WHAT IS AN ESOP? The best way to explain an ESOP is to compare it to a profit sharing plan. ESOPs can do all the things a profit sharing plan can do. However, ESOPs can do a great many things that profit sharing plans cannot do. Profit sharing plans are regarded primarily as employee benefit…
āA new dawn greets ESOP companies!ā āThe Holy Grail of business opportunities beckons: ESOP companies can now operate tax free!ā Not since 1984, when the Ā§1042 tax-free rollover was enacted, has the ESOP community bubbled with such enthusiasm. Under the provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, (āEGTRRAā), the ESOPās…
S. 1612 – The ESOP Promotion and Improvement Act of 2009: On August 6, 2009, Senator Blanche L. Lincoln (D-AR) introduced S. 1612, the ESOP Promotion and Improvement Act of 2009. The legislation has four sections, including an entirely new proposal to remove a 35 year bias against ESOP companies by the Small Business Administration.…
Fall 2010 Written by Loren Rogers In a project funded by the Employee Ownership Foundation, the NCEO did an extensive analysis of ESOP companies using data from the US Department of Labor. Unlike prior research, the study carefully compiled data from multiple plans within a single company and used multiple years of data for each…
August 11, 2010 The ESOP Association and the Employee Ownership Foundation released today the results of a survey conducted among the Association’s 1,400 corporate members in the first quarter of 2010 which confirms positive benchmarks for ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) companies. The company survey is conducted every five years and was last completed in…
Ross Group Inc of Dayton, Ohio announced that the company has formed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and has joined the growing list of companies whose employees are stockholders. āWhen the transaction is completed,ā said Mr. Mark Ross, President and CEO, āthe employees of Ross Group Inc will own just under 25 percent of…
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Clif Bar & Company announced the selling of family owned common stock to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Employees through the ESOP own 20% of the company, while husband and wife owners Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford retain the remaining 80%. No change in management structure will…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Technomics, Inc. Benefits Employees with Stock Ownership Plan Arlington, VA – January 26, 2010 Rick Collins, President and CEO of Technomics, proudly informed employees on January 26, 2010 that the Company formed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and, in doing so, has joined the growing list of companies whose employees are…
Written byĀ Phillip SwagelĀ andĀ Robert Carroll Executive Summary A study of a cross-section of Subchapter S firms with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan shows that S-ESOP companies performed better in 2008 compared to non-S-ESOP firms along a number of dimensions, including job creation, revenue growth, and providing for workersā retirement security. The S-ESOPs paid their workers higher…
The ESOP ā Employee Stock Ownership Plan ā is, slowly, on the rise. These worker-owned businesses are more productive and could benefit the American economy. Shoppers eye goods at the bakery of King Arthur Flour Co. in Norwich, Vt. The employee-owned firm was able to expand from its niche to deliver a broad product line.…
Small companies are rushing to reward workers with employee stock ownership plans as low valuations make awarding shares more attractive ByĀ Karen E. Klein Bob Moore gathered three employee shifts together last month for pizza parties to celebrate his 81st birthday. But Moore, the founder and president ofĀ Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods in Portland, Ore., also…
The NCEO has just completed an analysis of Form 5500 retirement plan filings filed by ESOP companies. The Form 5500 data are prone to considerable reporting and transcription error and should be used with caution, but many of the results described below are in accord with prior research, with our experience, and with best estimates…
Dear Business Owner, Would you be interested in selling part or all of your stock in your company ifĀ you could sell it for more than twice what it is currently worth? Case Study I: The Benefits of a Gradual Sale to an ESOP We recently helped one of our clients do just that. Company X…
Dear Reader: As president of Menke & Associates, Inc., I believe there is significant untapped growth potential in most privately held companies. Whether you want to sell some or all of your stock in the company in the next five years or whether you plan to remain active for the long term, Menke & Associates,…
The First ESOP (1956) San Francisco lawyer and economist Louis O. Kelso created the first employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 1956 as a way to transition ownership of Peninsula Newspapers, Inc. from its two founders (both then in their 80s) to their chosen successors, the managers and employees. Kelso had long believed that the…
Dear Business Owner, This may be the opportune time to take action to avoid the increase in capital gains tax rates that will take effect after 2010. As you may know, the Bush tax rate cuts, including the current 15% capital gains tax rate, are slated to expire at the end of 2010. In addition,…
MEMORANDUM From: Legal Department Date: January 2008 Subject:Ā Prohibited Allocations in S Corp ESOPs Section 409(p) of the Code, which was enacted as part of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, sets forth anti-abuse rules for ESOPs that are maintained by S corporations. The following is to summarize the restrictions of Section…
I. PROVISIONS AFFECTING ESOPS S Corp UBIT Exemption The unrelated business income tax (āUBITā) exemption that currently applies to S corporation ESOPs, together with the related Ā§409(p) anti-abuse provisions, have been made permanent. These provisions were scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. As the result of PPA, these provisions have been made permanent,…
I. INCREASES IN CONTRIBUTION, DEDUCTION AND BENEFIT LIMITS Contribution Deduction Limits. The limit on an employerās deduction for contributions to a non-leveraged ESOP or a profit sharing plan is increased from 15% to 25% of participantsā aggregate compensation. 401(k) deferrals are not counted for purposes of the deduction limits. However, 401(k) deferrals will be included…
Comparison of Old and New Provisions Current Law New Law (EGTRRA) I.Ā Ā Increases in Contribution, Deduction and Benefit Limits Contribution Deduction Limits: An employer’s deduction for contributions (including 401(k) deferral contributions) to a profit sharing or stock bonus plan is limited to 15% of participants’ taxable compensation. The money purchase plan limit is 25%. The 15%…
MEMORANDUM TO: ALL CLIENTS FROM: MENKEĀ & ASSOCIATES, INC. LEGAL DEPARTMENT DATE: JULY 18, 2001 SUBJECT: NEW “REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION” RULES Depending on the terms of your Plan, participants who are age 70Ā½ or older, are generally required to receive a distribution from the Plan every year. We will refer to this type of a distribution…
MEMORANDUM TO: ALL CLIENTS FROM: LEGAL DEPARTMENT DATE: JULY 18, 2001 RE: NEW REQUIREMENTS ON FIDELITY BONDING FOR QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS I. BACKGROUND Current regulations under ERISA require generally that all Employee Benefit Plans engage an Independent Qualified Public Accountant ( IQPA) to perform an annual audit of the Plan, and to include that…
Capitalism collapsed in the fall of 2008. It’s collapse was also the direct result of a flaw in the system. Capitalism promised universal opportunity and a rising tide for everyone. To achieve this result, capitalism privatized and/or deregulated every possible industry. It glorified greed, extravagant executive compensation, and financial manipulation. Just as in the case…
Economic Stimulation and Solutions for Creating New American Jobs and for Protecting Existing American Jobs By John D. Menke, Esq. Historical Background of the American Dream Since the very founding of the original thirteen colonies, America has always been known as the land of economic opportunity and as the most capitalistic country on the face…
Approximately 97 percent of our nation’s businesses are privately-held. In spite of this, charitable and tax-exempt organizations have not achieved particularly significant results in securing major gift income from owners of closely-held companies. The reasons for this apparent oversight may be understandable. Although small business owners may head enterprises worth substantial amounts of money, frequently,…
By John D. Menke Although the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (āESOPā) concept continues to enjoy bipartisan support in Congress, this support is still not deep. Current support for the tax incentives that are essential to the adoption of new ESOPs comes from only a handful of key members of the House and the Senate.Meanwhile, during…