A report from the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America's (ESCA's) 2008 Leadership Summit provides a political update on the Rangel Corporate Tax Proposal:

"That is what makes it so important that the S ESOP community not stir up a hornet's nest by campaigning actively and aggressively against the Rangel proposal just yet. We are working actively with staff to the Chairman to get a better sense of their intentions. Based upon that intelligence, which we are working to obtain through written submissions and several cordial discussions with Committee staff, we will make a decision about when and how to tackle this issue politically."

I find it ironic that we are discussing the Rangel tax proposal just one year after an ESCA update noted that Rangel told ESCA he supported employee ownership.

The report also discusses a meeting with members of the Treasury Department:

"In remarks to all ESCA conference attendees, Assistant Secretary Swagel observed that the tax treatment of S corporation ESOPs is similar to a consumption tax, which enhances business growth and productivity. He noted the success of the current S corporation ESOP tax structure in encouraging employee ownership among private companies….. With a major pension reform bill enacted more than a year ago and the imminent transition to a new Presidential Administration, both Morrison and Bortz indicated that Treasury guidance on qualified plans in 2008 would be relatively quiet, especially for ESOPs."