The CEO Income-Tax Perk

One-fifth of the CEOs heading publicly traded U.S. companies are reimbursed by their companies for their personal income taxes, according to a new The Corporate Library .

The report found that 657 out of 3,297 large U.S. companies tracked by the governance research group helped pay some portion of their CEOs' personal tax obligations. The study was based on pay data in regulatory filings in the 12-month period that ended in February.

Companies typically provide so-called tax "gross-ups" to executives to help cover tax penalties on perquisites such as airplane use for personal travel, housing, gifts, financial planning and country club dues. Some CEOs also get reimbursed for taxes on bonuses or restricted stock awards.

The tax help is a little-known executive perk that must be disclosed in annual proxy filings to shareholders. Study author Paul Hodgson questioned why investors must help foot these bills.

"That the prevalence of tax gross-ups for CEOs -- despite the increased scrutiny arising from the introduction of more detailed disclosure compensation requirements -- comes as something of a surprise," wrote study author Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate at The Corporate Library. "It shows that boards or CEOs, or both, are more thick-skinned than we took them to be."