William R. Pomierski
Subscribe to William R. Pomierski's PostsWilliam (Bill) R. Pomierski focuses his practice on the taxation of financial products and capital markets transactions, as well as on executive compensation matters. He is a former chair of the Firm’s Executive Compensation Practice Group. Bill advises clients on the federal income tax implications of a variety of domestic, cross-border and global financial products and related transactions. Read William Pomierski's full bio.
Responsible Financial Innovation Act: Proposed Tax and Reporting for Digital Assets
By John Lutz, William R. Pomierski, Andrew Granek and McDermott Will & Emery on Sep 8, 2022
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Retirement Plans
On June 7, 2022, Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the highly anticipated Responsible Financial Innovation Act (the bill), which sets out to create the first complete regulatory and bipartisan framework for digital assets. The bill is intended to establish some legal clarity for regulators and the industry and to protect consumers...
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IRS Reasserts That Forgivable PPP Expenses Are Not Deductible, but Is Legislative Relief on the Way?
By Andrew Liazos, William R. Pomierski and Evan Walters on Dec 18, 2020
Posted In Employment
Loans under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) are eligible for forgiveness depending upon whether and when the loan proceeds are used for qualified business expenses. Congress provided that the forgiveness of PPP loans are not includible in income. However, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) currently takes the position that expenses funded by PPP loans are...
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COVID-19 FAQs: For Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
By Erin Steele, Evan A. Belosa, Jacob Mattinson, McDermott Will & Emery, Sarah L. Engle, Brian Tiemann, Allison Wilkerson, Andrew Liazos and William R. Pomierski on Mar 26, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
Coronavirus (COVID-19) raises serious concerns for employers of all shapes and sizes, across all industries and in every business sector. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to grow, many employers are faced with new challenges that affect not only their businesses and their employees, but the health and welfare, retirement and executive compensation plans and...
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IRS Issues Long-Awaited Initial Guidance under Section 162(m)
By Andrew Liazos, Joseph K. Urwitz, McDermott Will & Emery and William R. Pomierski on Aug 23, 2018
Posted In Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation
On August 21, 2018, the IRS issued guidance regarding recent statutory changes made to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. Overall, Notice 2018-68 strictly interprets the Section 162(m) grandfathering rule under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Public companies and other issuers subject to these deduction limitations will want to closely consider this guidance...
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House Tax Bill Would Gut Deferred Compensation Plans and Curtail Executive Pay Deductions
By Andrew Liazos and William R. Pomierski on Nov 7, 2017
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans
The US House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act intends to reduce corporate and individual tax rates. To pay for the proposed changes, the House Tax Bill would, if enacted, negatively impact long-standing current executive compensation practices. Continue reading.
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Section 409A Considerations in Light of Tax Rate Reform
By William R. Pomierski on Dec 21, 2016
Posted In Executive Compensation
The recent presidential election has tax professionals busy analyzing predicted (and hoped for) tax reform proposals, including the potential reduction in the top marginal rates for individuals. It is unclear whether and when rates will be reduced, and how soon thereafter rates may creep up again, but tax rate proposals invariably lead to discussions relating to...
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SEC Proposed Hedging Transaction Disclosure Rules
By Andrew Liazos and William R. Pomierski on May 4, 2015
Posted In Fiduciary and Investment Issues
Much attention has been given to recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd Frank Act) that would require disclosure of chief executive officer pay ratios and a new pay-for-performance table. But there’s another proposed rule that could cause significant headaches for public...
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Section 162(m) Final Regulations Clarify Requirements for Exemptions to $1 Million Deduction Limitation
By Andrew Liazos, Ruth Wimer and William R. Pomierski on Apr 14, 2015
Posted In Executive Compensation
On March 31, 2015, IRS issued final regulations clarifying that stock options and SARs will only qualify as performance-based compensation if granted under a stockholder-approved plan that includes an individual limit on the number of such awards that may be granted during a specified period. In addition, only certain types of stock-based compensation are eligible...
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SEC Proposes Disclosure Rule for Hedging Transactions by Directors, Officers and Employees
By Andrew Liazos and William R. Pomierski on Mar 10, 2015
Posted In Executive Compensation
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a proposed rule that would require public companies to disclose in annual proxy statements whether their employees and board members may hedge or otherwise offset any decrease in the market value of such companies’ equity securities. The proposed rule implements Section 955 of the Dodd-Frank Act and...
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