Bipartisan Senate Working Group Supports S Corporation ESOPs

Last week, the Senate Finance Committee released several reports, and the one on savings and investment mentions ESOPs. The working group that produced the report singled out the Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act ( S. 1212), noting that it "contains several provisions to further encourage employee-ownership in S corporations, including extending the gain-deferral provisions of Code section 1042 to sales of employer stock to S-ESOPs, providing resources to small businesses contemplating making the transition to an ESOP, and ensuring that SBA-certified small businesses do not lose their status by becoming employee owned" (p. 13).