[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 20, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E341-E342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING THOMAS A. DAVIS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 20, 2018

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Thomas A. (Tad) 
Davis on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Tad was born in Birmingham, 
Alabama on March 20, 1938, and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida where 
his family was in the restaurant business. A life-long Gator fan, Tad 
left Jacksonville to attend the University of Florida. There he earned 
Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees, and later served 
on the Board of Trustees of the University of Florida Levin College of 
Law. He received his LL.M. in Taxation from the Georgetown University 
Law Center.
  Tad's first post in Washington, D.C. was with the U.S. Army serving 
as a Strategic Intelligence Officer with the Defense Intelligence 
Agency. Following his Army career, he was an attorney in the Chief 
Counsel's office of the Internal Revenue Service. It was there that he 
became an expert in the taxation of life insurance products and 
companies, a specialty that still anchors the legal and legislative 
practices of Davis & Harman LLP, the firm he founded in 1985 with 
William Harman.
  Tad, however, did not limit his tax expertise to life insurance. His 
detailed knowledge of the law extends to legislative and regulatory 
issues in the areas of tax, financial markets, and agricultural policy. 
His expertise on tax issues relating to the horse industry is widely 
recognized, and he is the author of the Horse Owners and Breeders Tax 
Handbook, the leading authority on these issues. Over the

[[Page E342]]

years, the Kentucky Delegation and the equine industry have been very 
fortunate to benefit from his thorough understanding of this important 
area of the tax code. Most recently, Tad was recognized for his 
leadership in the successful effort to update arcane tax rules 
affecting withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel winnings.
  Throughout a career that has spanned six decades, Tad has been known 
for his extraordinary tax and legislative expertise. But more 
importantly, he is known for his honesty, integrity, and loyalty to his 
friends. It is my honor to join Tad's children Denra and Reilly, his 
wife Jerri, his colleagues at Davis & Harman, and his many, many 
friends in wishing him a very happy 80th birthday.

                          ____________________