The "Share Holder Allocation for Rewards to Employees Plan Act," or "SHARE Plan Act," seeks to promote employee equity ownership by amending the Internal Revenue Code to provide significant tax incentives for qualifying corporations. It offers a 3 percentage point reduction in the corporate tax rate for companies designated as "SHARE corporations" that maintain a plan for distributing common stock to their employees. This corporate tax benefit is capped, ensuring that the aggregate tax reductions do not exceed the total market value of the stock distributed under the plan.

To qualify as a "SHARE corporation," a company must meet several criteria, including having an average of 500 or more full-time U.S. employees and being domiciled in the United States. Additionally, it must demonstrate either a SHARE ratio of at least 5% or that it has distributed common stock to employees through a SHARE plan equal to or exceeding 1% of its aggregate outstanding shares during the taxable year. For non-publicly traded companies, there are further requirements to conduct valid market valuations and provide employees with opportunities to liquidate their stock at fair market value.

A "SHARE plan" is defined as a plan that provides for periodic distributions of common stock to participating employees. Eligible employees are full-time, U.S.-based individuals whose annual cash compensation is less than $250,000, with an annual adjustment for wage growth. A key requirement is that the lowest compensated 80% of eligible employees must participate in each distribution, and distributions must generally be in equal amounts, made without additional compensation, and vest within a maximum of five years, becoming freely transferable once vested.

Beyond the reduced corporate tax rate, the bill allows SHARE corporations to claim a deduction for the fair market value of the stock distributed under these plans. Crucially, the stock received by employees through a SHARE plan will not be included in their gross income, providing a direct tax benefit to the employees. The legislation also includes provisions to protect corporations from being prevented, enjoined, or penalized for establishing, maintaining, or making distributions under a SHARE plan.