{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=42F977DB-BFAF-4668-81AD-AD805E5128E8", "Senate Tax Relief Bill Includes Heller Amendment to Make it Easier for Employers to Award Stock to Workers", "2017-11-15", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "NV", "Dean Heller", "H001041", "www.heller.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The U.S. Senate Finance Committee's newly released Tax Cuts and Jobs Act includes an amendment filed by U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) that\u00a0would make it easier for\u00a0startups and\u00a0businesses to give employees an ownership stake in their company\u2019s success by awarding stock options.\u00a0A similar provision was also included in the U.S. House of Representatives\u2019 version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.\r\n\u201cNevada\u2019s successful and dynamic startup community is a strong source of job creation and economic growth in the state,\u201d said Heller. \u201cBy letting even more Nevadans participate, through stock ownership, in the economic opportunity this community provides, my amendment will increase employee engagement, retention, and ultimately spur more innovation and job creation at home and across the country.\u201d\r\nStock options, which are a right to purchase shares\u00a0of a company\u00a0at a future time at a fixed price, are\u00a0an\u00a0important tool for investing in and rewarding employees and increasing their compensation, but the tax implications often make this impractical for many employees of non-public firms. Heller\u2019s amendment, which is similar to the\u00a0Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership Act\u00a0(EESO), promotes broad-based employee ownership by reducing this barrier to participation, giving employees new flexibility in handling their tax obligations for up to five years after exercising their stock options.\u00a0In order to be eligible, stock options must be extended to 80\u00a0percent\u00a0of the workforce, and majority owners, corporate officers, and the highest-paid executives\u00a0will\u00a0not be eligible for the seven-year tax deferment.\r\nUnder current law, employees are required to pay taxes when they exercise their options or when their Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) vest. In other words, to access their employee ownership stake, employees are required to pay taxes on the excess of the fair market value of the stock \u2013 the difference between the amount paid and the fair market value \u2013 and the\u00a0employer receives a tax deduction on the date the employee exercises the option.\r\nFor companies that are publicly traded, employees can sell all or a portion of their shares on the public market to pay for their taxes, but in the\u00a0case of privately held companies, there is generally not a market for employees to liquidate shares to cover their tax liability, and as a result, many employees are unable to exercise their stock options, missing out on the opportunity to gain wealth as their company succeeds.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=42F977DB-BFAF-4668-81AD-AD805E5128E8"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1033380180597305, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}