FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

President Clinton on Thursday designated Jonathan Talisman as Acting Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the Department of the Treasury.

As Acting Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Talisman will assist the Treasury Secretary in developing and implementing tax policies and programs; provide the official estimates of all Government receipts for the Presidents budget, fiscal policy decisions, and Treasury cash management decisions; establish policy criteria reflected in regulations and rulings published in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service and used in implementing and administering the Internal Revenue Code; negotiate tax treaties for the United States and represent the United States in meetings and work of multilateral organizations dealing with tax policy matters; and provide economic and legal policy analysis for domestic and international tax policy decisions.

Talisman has served since December 1998 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. In that position, he had supervisory responsibility for all domestic tax issues before the Treasury Department, including legislative proposals and regulatory guidance. He was actively involved in representing and advancing the Administration's position during consideration of various tax bills, including the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, and the Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999. Talisman joined the Treasury Department in February 1997 as Tax Legislative Counsel.

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Talisman served as Minority Chief Tax Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee under Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, where he was responsible for developing tax proposals and analyzing all tax-related legislation for the Democratic members of the Finance Committee. Prior to his service at the Finance Committee, he was Legislation Counsel of the Joint Committee on Taxation. Before joining the federal government, Talisman practiced law in Washington, D.C., with the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.

Talisman has a B.S. in accounting from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Executive Editor of the Virginia Tax Review. He lives in Bethesda, MD with his wife Alisa and children Nick, Max, and Lita.