Socialism and communism developed as a reaction to the concentration of ownership and the abusive labor practices that developed in the early stages of capitalism. However, after nearly a century of conflict between these two competing economic systems, a century that witnessed two world wars and a protracted cold war, we have seen in the…
This is a one-and-a-half hour live Audio/Web Seminar that covers the basics of ESOPs from A to Z. This Audio/Web Seminar is designed for company owners and financial officers who want to determine whether an ESOP might be a good fit for their company. This program is designed to provide a broad overview of the…
The following is a list of affected sections of the Code and the 2014 limitations of interest to the ESOP community Code Section Description 2016 Limitations 2015 Limitations 401(a)(17) Limit on the amount of annual compensation taken into account $265,000 $265,000 402(g)(1) Limitation on the exclusion for elective deferrals described in Section 402(g)(3) of the…
ESOPs were first authorized by federal legislation in 1974. Since that date, there have been more than 25 separate pieces of legislation that have further defined what an ESOP is and what an ESOP is permitted to do. Despite this fact, significant misconceptions about ESOPs persist. The following describes some of the more prevalent myths…
The Los Angeles Times featured an article about Howard’s Appliance & Flat Screen Superstores, which has been 100% employee-owned since 2000. The company, which started as a radio repair shop in San Gabriel, sold nearly half of the company over to the employees when the government approved employee stock ownership plans in 1976. Employees acquired 100%…
Mills James, a comprehensive creative media production company based out of Columbus, Ohio has made an animated film explaining how their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (and how ESOPs in general) work. Mills James employs about 150 employees and specializes in the following areas: Teleproduction, Broadcast Production, Business Video, Meetings & Events, Web Interactive and Original…
Local business owners say they’re spreading the wealth in Great Falls by offering long term employees stock ownership plans or ESOP’s. It’s a structure that is set up and its federally recognized, so the employees are then part of a trust that then owns either a 100% of the company or some portion of the…
Read the original posting at the Cal-Tex Website Cal-Tex is 97% employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).As the 2011 Grand Prize Winner of theNational Center for Employee Ownership’s Innovations in Ownership Award and the 2011 ESOP Association’s Best Communications Award (Small Company), Cal-Tex is committed to providing a company structure that will benefit the employee and…
Click here to read the original article at bizjournals.com For business owners who want to cash out but still oversee the direction of the company and take care of their workers, an employee stock ownership plan might be the best bet. That was the message from panelists Tuesday morning at the monthly meeting of ACG…
(Why Selling Your Stock to an ESOP is Better than Selling to a Third Party) If you are the owner of a successful decorative plumbing or hardware business, sooner or later you will face the prospect of having to exit the business, either because you wish to retire or because you wish to cash in…
National Van Lines Inc. said it has changed the company’s structure, selling itself to an employee stock ownership plan entity. The third-generation, family-run business said it has been working on transitioning to an ESOP-owned S Corp. structure since July 2010 effort to “find an ownership and liquidity succession plan that did not disrupt the culture…
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (“ESOPs”) are federally qualified employee benefit programs governed by U.S. law. Since our president and founder, John Menke, wrote some of the original ESOP legislation in 1974, more than 25 additional laws have been passed to promote and broaden the benefits of ESOPs. In general, ESOPs offer owners of companies tax…
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Results from the Employee Ownership Foundation’s 20th Annual Economic Performance Survey of ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) companies that are members of The ESOP Association show that ESOPs, while not immune to economic developments beyond their control, have seen an upturn over the past year. The survey shows ESOP…
Distributions from an ESOP in the form of shares of company stock have many advantages. One of the compelling reasons for making distribution in the form of company stock, for example, is that distributions in the form of company stock enable participants to have a portion of their distribution taxed at long term capital gains…
NOVEMBER 1, 2004 The following article was originally published in Bloomberg Businessweek and written by Amey Stone Employee ownership can be a powerful tool Last November the 100 employees of Superior Plumbing & Heating, a mechanical contractor in Anchorage, Alaska, gathered on the snow-covered ground to celebrate their new status as full owners of the…
For additional information, contact: Angie Lamielle, Senior Marketing Associate 330-684-4002 alamielle@willburt.com For Immediate Release: Monday, June 06, 2011 The Will-Burt Company is celebrating its 25th year as an Employee Owned Company. Will-Burt employees have been participating in the Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) since its inception on December 31, 1985. Will-Burt will be holding a…
A “perfect storm” has hit the U.S. economy and its privately-held businesses. Consumer purchasing power has dried up, resulting in reduced revenues for almost all privately-held businesses. At the same time most banks have stopped or curtailed lending, and bank credit is no longer available to many businesses. During the past two quarters many businesses…
Background One of the concerns that arises in the case of a company that is 100% owned by its ESOP (or where an ESOP owns less than 100% of the outstanding stock, all of the stock held by the ESOP is allocated, and the ESOP will not be acquiring any additional stock) is that once…
A “perfect storm” has hit the U. S. economy and its privately-held businesses. Consumer purchasing power has dried up, resulting in reduced revenues for almost all privately-held businesses. At the same time most banks have stopped or curtailed lending, and bank credit is no longer available to many businesses.
Virtually every ESOP appraisal that has been written in the past 10 years has concluded that, both in the case of purchases of company stock by an ESOP from direct shareholders and in the case of subsequent distributions and repurchases of company stock to and from plan participants, the discount for lack of marketability is…
By: John D. Menke There are good reasons to consider selling your firm to your own employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). No other alternative combines maximum financial advantage with the flexibility that enables you to customize the sale to fit your own particular circumstances. An ESOP enables you to sell your business…
Here is a video posted by one of The Menke Group’s Clients: WinSystems, an embedded PC designer and manufacturer, provides a high level of quality and customer service through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). This leads to employees holding a direct stake in maintaining a high level of customer service. Here is the full…
By Nancy Mann Jackson, contributing writer June 17, 2010: 4:45 AM ET (CNNMoney.com) — On his 81st birthday, entrepreneur Bob Moore signed the papers to hand nearly a third of his company over to his 200 employees. But it’s a gift Moore and his three partners hope will pay off for them as well: By…
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 409(P), as follows: Basic Rule: No assets of an ESOP may be allocated…
The exit strategies available to owners of electrical wholesaling firms are somewhat limited. The available strategies include selling the business to a competitor, selling the business to the management employees, or selling the business to all of its employees under the provisions of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”).
Click here to download the full article in pdf format ESOPs were first authorized by federal legislation in 1974. Since that date, there have been more than 25 separate pieces of legislation that have further defined what an ESOP is and what an ESOP is permitted to do. Despite this fact, there are more misconceptions…
USES OF AN ESOP A Readily Available Market for Controlling Shareholders Frequently, controlling shareholders desire to sell a part of their shares in order to diversity their holdings, or to provide liquidity for investment or estate planning purposes. Usually, however, there is no market for the sale of a minority interest in a closely-held company.…
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…
“A new dawn greets ESOP companies!” “The Holy Grail of business opportunities beckons: ESOP companies can now operate tax free!” Not since 1984, when the §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, (“EGTRRA”), the ESOP’s…
USING ESOPS TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY You’ve read about them—companies that seem to have found the key to success in an unstable business environment: “Sales Jump 312% as Employees Learn Rules of the Game” at Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation in Missouri. Management Accounting. Inc. magazine awards its Entrepreneur of the Year award to all 240 owner-employees of…