Law Prof Blasts 409A - Should be Scuttled

Supports Curbs on CEO "Pirates" - But 409A Misses the Mark - Hurts All Except CEOs

Article Here

"The Pirates Will Party On! The Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Rules Will Not Prevent CEOs from Acting Like Plundering Pirates and Should Be Scuttled." William A. Drennan, Southern Illinois University School of Law

Abstract
The government went off course when it attempted to stop outrageous CEO compensation schemes with new income tax rules on nonqualfied deferred compensation. IRC Section 409A should be scuttled.

Suggested Citation
William A. Drennan. 2008. "The Pirates Will Party On! The Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Rules Will Not Prevent CEOs from Acting Like Plundering Pirates and Should Be Scuttled"

"CEOs and their sidekicks resemble swashbuckling pirates emptying the coffers of vulnerable prey. Although some argue that CEOs, like professional athletes, must be worth their compensation or corporations would not pay it, structural deficiencies at publicly held corporations impede natural market forces. A Delaware Chancery Court judge stated, “executive compensation seems . . . to have come spectacularly unhinged from the market for corporate talent.”"