A comprehensive yet easy-to-understand guide emphasizing the corporate financial benefits that an employee stock ownership plan can offer as a business financing instrument. Describes COBRA '93 ESOP changes, which permit businesses to reduce taxes by contributing to an ESOP, the availability of ESOPs to S corporations and shareholders, and how to defer or avoid tax on sales of ESOP stock. Provides excellent advice to small, closely-held corporations on how to use the ESOP as a tool to design compensation arrangements which motivate, retain and recruit employees.

A practical, how-to guide regarding legal issues and business benefits of ownership incentive plans, especially ESOPs. Describes how they can be used to expand or sell a company, increase productivity, takeover a firm, defend against a takeover and restructure employee benefits. Experts in a variety of fields contribute short summaries which deal with particular questions of interest.

An ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) is a tax-qualified benefit plan that is designed to invest primarily in company stock. Among other things, an ESOP can be used to purchase shares from retiring owners in closely held companies; buy out divisions, product lines, or entire companies; finance new capital; and provide a tax-advantaged employee benefit. There are over 11,000 U.S. companies with ESOPs, covering well over 8 million employees.

Employee ownership has been increasing steadily in Canada in recent years despite the lack of federal tax legislative support for the concept. Provincial legislation and some enhancements to federal tax law governing stock options have been sufficient to encourage a growing number of companies in a variety of industries to share ownership incentives with their employees. In "Employee Share Ownership Plans: How to Design and Implement an ESOP in Canada," Perry Phillips, a founding member of the Canadian ESOP Association, provides an excellent overview of how this process has evolved as well as a practical guide to how employee ownership plans are structured in Canada.