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Fred T. Goldberg Jr. (born October 15, 1947) is an American
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
who has held high-ranking positions in the
United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
, including the positions of Chief Counsel of the IRS,
Commissioner of Internal Revenue The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury. The office of Commissioner was created by United States Congress, Congress as part of the Reven ...
, and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy. Outside of government, he has had a distinguished legal career in private practice and has been active in tax policy initiatives. His career is marked by major contributions to tax administration, including reforms to improve taxpayer services and efforts to modernize the IRS.


Career

Goldberg graduated from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
with a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in 1969. After obtaining his B.A., he was a special assistant at the
Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States president Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 a ...
. In 1971, he accepted a position as an assistant dean for Yale's
Calhoun College Grace Hopper College is a residential college of Yale University, opened in 1933 as one of the original eight undergraduate residential colleges endowed by Edward Harkness. It was originally named Calhoun College after US Vice President Jo ...
and was an instructor in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
and
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
at Yale. He held these positions until 1973, when he completed his
juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
degree at
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
. After completing his J.D., was hired as an associate with the firm Latham, Watkins, and Hills. He was named as a partner in the firm in 1981. He worked with the firm until 1984. From 1982 to 1986, Goldberg worked at the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
(IRS): *Assistant to the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (1981–1982) *Acting director of the Legislation and Regulations Division, Office of the Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service (1982) * Chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (1984–1986) In 1989, Goldberg was selected to be the commissioner of the IRS. He held that position until 1992, when he was chosen as assistant secretary for tax policy in the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...
. He currently resides in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...
, with his family and is a partner in the office of
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest ...
.


Career accolades

In September 2022, Goldberg was named to the Washingtonian's 2022 Top Lawyers Hall of Fame.


Interactions with Scientology

Allegedly, Scientology officials, including the Church leader
David Miscavige David Miscavige (; born April 30, 1960) is an American Scientologist who is serving as the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology ...
, arrived at his office without an appointment one day to petition for relief. The meeting was not listed on Goldberg's appointment calendar, which was obtained by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' through the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...
(FOIA). While details are not known, it was under Goldberg's administration that the long running IRS/
Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...
legal conflict ended, though it took two years (under two other commissioners) to work out the details. Scientology received a unique
tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
in 1993 and the IRS has refused to release the agreement, even after a FOIA request by ''The New York Times'' and when requested by the court in the Sklar case. (A draft version of the agreement was leaked to ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' and published late in 1997.) In early 2002, Judge Silverman, of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...
wrote the following:
If the IRS does, in fact, give preferential treatment to members of the Church of Scientology—allowing them a special right to claim deductions that are contrary to law and rightly disallowed to everybody else—then the proper course of action is a lawsuit to stop that policy. The remedy is not to require the IRS to let others claim the improper deduction, too.Sklar v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...
, No. 00-70753, Tax Court No. 1556-97, Amended Opinion, Appeal from the
United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...
, Amended, February 27, 2002.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Fred T. Jr. 1947 births Living people Commissioners of Internal Revenue Lawyers from Bethesda, Maryland Yale Law School alumni Scientology Tax lawyers Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom people People associated with Latham & Watkins