May 21, 1998 | Read Time: 1 minute
The I.R.S. is responding to inquiries from tax-exempt institutions about how to structure innovative compensation packages for mid-level professors, researchers, and inventors at universities and other non-profit organizations, says Marc Owens, director of the I.R.S.’s Exempt Organizations Division.
Mr. Owens noted that some groups have developed “creative compensation arrangements,” including payment of stock in public companies, to retain the services of young scientists and compete with for-profit high-tech employers. The I.R.S. wants to help institutions develop ways that such plans can be “structured appropriately” so that employees don’t improperly benefit from profits in companies in which they hold stock, Mr. Owens said. There is a “legitimate need” for such guidance, he said, and also some “potential traps.” Mr. Owens spoke about the matter at a recent seminar sponsored by the Georgetown University Law Center.
