S. 2515 · 118th Congress

Expands tax breaks and federal support for employee ownership of S corporations

Official title: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 20231

Never got a floor voteBusiness tax breaksSmall business loans and programs

§1What it does

Why this matters: A plain-English description of the bill as it was voted on, written by us from the official summary and text.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

The bill would let owners who sell stock in an S corporation to the company's employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) defer tax on the sale starting when the bill becomes law, instead of after December 31, 2027, as under current law, and would remove the limit on how much tax can be deferred.2,3 It would create an S Corporation Employee Ownership Assistance Office at the Treasury Department to promote employee ownership through education, outreach and technical help for S corporations setting up ESOPs.3 It would also count ESOP participants as direct owners of their shares when deciding whether a business more than 49% owned by an ESOP still qualifies for Small Business Administration loans and preferences, and would direct the Labor Department to appoint an Advocate for Employee Ownership.2,3

§2Status

StatusLatest action, July 26, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.1
IntroducedJuly 26, 2023
SponsorSen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Cosponsors40 cosponsors (19 Republican, 19 Democratic, 2 independent)
Official recordS. 2515 on Congress.gov

§3It never got a vote

Why this matters: This bill had wide support from both parties, but it never reached the House or Senate floor, so no member of Congress was ever recorded voting for or against it.

Latest action, July 26, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.1 How bills die without a vote.

2026 candidates who sponsored or cosponsored it (9)