When it comes to income tax, carbon tax, business tax, wealth tax, sales tax, and gas tax……who should pay and how much?! Join us for a lively debate designed to educate and engage students and offer an opportunity for a hot topic issue to be discussed and debated in a respectful environment.

This event is free and open to the community! 

Panel A: 

Jeff Hamond – Vice President at Van Scoyoc Associates
As a Vice President at VSA, Jeff works directly with private and community foundations, and others in the philanthropic space, to share the good work they are doing in local communities, as well as educate lawmakers about the consequences of adverse policy decisions. Before joining VSA, Jeff spent seven years as Economic Policy Director to Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and prior to that served in similar roles for Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Bayh (D-IN).  Jeff also had leading roles in policy development at two well-regarded non-profit organizations – Redefining Progress and the Progressive Policy Institute. He earned a Bachelor of Arts at Tufts University, then obtained a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Jeff Gramlich – Director of the Hoops Institute of Taxation Policy and Research at WSU, Professor of Accounting
Jeff Gramlich earned a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1988 and previously practiced as a CPA with KPMG in Denver. Prior to arriving in Pullman, Gramlich was Professor of Accounting at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1989 to 2001, Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan from 2001 to 2003, and Professor and L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Endowed Chair at the University of Southern Maine from 2003 to 2014. His research interests have ranged from tax-motivated earnings management and corporate governance to, currently, tax havens, innovation and firm culture.

Panel B: 

Dan Mitchell - Chairman of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Dan Mitchell is Chairman of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a pro-market public policy organization he founded in 2000. His major research interests include tax reform, international tax competition, the economic burden of government spending, and other fiscal policy issues. Having also worked at the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute, he has decades of experience authoring papers, writing editorials, working with the public policy community, and presenting the free-market viewpoint to newspaper, television, and radio media. Dan has spoken to a wide variety of groups in dozens of cities and more than 50 foreign countries. He also serves on the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review, and holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. 

Jefferson Griffeath – Attorney and Professor of Accounting at WSU
Jefferson Griffeath is a former infantry Marine, turned attorney. His primary focus is on the law and helping people grow in their capabilities in an effort to have their independence and competence make government less necessary in their lives.

Thank you to our co-sponsor: