Donald Kiefer, 2018 Davie-Davis Award Recipient

Dr. Don Kiefer is the recipient of the 2018 Davie-Davis Public Service Award. Don has served at both the state and federal levels of government, and has published papers and articles to inform policymakers and the public in their deliberations of state and national tax policy. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University in 1972 and served as the executive director for the Indiana Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy (3 years). Don then moved to serve as a legislative assistant for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee (1.5 years). His longest service was at the Congressional Research Service (CRS, 23 years) where he served as the director of the Tax Research Division, senior specialist in economic policy and chief of the Economics Division. In 1999, Don left CRS for U.S. Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis (OTA, 9 years), where he served as director. Don served in that capacity until he retired in June 2008.

During Don’s tenure as director of OTA, he provided effective leadership at a time when the office faced considerable internal and external challenges. An important element of Don’s public service record and contribution to the tax community is his long tenure as a supervisor and manager. Don was a strong advocate for professional staff and provided calm and thoughtful leadership during a critical period for the office.

Read Rosanne Altshuler’s presentation of the 2018 Davie-Davis Award to Don at the 2018 Spring Symposium.