Tax at grant for RS; tax at vesting for RSUs. Taxable amount is fair market value of the shares on the tax event.

Tax qualification is available for RSUs, resulting in deferral of tax due at vesting until sale as well as elimination of certain employer and employee social security contributions.

However, an employer-paid social tax is due (either at grant or at vesting) and certain minimum vesting and/or holding periods apply.

The specific requirements depend on the applicable regime: pre-Macron (7 pre-August 2015), Macron I (7 August 2015 - 29 December 2016), Macron II (30 December 2016 - 31 December 2017) or Macron III (1 January 2018 to present). To rely on one of the Macron regimes, the issuing company's shareholders must have approved the plan under which the French sub-plan is adopted and the qualified RSUs are granted during the timeframe applicable for the relevant qualified regime.

In any case, a sub-plan must be in place at the time of grant, which imposes certain other restrictions, such as special closed periods which restrict sale of shares of public companies during certain periods. In addition, special reporting requirements apply to qualified RSUs.

Tax on sale. Please contact Baker McKenzie for details.

Currently, a deduction is generally allowed only with respect to shares that the parent has repurchased, not newly issued shares, and only with respect to the actual cost incurred; a written agreement is recommended.

Income Tax

For non-qualified RSUs, employer is required to withhold income tax and report taxable amount. 

Legal restrictions limit employer's ability to transfer individual tax rates to third parties. 

For qualified RSUs, reporting required, but income tax withholding is generally not required, except in the case of outbound transfers.

Social Insurance Contributions

Yes (at rates up to approximately 46% for the employer and approximately 23% for the employee) for non-qualified RSUs.

Employer must withhold the employee contributions for non-qualified RSUs.

Employer social tax applies at grant or vesting of qualified RSUs depending on whether the pre-Macron regime or one of the Macron regimes applies.

Employee social tax on qualified RSUs applies at sale, but employer is not required to withhold.

No securities law restrictions or obligations apply.

Non-transferable free offers of RS/RSU are not considered a public offering of securities for purposes of the EU Prospectus Regulation.

Minor reporting requirements may apply.

Possibly. Disclaimer is strongly recommended.

Discrimination against part-time employees is generally prohibited.

The EU Council Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits age discrimination. Most, if not all, countries have 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.