About Caroline
Caroline Bruckner is a tax professor on the faculty of American University Kogod School of Business (Kogod) and is the managing director of the Kogod Tax Policy Center. She is an expert on small business, the gig economy, women business owners, and tax issues. She has testified multiple times before both U.S. House and Senate Congressional committees as well as IRS. Since joining Kogod in 2015, she has released ground-breaking tax compliance research on the gig economy as well as women business owners and the U.S. tax code. In April 2021, the Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced legislation to address challenges women business owners have accessing capital prompted by Bruckner’s research.
Currently, she is working a Congressional witness testimony dataset to measure the diversity and impact of Congressional witnesses in the federal legislative process as well as new research on small business tax literacy trends and how AI can be used to modernize tax administration. She teaches courses on business law, principles of federal income tax; fundamentals of business ownership; challenges of women business owners; business implications of the future of work; and in the KSB management in sustainability masters program. She is the program coordinator for KSB’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and the faculty advisor for the Kogod VITA Volunteer Corp and Kogod Women in Business clubs.
Before joining Kogod in 2015, Bruckner worked for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (the “Committee”), ultimately as Chief Counsel, where she developed small business legislation and advised the Committee and its chair, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), on tax, labor and employment, and budget matters. During that time, she developed expertise on small business tax issues, U.S. Senate rules and Congressional committee procedure. Prior to public service, Bruckner was a senior associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP - Washington National Tax Services (PwC-WNTS), where she advised clients on international tax issues. Before joining PwC-WNTS, she worked as an associate for PaulHastings LLP.
Media: Bruckner is an experienced media resource on small business and tax issues as well as her research. Her work and expertise have been featured in interviews with national outlets and publications, including: CNBC’s The Closing Bell, Yahoo Finance, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Forbes, Time, USA Today, Inc. Magazine, Politico, Tax Analysts, Fortune, Money, Wallet Hub. Her writing has been published in The Financial Times, The Hill, The Chicago Tribune, Tax Notes, and The Journal of Taxation, and The Journal of Retirement.
Education: Bruckner has a Masters in Taxation (LLM) from Georgetown University Law Center, a Juris Doctor from George Mason University School of Law where she won the Best Memorandum of Law Award for the First-Year Class, and a BA in Political Science from Emory University, where she was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Honors Society. She is an American College of Tax Counsel Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, and member in good standing of the Virginia Bar.
Experience
American University Kogod School of Business
Washington, DC
Sr. Professorial Lecturer & Managing Director, Kogod Tax Policy Center: 2021 – Present
Professorial Lecturer & Managing Director, Kogod Tax Policy Center: 2015 – 2021
Center for Teaching, Research and Learning Faculty Fellow: 2018 – 2019
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Washington, DC
Senior Counsel & Tax, Budget, and Labor Advisor to Chair Landrieu: 2014 – 2015
U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Washington, DC
Chief Counsel & Principal Tax, Budget, and Labor Advisor to Chair Landrieu: 2013 – 2014
General Counsel: 2010 – 2013
Counsel: 2009 – 2010
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP-Washington National Tax Services
Washington, DC
Senior Associate, International Tax Services: 2006 – 2009
PaulHastings LLP
Washington, DC
Associate, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: 2004 – 2006
Congressional & Administrative Appearances
Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Budget in Connection with a hearing titled, “2017 Tax Law – Impact on the Budget and American Families.” (Feb. 27, 2019).
Testimony Before the SBC in Connection with a hearing titled, "Expanding Opportunities for Small Businesses Through the Tax Code." (Oct. 3, 2018).
Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight in Connection with a Hearing Titled, "Improving Tax Administration Today.” (July 26, 2018).
Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee during a hearing titled, “Small Business Tax Reform: Modernizing the Code for the Nation’s Job Creators.” (Oct. 4, 2017).
Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee during a hearing titled, "The Sharing Economy: A Taxing Experience for New Entrepreneurs - Part I." (May 24, 2016).
Testimony Before the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate at a public forum to discuss the IRS' Future State plan and the implications to the developing sharing economy. (May 17, 2016).
Testimony Before the SBC in a hearing titled, “Targeted Tax Reform: Solutions to Relieve the Tax Compliance Burdens for America’s Small Businesses,” (July 22, 2015).
Research & Publications
Collin Coil, Caroline Bruckner, Natalie Williamson, Karen O’Connor & Jeff Gill (15 Feb 2024): Still Underrepresented? Gender Representation of Witnesses at House and Senate Committee Hearings, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, DOI: 10.1080/1554477X.2024.2311023.
Bruckner, Caroline & Collin Coil (Jan. 2024). AI and the Modern Tax Agency: Adopting and Deploying AI to Improve Tax Administration. IBM Center for the Business of Government.
Bruckner, Caroline (May 19, 2023). IRS Direct File Needs to Plan for the Reality of How People Work. Bloomberg Tax. Available at: https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/irs-direct-file-needs-to-plan-for-the-reality-of-how-people-work-1.
Bruckner, Caroline (April 18, 2023). Statement for the Record: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business in connection with a hearing titled, “Paying Their Fair Share: How Tax Hikes Crush the Competitiveness of Small Businesses.”
Bruckner, Caroline, (March 27, 2023). Racial Bias in the Tax Code Needs More Transparent Research. Bloomberg Tax. Available at: https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/racial-bias-in-the-tax-code-needs-more-transparent-research.
Bruckner, Caroline (March 7, 2023). Statement for the Record: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance in connection with a hearing titled, "Tax Policy’s Role in Increasing Affordable Housing Supply for America’s Working Families.”
Bruckner, Caroline & Jonathan Forman (April 2022). Women, Retirement and the Growing Gig Workforce. 38 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 259.
Bruckner, Caroline & Jonathan Forman (July 2021). Shoring Up Shortfalls: Women, Retirement and the Growing GigSupp Economy. The Journal of Retirement.
Bruckner, Caroline & Jonathan Forman (2021). Shoring Up Shortfalls: Women, Retirement, and the Growing GigSupp Economy. The Wharton School/Pension Research Council Working Paper (2021-3).
Bruckner, Caroline & Thomas L. Hungerford (2021). Failure to Contribute: An Estimate of the Consequences of Non- and Underpayment of Self-Employment Taxes by Independent Contractors and On-Demand Workers on Social Security. 9 Ind. J.L. & Soc. Equality 52 (2021).
Bruckner, Caroline (2020). Doubling Down on a Billion Dollar Blind Spot: Tax Reform & Women Business Owners. American University Business Law Review, Vol. 9, Issue 1.
Bruckner, Caroline & Thomas Hungerford (2019). Failure to Contribute: An Estimate of the Consequences of Non-and Underpayment of Self-Employment Taxes by Independent Contractors and On-Demand Workers. Boston College Center for Retirement Research Working Paper (WP#2019-1).
Bruckner, Caroline & Annette Nellen (2019). Failure to Innovate: Tax Compliance and the Gig Economy Workforce. State Tax Notes, 92(6), 485-495.
Bruckner, Caroline, Jen Brown & Annette Nellen (2018). The Evolving Sharing Economy. Journal of Taxation, 128(6), 6-16.
Bruckner, Caroline (2017). Billion Dollar Blind Spot: How the U.S. Tax Code’s Small Business Expenditures Impact Women Business Owners. Kogod Tax Policy Center Report.
Bruckner, Caroline (2016). The New Entrepreneurs of the Sharing Economy. Recalculating, 97+ Experts on Driving Small Business Growth. Brick Tower Press. Chapter contribution written together with Katie Vliestra Vice President, National Association of the Self-Employed.
Bruckner, Caroline (2016). Shortchanged: The Tax Compliance Challenges of Small Business Operators Driving the On-Demand Platform Economy. Kogod Tax Policy Center Report.
Education
Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC
Master of Laws (LLM) Taxation, 2004
Areas of Concentration: International and Corporate Taxation
Thesis Topic: Congressional Use of Federal Tax Policy to Achieve Foreign Policy Objectives
George Mason University School of Law
Arlington, VA
Juris Doctor, 2003
Articles Editor: George Mason University School of Law Civil Rights Law Journal
Writing Fellow/Dean’s Scholar: Teaching Assistant for First-Year Introduction to Legal Writing
Awarded: Best Memorandum of Law for the First-Year Class (2001)
Writing GPA: 3.8/4.0
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, 1997
Recipient: Dean’s List, 1993-1997
Member: Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Honors Society
Professional & Community Affiliations
Member: D.C. Office of State Superintendent of Education Financial Literacy Standards Expert Review Panel, 2023 - Present
Member: Taxpayer FIRST Advisory Board, 2023 - Present
Member: ABA – Tax Section, 2023 - Present
Member: 131 & Counting Advisory Board, 2022 - Present
Elected: National Academy of Social Insurance, 2021 - Present
Fellow: American College of Tax Counsel, 2020 - Present
Volunteer: Community Tax Aid D.C., 2019 - Present
Member: Tax Coalition for Professional Development of Women in Tax Policy, 2017 - Present
Volunteer: Junior League of Washington, D.C., 2012 - Present
Admitted: Virginia State Bar, 2003 - Present
Awards & Grants
Awarded: Kogod Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching - 2022
Awarded: American University Faculty Research Support Grant - 2020
Awarded: Grant from The Wharton School Pension Research Council/TIAA - 2019
Awarded: Kogod Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching - 2019
Awarded: Kogod Faculty Award for Outstanding Service - 2018
Awarded: Kogod Faculty Award for Outstanding Service - 2017
Recipient: Sandell Grant from the Boston College Center on Retirement Research - 2017