base-broadening, rate increases, or the enactment of new instruments such as a VAT, carbon tax, or financial transactions tax.