Companies Lobby to Safeguard Retirement Savings Program; Treasury Proposal Would Kill Savings Plans of Hundreds of Thousands of Workers.Business Editors WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2000 Workers and managers from companies across the U.S. converged on Washington today to urge lawmakers to rescue a program that creates retirement savings and promotes employee-ownership in private industry. The group is asking lawmakers to defeat an Administration proposal that would all but destroy S corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). "In the dizzying search for revenues to finance other programs, some in the Administration want to treat S corporation ESOPs as corporate tax shelters tax shelter: see tax exemption. ," said Thomas C. Berg, the chairman of the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (ESCA ESCA Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis ESCA Escaflowne (anime series) ESCA European Speech Communication Association ESCA Escuela Superior de Comercio y Administración (México) ). "The benefits go directly to employee-owners so it defies logic that ESOPs could be used as tax shelters." The Administration's FY 2001 budget proposes to raise nearly $1 billion in revenues over the next 10 years by taxing 8 out of 10 S corporation ESOPs out of existence. Last year, Congressman Jim Ramstad James M. "Jim" Ramstad (born May 6, 1946) is a United States politician from the state of Minnesota. Ramstad has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, one of eight congressional (R-MN) and Senator John Breaux John Berlinger Breaux (last name pronounced BRO) is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the U.S. House from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party. (D-LA) led a yearlong effort to defeat a similar Treasury Department proposal. Legislation introduced by Ramstad (HR 3082) and Breaux (S 1732) to preserve S corporation ESOPs, while ensuring they cannot be misused for inappropriate gain, has generated widespread bipartisan support. The House bill already has 27 cosponsors, including a strong majority - 24 - of the Members of the House Ways and Means WAYS AND MEANS. In legislative assemblies there is usually appointed a committee whose duties are to inquire into, and propose to the house, the ways and means to be adopted to raise funds for the use of the government. This body is called the committee of ways and means. Committee. The Senate bill boasts a bipartisan group of 7 Senate Finance Committee cosponsors. "At a time when the future of Social Security is being debated, why would Washington consider destroying a program that is generating retirement savings for workers with no government outlays?" said Stephanie Silverman, ESCA's President "This is another example of the government trying to fix something that isn't broken." More than 70 companies from across the country are ESCA members. Its board of Board of Directors include: Lifetouch Industries (Eden Prairie Eden Prairie A city of eastern Minnesota, a residential suburb of Minneapolis. Population: 57,300. , MN), Stevens Industries (Teutopolis, IL), Liberty Check Printers (Madison, WI), Austin Industries (Dallas, TX), Ferrell Companies, Inc. (Liberty, MO), Schreiber Foods Schreiber Foods, Inc., is the world's second largest cheese producer. [1] It is an employee-owned private-label cheese company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Green Bay, WI), Amsted Industries (Chicago, IL), Woodfold-Marco Manufacturing, Inc. (Forest Grove, OR ) and Sammons Enterprises (Dallas, TX). |
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