The bill in question: http://rs9.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:s.01940: T.J. Rodgers' typically-provocative op-ed opposing it: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB101519745263202320,00.html Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich) press release in favor of bill: http://levin.senate.gov/releases/021302pr1.htm --- For Release: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 Contact: Matt Raymond (202) 224-4121 High Tech Task Force Urges Defeat of Stock-Options Measure, Possible Energy Amendment, That Would Harm Tech Community WASHINGTON, DC Members of the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Minority Leader Trent Lott voicing concerns that legislation which may be offered as an amendment to the energy bill would legislate financial accounting rules and have substantially harmful implications for the technology community and enterprises. In the letter, the Senators expressed concerns that S. 1940, the Ending the Double Standard for Stock Options Act, would require companies to expense stock options on their income statements and preclude them from taking the tax deduction they are entitled to if they fail to do so. Neither SEC rules nor generally accepted accounting standards require companies to expense stock options. If it is approved, the Senators wrote that technology companies would be forced to reduce the number of stock options issued to rank-and-file employees in order to minimize the false hit to earnings required by the harmfu l legislation. Stock options are a vital and powerful tool to motivate employees to improve the productivity, efficiency and overall excellence of their companies. In fact, many executives at a number of companies are compensated solely through stock options, High Tech Task Force Chairman George Allen (R-VA) said. Limits on stock options would seriously harm many of our most innovative companies, especially the technology companies that make broad use of them for their employees at all levels from shipping to management. The Senators also expressed concerns that by limiting the tax deduction for stock options, S. 1940 would impose a tax increase that would hurt small, medium-sized and large businesses and could ultimately hinder job growth. Particularly troublesome to the technology community, the bill would discourage research and development by absurdly reducing the R&D tax credit for companies that do not expense stock options. Leading technology industry associations including AeA, the Business Software Alliance, CapNet, the Information Technology Association of America, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Software & Information Industry Association, and TechNet oppose this legislation. The letter was signed by High Tech Task Force Members Senators Allen, Wayne Allard (CO), Robert Bennett (UT), Conrad Burns (MT), John Ensign (NV), Orrin Hatch (UT), Gordon Smith (OR) and John Warner (VA), as well as Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), and Don Nickles (R-OK). ### ______________________________________ MATT RAYMOND Communications Director, Sen. George Allen 204 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Ph: 202-224-4121 Cell: 703-969-8271 Fax: 202-228-1573 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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