Close the CEO Bonus Pay Loophole
United States Senate
In 1993, under President Bill Clinton, Congress passed a law meant to rein in excessive CEO pay. But the new law left an unfortunate loophole for so-called “performance pay,” which has been exploited by Wall Street ever since.
Between 2012 and 2015, the top 20 U.S. banks paid more than $2 billion to their top five executives in fully tax deductible performance pay. That cost taxpayers $725 million. Wells Fargo alone paid its recently fired CEO John Stumpf $155 million in performance pay while the scandal was happening. This cost taxpayers $54 million.
Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have introduced the Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act (S. 1127) to close this tax loophole and rein in abuses by financial firms.
Stand with Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund and CPD Action and demand that Congress support this legislation now.
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The recent scandal at Wells Fargo has shed light on an egregious tax loophole that allows corporations to take unlimited deductions on “performance pay.” While the Wells Fargo scandal was happening its CEO, John Stumpf, got $155 million in performance pay bonuses, which taxpayers subsidized to the tune of $54 million.
It is time for Congress to act to end a culture of corruption on Wall Street. Pass S. 1127, the Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act, to close this tax loophole and rein in excessive CEO pay, which has created incentives for shortsighted, risky Wall Street behavior.