Options affirmatively accepted within 60 days of offer will be taxed on 60th day after offer. Options affirmatively accepted after 60 days from offer will be taxed on spread at exercise.

Under Belgium law, "offer" is deemed to occur once the employee is informed of the essential terms of the grant (typically, when grant documents are distributed).

The offer date may differ from the actual grant date.

For options affirmatively accepted within 60 days of offer, favorable tax treatment may be available if employees undertake not to exercise option for three full calendar years from grant.

A stock-exchange tax applies to the sale of shares and may apply to the exercise of options, depending on the circumstances.

May be allowed if subsidiary reimburses parent; however, will trigger social insurance contribution requirement (if not already applicable - see next section).

A substantial risk exists that reimbursement would be considered a capital loss on shares, which is not deductible.

Income Tax

Yes.

Social Insurance Contribution

Uncertain due to evolving case law, but social insurance contributions may be due by both the employee and the employer, depending on whether the subsidiary reimburses the parent, whether the cost of awards is otherwise considered borne by the subsidiary, or whether the awards can be considered as compensation for employment performed in furtherance of an employment agreement. Both employee and employer contributions are uncapped (but employee contributions deductible for income tax purposes). If applicable, employer has to withhold employee's contributions.

Please contact Baker McKenzie for details.

No securities law restrictions or obligations apply.

Non-transferable stock options are not considered a public offering of securities for purposes of the EU Prospectus Regulation.

None.

Generally, no, if employees sign certain disclaimer language.

Discrimination against union or part-time employees is prohibited.

The EU Council Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits age discrimination. Belgium has adopted local rules implementing this Directive, which may have an impact on design of equity and other incentive plans in the EU, particularly on age or age and service provisions which give different treatment (e.g., accelerated or continued vesting) for those meeting the criteria.

A valid basis is required to collect, process and transfer personal data.

The EU Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") became effective in all EU/EEA countries on 25 May 2018. It introduces new requirements and increases the powers of data protection authorities, rights of data subjects and potential penalties for non-compliance. Accordingly, companies should review their approach to data privacy compliance in the context of equity plan administration and consider on which basis they may be able to rely to collect, process and transfer data.

Registration and notification requirements with local data privacy authorities may also apply.