"Highlights of the final rules are summarized [in this article], in question-and-answer format, as they apply to compensat[ion]-related and retirement income items (and earnings thereon). The final rules carry forward the general exemption of all benefit plan related income, and clarify several issues affecting ESOP distributions.... [T]he recently released draft instructions to new Form 8960 (which is used to calculate the new tax) could do a better job of making this clear -- the exemption for retirement plan amounts is noted only briefly in 19 pages of very dense instructions to the 1-page form."  MORE >>