Pro-ESOP Bill H.R. 1244 Introduced
Pro ESOP bill H.R. 1244, the "Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2011," was introduced today by a bi-partisan group of key members of the House Ways and Means Committee: Congressmen David G. Reichert (R-WA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-LA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Erik Paulsen (R-MN), and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ).
"This bi-partisan declaration of support for employee ownership through the ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) model among privately held companies, especially by the popular S corporation business model, is very impressive," stated ESOP Association President J. Michael Keeling.
H.R. 1244 will:
Permit owners of S stock to sell the stock to an ESOP and defer the capital gains tax on his/her gain if the proceeds are reinvested in the equities of U.S. operating corporations as owners of C corporations stock have done under IRC 1042 since 1984;
Permit lenders to S corporations with 50% or more ownership through an ESOP to exclude 50% of the interest from the loan if used to acquire stock for the ESOP;
Establish an office in the Department of Treasury to provide technical assistance to S corporations with ESOPs;
Provide that a small business, S or C, eligible for one of the many programs provided by the Small Business Administration to remain eligible for SBA programs if the company becomes owned 50% or more by an ESOP, and the workforce remains the same or nearly the same as before the establishment of the 50% ownership by employees through the ESOP.
To review the full text of H.R. 1244, click here.