Tax at grant for RS; tax at vesting for RSU. Taxable amount is generally fair market value of the shares on the tax event.
No tax on sale provided employee does not hold a substantial interest (5%) in company's stock and holdings are not considered a lucrative interest.
Annual investment yield tax on value of all assets (including shares) in excess of exemption.
Income Tax:
Withholding and reporting required.
Social Insurance Contributions:
Yes, employee and employer contributions due to the extent applicable wage ceiling not met.
If applicable, employer must withhold employee's portion of social insurance contributions.
No securities law restrictions or obligations apply.
Non-transferable free offers of RS/RSUs are not considered a public offering of securities for purposes of the EU Prospectus Regulation.
Possible plan entitlement issues. Employee should be required to sign/accept an agreement acknowledging the discretionary nature of the plan.
It is advisable to get works council to agree in writing that plan is not an employment condition; otherwise, works council approval may be required to implement or terminate plan and courts may consider plan benefits in calculating severance award.
Exclusion of part-time employees may be deemed discriminatory.
The EU Council Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits age discrimination. Most countries, including the Netherlands, 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.
