According to a November 17, 2008 article in Workforce Management, congress may be looking at new ways to limit the tax-deductibility of severance packages for senior executives for public corporations.
Venable partner John O'Neill commented on the fallout from the last time lawmakers tried to cap the tax-deductibility of executive compensation. Soon enough, he recalled, companies began capping executive salaries near the $1 million limit, and padding their top officers' compensation packages with stock options - a practice that many companies began abusing several years later during the dotcom era.
"You never can tell how these things will play out over time, but in fixing problems, you can often create new ones," said O'Neill.
Venable partner John O'Neill commented on the fallout from the last time lawmakers tried to cap the tax-deductibility of executive compensation. Soon enough, he recalled, companies began capping executive salaries near the $1 million limit, and padding their top officers' compensation packages with stock options - a practice that many companies began abusing several years later during the dotcom era.
"You never can tell how these things will play out over time, but in fixing problems, you can often create new ones," said O'Neill.