Employee Stock Ownership Improvements Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Employee Stock Ownership Improvements Act of 1979 - Amends the Revenue Act of 1978 and the Internal Revenue Code to establish, without expiration dates, a credit against the corporate income tax for contributions by an employer to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Sets the amount of such credit at a sum equal to the amount transferred to such a plan, not to exceed the taxpayer's income tax liability. Excludes certain taxes from the calculation of such liability. Provides for the carryover of any credit in excess of such liability. Denies such credit to certain regulated public utilities. Denies business expense, production of income expense, or contribution to deferred-payment plan deductions for amounts required to a tax credit ESOP. Provides for an additional tax credit for contributions to certain ESOPs. Allows an income tax deduction to an employer for any dividend paid with respect to employer securities held by a tax credit ESOP, if the dividend is distributed to the employees participating in the plan. Deems contributions, bequests, or similar transfers of employer securities, under certain conditions, to a tax credit ESOP as a deductible charitable contribution. Eliminates specified voting rights and stock distribution demand rights requirements for certain qualifying ESOPs. Allows a special income tax credit to a small business employer who establishes an ESOP in an amount equal to the actual cost of establishing the plan, not to exceed $5,000. Continues to allow a deduction for retirement savings to individuals, including certain married individuals, who also participate in tax credit ESOPs. Allows an employer unlimited deductions for qualified matching employee contributions on behalf of its employees made to a tax credit ESOP. Excludes from the gross income of a tax credit ESOP participant any lump-sum distribution of employer securities (not to exceed $5,000) made from a qualified trust which is part of a tax credit ESOP. Prescribes the use of nonvoting stock acquired by a tax credit ESOP. Eliminates limitations on deductions for employer contributions to a combination of one or more stock bonus and one or more profit-sharing plans. Requires one of the alternative benefits in a qualified cafeteria plan to be cash, property, or another currently taxable benefit. Defines a cafeteria plan to include deferred compensation plans which are part of a qualified profit-sharing or stock bonus plan.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 23, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 23, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WILLIAM FRENZEL (R-MN) introduced it on July 23, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 23, 1979, 17216 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17216 days ago, on July 23, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers