Pension Plan Terminations: Recapturing Tax Benefits Contained in Asset Reversions

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) reviewed whether the 15-percent excise tax on pension plan asset reversions sufficiently recaptured corporations' financial gains resulting from the tax-free accumulation of pension fund earnings; and (2) calculated the excise tax rate that would offset the amount of the tax preference for a sample of recent reversions.