Deferred Share Plans get over the first major hurdle (just about…) Without doubt, it is always difficult being an early adopter and trying something new. Those in new areas of the economy talk about being at the “bleeding edge” rather than the leading edge when it comes to changing things.  As we explored in a…

May 28, 2020 Read more >

Share and share option plan reporting for 2019/20 Overview If your company operates a share or share option plan for employees or directors (including non-executive directors) you will need to report any awards by filing electronically with HMRC (as well as reporting the adoption of the plan if it is the first year in which…

April 30, 2020 Read more >

Budget 2020 – some things you might have seen and some of the things lost in the details Having had an opportunity to revisit the recent Budget, it really can be seen as being a mix of direct responses to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as planning for the future (including in a post-Brexit world!).…

March 31, 2020 Read more >

Towards the wider use of deferred share plans Study by the “Purposeful Company” The Purposeful Company is an independent voluntary think tank set up in 2015 with the support of the Bank of England to help transform British Business by identifying with like-minded companies changes to policy and practice aimed at creating long-term value. The…

November 19, 2019 Read more >

Latest statistics for all-employee share plans ProShare issued its Save-As-You-Earn (SAYE) & Share Incentive Plan (SIP) Report in respect of the 2018 calendar year on 25 June 2019.  HMRC published its latest statistics on tax-advantaged share plans for the tax year 2017-18 on 27 June 2019. This article extracts details from the two data sources…

July 30, 2019 Read more >

Loans from EBT – recent HMRC developments on disguised remuneration schemes Disguised remuneration schemes include tax avoidance arrangements that seek to avoid Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) by paying scheme users their income in the form of loans. Typically, the loans will have come from a “third party” such as an Employee Benefit…

July 20, 2019 Read more >

Annual Returns for Share Schemes – deadline 6 July 2019 For the tax year 2018/19, the deadline for filing the share schemes annual returns is 6 July 2019.  The filing obligation applies in relation to any new share schemes implemented as well as existing share schemes. HMRC do not send out any reminders. As there…

June 25, 2019 Read more >

Introduction Malus and clawback provisions in incentive plans were originally introduced for financial institutions, mainly in response to the financial crash in 2008.  However, they have now become common for LTIPs and executive bonuses in all sectors.  They originally applied in very limited circumstances, such as misstatement of financial results or gross misconduct by the…

June 20, 2019 Read more >

Recent HMRC announcements relating to EMI options HMRC recently made new announcements about tax-advantaged Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share options in its Employment Related Securities Bulletin 31 (21 March 2019) and in updated Share Valuations guidance (1 April 2019). Errors in notification of EMI options to HMRC When a company grants an EMI option, it…

April 18, 2019 Read more >

Don’t miss the deadline for online share plan returns The deadline for submitting annual online employee share plan returns to HMRC for the tax year ended 5 April 2019 is 6 July 2019.  This is also the deadline for registering new plans which were first operated during that tax year. We recommend that companies should…

April 16, 2019 Read more >

International Share Incentive Plan – a case study This case study explains how a FTSE 250 company, with MM&K’s help, adapted a UK Share Incentive Plan (SIP) for its employees in Germany and Luxembourg. The Company regards employee ownership as essential to aligning employees and shareholders by creating a common interest in the growth in…

March 20, 2019 Read more >

Enterprise Management Incentives and Brexit Like any EU member state, the UK is subject to the ‘state aid regime’ regarding competition law, governed by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and associated European legislation. These rules are in place to ensure open and fair competition and to prevent subsidies causing unfair distortions…

February 27, 2019 Read more >