The Senate Finance Committee Takes Aim at Executive Compensation- Again

On January 17, 2007, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007 (the “Act”) containing two provisions that could significantly change the tax treatment of executive compensation arrangements. The Act will accompany the legislation increasing the minimum wage that will be voted on in the Senate and contains a number of provisions aimed at tax relief for small businesses. The executive compensation provisions are part of the revenue raisers that will be used to offset the costs of the small business tax relief. The provisions aimed at executive compensation will further expand the reach of section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) and toughen the Code section 162(m) deduction limits.