On November 20, 2017, the Senate Finance Committee released legislative text of its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which contains proposals modifying certain executive compensation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The Senate Finance Committee’s release follows similar provisions proposed by the House of Representatives’ version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (known as H.R. 1, released on November 2, 2017 and modified by the House Committee on Ways & Means (the “Ways & Means Committee”)). Currently, both plans approved by the House and the Senate Finance Committee include proposals to (1) create a new Section 83(i) that will allow the deferral of income from certain qualified equity grants made by private corporations, (2) significantly expand the scope of the $1 million deductibility limitation on executive compensation described in Section 162(m) (including an elimination of the exceptions for performance-based compensation and commissions) and (3) create a new Section 4960 that subjects excess remuneration paid to certain employees of tax-exempt organizations to an additional 20% tax payable by the employer. The presence of these proposals in both plans makes it more likely that they will appear in a final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, if approved by Congress. READ MORE