Employee Stock Ownership Plans: Benefits and Costs of ESOP Tax Incentives for Broadening Stock Ownership

In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on employee stock ownership plans (ESOP), specifically: (1) the number of ESOP and the number of participants they covered; (2) the value of assets in ESOP trusts; (3) the factors associated with company decisions to establish and continue ESOP; (4) the costs of ESOP in terms of federal revenues forgone; and (5) the degree to which ESOP are broadening the ownership of capital assets in the United States.