By Damian Paletta
The Obama administration's point man in the effort to deter U.S.
companies from restructuring overseas to avoid taxes is a career
government economist known for his loosened neckties, Pez
dispensers and sweeping grasp of the U.S. tax code.
Mark J. Mazur, the Treasury's assistant secretary for tax
policy, is helping assemble a menu of administrative options for
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew that would aim to upend the economic
benefits of the so-called inversions that occur when a cross-border
acquisition allows a U.S. firm to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
The Treasury Department has said it is acting in response to a
wave of recent merger proposals that would use an inversion
blueprint. These include Covidien PLC's decision to sell itself to
Medtronic Inc., and the move by Shire PLC to sell itself to AbbVie
Inc.
Given Mr. Mazur's power--a number of multibillion-dollar mergers
this year could hinge on his recommendations--little is known about
him outside the halls of Congress and the White House. But a review
of his record and interviews with colleagues reveal him to be a
careful economist with a focus on what he perceives as "fairness"
in the tax code.
Mr. Mazur, 58 years old, graduated from Michigan State
University and received a Ph.D. in business from Stanford
University. He worked as a tax accountant at General Motors Co.,
and then taught public finance for four years at Carnegie Mellon
University. He then worked for Congress's Joint Committee on
Taxation and, later, in midlevel roles in the Clinton White House's
economic team, as well as the Energy Department and the Internal
Revenue Service.
While at the IRS, he served as director of research, analysis,
and statistics of income, a senior-level post considered one of the
federal government's most important in terms of analysis of the tax
code's interactions with Americans and businesses.
He joined the Treasury in 2009, working as deputy assistant
secretary for tax analysis. He was nominated to his current role in
2011 and has worked on range of issues, including the
implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the IRS's review of
the tax-exempt status of nonprofits.
"Whether people are planning for retirement, running a business,
deciding to get married, or saving for college, the work we do has
an impact on just about every American household," said Mr. Mazur.
"What I always think about is how tax affects ordinary Americans,
and I try to ensure that our nation's tax policies are fair,
effective, and efficient."
Colleagues described him as even-keeled, with an endless
understanding of the tax code.
"He really knows the data, so nobody can pull a fast one on Mark
in terms of fact-based assertions," said Stephen Shay, a professor
at Harvard Law School who worked with Mr. Mazur at the Treasury
until 2011. "He's got as broad an economic knowledge of tax and
related areas as anyone."
In fact, outside groups have bemoaned their inability to
convince Mr. Mazur of their point of view. Robert McIntyre,
director of the liberal-leaning Citizens for Tax Justice, recalled
meeting with Mr. Mazur and complaining about how the White House
had backed off an unspecified tax change.
"Sometimes we will go down and talk to him and say 'you guys had
a pretty good proposal on this thing, and now you are backing off
on it,' " Mr. McIntyre said, with the hopes that Mr. Mazur would
reconsider. " 'That's not what we are doing now,' he would
say."
Many Treasury officials, given their influence over a range of
industries, find themselves followed by a flock of analysts or
reporters. Mr. Mazur--not so much. Colleagues said they would joke
with him about his affinity for the New York Giants and New York
Mets, and he has a number of Pez dispensers arranged around his
Treasury office--gifts from family and friends.
But few outside of government know much about him or study his
every move. In late 2013, he was interviewed about his views on tax
policy by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D., N.J.) in a video the congressman
produced. The segment had only 14 views on YouTube as of early
Wednesday.
With his customary loosened tie and unbuttoned collar, Mr. Mazur
acknowledged during the segment that many Americans feel the tax
code is unfair and benefits primarily the wealthy, but he said that
can be a misconception.
"If you look at the data, the data seem to indicate that higher
income people tend to pay a larger share of their income--on
average--than lower income people," he said in response to a
question.
But he also said many companies and people were looking for ways
to take advantage of the tax code. He said "you have corporate
interests and high-income individuals looking for ways to shelter
or lower their tax bills."
He also called for changes to the tax code that would
effectively require hedge-fund managers to pay higher tax rates on
their income, saying they benefit from what he called an unfair
"loophole" which allows income earned by hedge fund and private
equity managers--a share of profits known as carried interest--to
be taxed at a lower rate than regular income. The White House
believes this income should be taxed at the same rate as regular
income.
"It doesn't benefit generally the economy as a whole," he said.
It "certainly benefits the individuals who take advantage of
it."
Mr. Mazur is so under-the-radar that Grover Norquist, president
of Americans for Tax Reform, said he had never heard of him. Mr.
Norquist, in an interview, said he doubted people like Mr. Mazur
would have much say in the final White House proposal on
inversions, believing it instead would be a political decision made
by the White House to score political points.
"All [Mr. Mazur] can do is say 'here are the things you could
claim are executive powers that nobody else in the world has ever
thought were,' " Mr. Norquist said.
Mr. Mazur's seat at the table was on full display on Tuesday,
when the White House released a list of economic advisers who
briefed President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Mr.
Mazur's name was on the list, which many in Washington, Wall
Street, and even in Europe read as a signal that a decision on how
to tackle inversions was near.
Meanwhile, lawyers, bankers, and chief executives will be
hanging on any utterance or clue from Mr. Mazur.
"He has a very disciplined and careful mind, and that's what
really matters," said Edward Kleinbard, former chief of staff of
Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation.
Write to Damian Paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com