Entrepreneurs play a critical role in developing new products, inventing new production techniques, creating jobs, and strengthening our economy. As lawmakers focus on tax reform, it is timely to ask whether America’s tax system treats entrepreneurs appropriately and whether reforms could improve economic performance.

Policy discussions often emphasize how taxes affect incentives to work, save, invest, innovate, and launch new ventures. Because successful entrepreneurs sometimes amass substantial wealth, discussions also consider how the tax burden is shared across people of different means. These considerations are important, but incomplete. Policymakers should also consider the special characteristics of income from entrepreneurial activity.

This event will examine the types of entrepreneurial income and explore how we can and should tax them: How should we measure tax burdens on entrepreneurs? How do capital gains taxes affect entrepreneurial activity? How do firms’ legal structures affect their tax burdens? How would tax reforms under consideration affect new entrepreneurial ventures compared with mature firms?

Join us as an expert panel explores these questions are more.

Welcome remarks

• Donald Marron, director of economic policy initiatives and Institute fellow, Urban Institute @dmarron

Panelists

• William Gentry, professor of economics, Williams College @WilliamsEcon
• Susan Morse, professor, University of Texas School of Law @susancmorse
• Donald Marron, director of economic policy initiatives and Institute fellow, Urban Institute @dmarron
• Eric Toder, codirector, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center @etoder
• Jeanne Sahadi, senior writer, CNNMoney (moderator) @jjsahadi​

Those unable to attend can stream the conference live on this page. No registration is necessary to watch the webcast. 

Light lunch will be available at 11:30 a.m. The program will begin promptly at 12:00 p.m.

Event Materials

• Agenda   
• Speaker Biographies    
• PowerPoint Presentation by Eric Toder and Susan Morse 
• Capital Gains Taxation and Entrepreneurship by William M. Gentry
• Entrepreneurship Incentives for Resource-Constrained Firms by Susan C. Morse
• Innovation and Taxation at Start-up Firms by Susan C. Morse and Eric J. Allen
   

                Support for this event has been provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.