Last Thursday, ESCA Leadership and Developmental Council member company Parksite hosted Senate Finance Committee member Richard Burr (R-NC) at the company’s Apex, North Carolina facility.
October 29, 2014
Last Thursday, ESCA Leadership and Developmental Council member company Parksite hosted Senate Finance Committee member Richard Burr (R-NC) at the company’s Apex, North Carolina facility.
Parksite is a sales, marketing and distribution company serving many segments of the building industry, with a focus on both interior and exterior products. The company established its ESOP in 1990. It is now 100 percent employee-owned and has over 300 employee-owners in locations across nine states.
Over the course of Senator Burr’s visit, Parksite CEO, and ESCA L&D Council Chair, George Pattee, along with about 30 of Parksite’s employee-owners, discussed with the Senator the benefits of employee ownership and provided firsthand accounts about the positive impact the ESOP has had in their ability to save for retirement.
Senator Burr learned about Parksite’s business operations, the company’s growth in recent years and witnessed the unique, family-like culture that Parksite is known for.
In speaking to Parksite’s employee-owners, Senator Burr mentioned he was very familiar with, and supportive of, employee ownership and S ESOPs. He also spoke about how he believes ESOPs are a fundamental part of the tax code and the structure should be protected during future efforts to reform the tax code. Looking ahead to the next Congress, Senator Burr predicted that tax reform will be a priority in the Senate Finance Committee – especially if the GOP wins the Senate Majority in November.
While Senator Burr indicated support for comprehensive tax reform, he believes individual tax reform may be too difficult of an issue to tackle and it’s possible that Congress addresses corporate only tax reform instead.
ESCA thanks George and all of Parksite’s employee-owners for hosting Senator Burr. District events are a great way to educate, engage, and inform members of Congress about S ESOPs and employee ownership issues. They have proven to be one of the most effective and impactful ways to tell the S corporation ESOP story.
