Washington (June 6, 2003) -- Veteran tax lobbyist William R. DeReuter has joined the Washington staff of the Financial Planning Association as assistant director of government relations.
“The first thing I’m going to focus on is explaining to members the new tax bill that’s been signed into law, and respond to their questions, so that they may adequately respond to their clients,” DeReuter told WebCPA.
Pension legislation -- particularly savings incentives -- will also be a top priority for DeReuter. “It’s something that’s very important to all of our members. While I don’t think anything will get done in the pension area this year, certainly next year and beyond it will be an issue,” DeReuter said. “One thing I would like to focus on is anything that provides savings incentives. Anything that can help people save for their own retirement is going to be front and center for years to come.”
Prior to joining FPA, DeReuter worked for 15 years as vice president of government relations at Merrill Lynch & Co., advocating tax issues before Congress, the White House and the Treasury Department. Prior to that, he worked as a liaison for legislative affairs for the Treasury and as press secretary to former Senator William Roth Jr., R-Del. He is also the founder of the Savings Coalition of America, a 75-member organization that advocates federal laws to encourage personal savings.
-- Melissa Klein
