Employee retention is a high priority for businesses grappling with the profound impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Employee share schemes remain a versatile and valuable way to retain important employees. However, many may not have considered the unexpectedly adverse tax consequences that some of the UK government’s business support measures (including, for example, … Continue Reading
Since 6 April 2018 companies have been unable to grant new EMI options, because the existing EU state aid approval expired without fresh approval having been received. So there has been much excitement today at the news that the EU Commission has now given state aid approval, and companies can now grant new EMI options. … Continue Reading
The vagaries of EU State Aid approvals probably pass most of us by. However, they have come centre stage for many SMEs with HMRC’s announcement that it is not expected that an extension to the UK’s existing State Aid approval for EMI options will be granted before 6th April, when the current approval expires. HMRC … Continue Reading
Participants in Save as Your Earn (SAYE) schemes are currently able to take a “payment holiday” of up to six months. This helps participants keep their SAYE options by allowing them to take a break from making monthly payments, for example while they are on maternity leave. In the Autumn Budget the government announced the … Continue Reading
Just a quick reminder that the deadline for making annual returns for UK share schemes relating to the 2015/2016 tax year is 6 July 2016. For tax-advantaged share schemes: share incentive plans (otherwise known as SIPs); company share option plans (CSOPs); savings-related share option schemes (SAYE/Sharesave); and Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), if a new scheme … Continue Reading
The EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), which contains new rules about dealing in shares by directors and “persons discharging managerial responsibilities” (PDMRs), will come into force on 3 July 2016. Unlike the current rules, which are different for companies on the full list and those on AIM, the MAR will apply to all quoted companies. … Continue Reading
Last year we covered the saga of Sports Direct’s 2015 Share Scheme through the vote to approve the scheme and the subsequent votes at the 2014 AGM. This story has refused to go away and resurfaced this week at the company’s 2015 AGM. There has been much press comment on the outcomes and reasons why … Continue Reading
On 1 July 2015 some important changes were made to the taxation of employee share schemes in Australia which will make employee option schemes more attractive for employees, particularly where the company qualifies as an eligible start-up. For all employee option schemes there is the possibility of deferring the taxing point until exercise of the … Continue Reading
Following on from our earlier blog post predicting that companies might have issues when using the new online service for registering employee share plans with HMRC, it appears that problems are indeed emerging. Despite the looming deadline of 6 July, we hear anecdotal reports that so far only about 25% of plans have been registered. In … Continue Reading
The Financial Reporting Council has published a consultation on amendments to accounting standard FRS102, which deals with share-based payments (such as options) with a cash alternative. The amendments are aimed at aligning FRS102, which tends to be used by smaller companies, with the international accounting standards used by listed companies. The closing date for responses … Continue Reading
In several posts last year, we charted the development of the new HMRC rules for the online registering, self-certifying and making of annual returns for share plans, and indeed all arrangements under which employees receive shares. Now the dust has settled, the teething troubles have been ironed out and the templates for the new “end-of-year” returns … Continue Reading
The UK tax treatment of employment related securities depends on a range of factors including the date of grant, the nature of the security and also the residence and domicile status of the employee. For employees coming to the UK who are not UK resident at the time of grant, the tax treatment will depend … Continue Reading
A couple of items relevant to employee shareholder status shares (ESSs) have appeared this week. First, HMRC reported in its latest Employment-Related Securities Bulletin that the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has confirmed that already-issued shares – for example, those held by a shareholder or an employee benefit trust – can be used … Continue Reading
HMRC has recently released template forms and guidance notes for making online annual returns for employee share plans, plus a form for notifying the grant of Enterprise Management Incentive options online (the former paper form EMI1). There are dire warnings that the templates must not be tinkered with in any way, otherwise they will be … Continue Reading
On 14 October 2014, the Australian government introduced significant changes to the employee share scheme rules to apply to shares or options provided from July 2015. The existing tax rules introduced in 2009 by the former Labor government have been harshly criticised as inhibiting the ability to attract and retain employees by offering ownership interests … Continue Reading
As the dust settles on the eagerly awaited HMRC v Martin decision (see our previous blog post), thoughts are inevitably turning to how that decision impacts on an employer’s approach to clawback payments, particularly in the world of variable remuneration. Whilst the judge in the Martin decision was clear that his conclusion turned on the … Continue Reading
The Spanish government is proposing to implement major tax reforms that will affect the tax efficiency of providing employee benefits to Spanish employees. The changes are due to come into effect on 1 January 2015 but some will have retrospective effect. The key proposals, which are subject to change as the legislation passes through Parliament, … Continue Reading
HMRC has announced that the settlement facility for employee benefit trusts (EBTs) will be withdrawn from 31 March 2015. The facility was offered from April 2011 for employers who set up EBTs that HMRC considers are caught by the “disguised remuneration” legislation introduced in the 2011 Finance Act. This was aimed at the use of EBTs … Continue Reading
As trailed in our previous post, HMRC has just published the FAQs about its new online service for share plans. It’s clear that it’s very much do-it-yourself. If you want confirmation that your registration of a share plan or notification of an EMI option grant was successful, make sure you print and save a copy of … Continue Reading
The latest issue of HMRC’s Employment-Related Securities Bulletin acknowledges the problems that some companies have been having with online notification and reporting, as mentioned in our earlier post. The bulletin sets out what companies should do about two particular issues: not being able to file notifications of grants of EMI options online by the 92-day … Continue Reading
Since our last post on this topic, extra little nuggets have been emerging about how the new regime will work in practice. Here are some of the common traps for the unwary: 1. Paper filing is a thing of the past – it’s all online now No, annual returns for the 2013/2014 tax year for … Continue Reading
The parts of the UK Finance Bill relating to share plans came into force yesterday, finally implementing many of the recommendations of the Office of Tax Simplification in this area. The main thrust of the new regime is online registration and self-certification of plans and filing of annual returns, of which more details are given in … Continue Reading
With the 6 April start date for the new self-certification regime for HMRC-approved share plans fast approaching, HMRC have published some helpful amendments to the proposed legislation but have also published new provisions that require further clarification. Questions remain on how both existing and new plans will be affected. For more details, read our alert.… Continue Reading
Today’s Budget was notable for the absence of announcements relating to employee share plans. So, despite the calls for it to be abolished, employee shareholder status lives to fight another day. This is perhaps not surprising given the enthusiasm George Osborne showed for the concept when it was first announced. As we have commented, ESS … Continue Reading
