Wyden Applauds Senate Confirmation of Finance Committee Nominees

Senate Confirms Tax Court, Treasury Nominees

WASHINGTON –Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today applauded the Senate’s confirmation of Tamara Ashford, Paige Marvel and Cary Pugh to be judges on the U.S. Tax Court, and Ramin Toloui to be deputy under secretary for international finance at the Treasury Department. All nominees passed by voice vote.

“These nominees will make excellent Tax Court judges,” Wyden said. “All three have had exemplary legal careers and are true experts in their field. Their hard work helps ensure that all taxpayers’ voices are heard, and that the nation’s tax laws are enforced fairly and effectively. I am pleased the Senate has given them such strong support.”

Ashford is currently the acting assistant attorney general of the tax division at the Department of Justice, effective June 6, 2014. She is currently also the deputy assistant attorney general for policy and planning in the tax division, and she served as the deputy assistant attorney general for appellate and review from August 2011 to November 2014. Previously, Ashford served as a senior advisor to the commissioner of the large business and international division at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and also the U.S. director for the Joint International Tax Shelter Information Centre. From 2004 to 2007, she served as assistant to the IRS commissioner. She also has experience in the private sector. Ashford received her A.B. from Duke University, J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, and an L.L.M. from the University of Miami School of Law.

Marvel currently serves as a judge of the U.S. Tax Court, a position she has held since April 1998. Before becoming a judge at the U.S. Tax Court, she worked extensively in the private sector. She received a B.A. from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland and J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Pugh is currently counsel in the tax department at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, L.L.P., a position she has held since 2005. From 2002 to 2005, Pugh was the special counsel to the chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. From 1999 to 2002, Pugh served as tax counsel for the Senate Committee on Finance, where she was responsible for advising committee members on individual and corporate tax issues. Pugh received a B.A. from Duke University, an M.A. from Stanford University, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

The United States Tax Court hears a variety of tax law-related cases and gives taxpayers a dedicated venue to dispute IRS claims. As judges on the Tax Court, Ashford, Marvel and Pugh would help ensure the fair administration of the nation’s tax laws.

“Ramin Toloui’s decades of experience in international finance will be a strong addition to the Treasury Department’s team working to create American jobs and make the U.S. more competitive around the world,” Wyden said. “The global economy has rarely presented the U.S. with such great challenges and opportunities, so Treasury needs all hands on deck.”

Toloui served as global co-head of emerging markets portfolio management at PIMCO. Toloui joined PIMCO in 2006. Previously, Toloui held various positions at the Department of the Treasury, including director of the Office of the Western Hemisphere, senior advisor to the undersecretary for International Affairs, and deputy director and international economist in the Office of Central and Southeastern Europe. Toloui received an A.B. from Harvard University and an M.Phil. from Balliol College at Oxford University.

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