High Executive Compensation Should Face Excise Tax, Individual Says

Submitter Information

Submitter Name: Christopher Anonymous

• Docket ID: IRS-2020-0017

• Document Type: Public Submission

• Document Subtype: Public Comment

• Status: Posted

• Received Date: Jun 15, 2020

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Comment

I feel that this update to the IRS Tax Code is long overdue. Allowing employees of a tax-exempt organization to be paid a salary in excess of $1,000,000 in a year, is inappropriate. In general, an organization will be granted tax-exempt status under a number of theories: 1) Non-profits relieve the government of some financial burden, by providing a service that is a social good; 2) Taxing a non-profit would be counterproductive; or 3) an organization should be separate from the state, such as a religious organization. None of these give a market reason that an ATEO should be paying a single employee in excess of $1,000,000 a year, or give an employee an extravagant parachute payment. If a tax-exempt organization does feel that paying an individual an amount that is nearly 20 times, or more, than the median income in this country, the organization should be required to think twice regarding this payment. This is what I think this rule will do.

Additionally, I disagree with any comments that support a "grandfather" clause, allowing prior arrangements to continue tax free. Just because a previous agreement deceived the tax system does not mean it must be allowed to continue due to the timing of this implementation and clarification.