With the enactment of the disguised remuneration legislation, companies must review their share plans and other incentive plans to avoid adverse income tax and NIC charges, explains Jeremy Edwards.
For those operating mainstream (non tax-aggressive) share plans the immediate concern must be to ensure that their share plans do not fall foul of ITEPA 2003 Part 7A enacted by this year’s Finance Act which sets out the new disguised remuneration legislation.
There is a particular risk that the operation of employee benefit trusts (EBTs) which have been set up to deliver shares under the plans could trigger early ‘earmarking’ charges.
The ambit of Part 7A is so wide and the exemptions are so prescriptive...
