In honor of tonight’s Oscars:  the Friday Buzz column in Congress Daily had a funny piece by Martin Vaughn, The Oscar For Best Tax Drama.  Here is the opening:

The drama! The intrigue! And you thought the life of a tax staffer was all green eye-shades and pencil shavings. The tax community is awash in speculation about Senate Finance Chairman Grassley’s efforts to install his chief tax counsel, Mark Prater, as the next chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. That post has been open since the departure last fall of former Chief of Staff George Yin — the pick of House Ways and Means Chairman Thomas — and by tradition, it falls to Grassley to anoint the next JCT head. Grassley has made no secret that he’d like to have Prater move into the slot, but business community sources say Thomas has encouraged Grassley to cast a wider net. What could be behind Thomas’ hesitation? The affable, self-effacing Prater is described by colleagues as a talented tax lawyer with an unrivalled work ethic. Brought onto Finance in 1990 by former Finance Chairman Bob Packwood, R-Ore., Prater has been present at the creation of every piece of tax legislation in the last 15 years.