A critical analysis of the income tax implications of conditional employee share plans in South Africa

Abstract

Employee share plans are commonly used to provide a staff incentive to employees who have served long and continuously, as well as to compensate the employees for their commitment in reaching company goals and performance criteria. Because any person, including employers implementing such schemes, will always structure transactions to achieve the best possible tax outcome, many schemes and structures have become available to achieve those ends. A recent employee share scheme was structured through the incorporation of a wholly- owned subsidiary, which was incorporated for the sole purpose of administering and managing the employee share plan on behalf of the holding company. This would include acquiring holding company shares in the open market and the subsequent transfer thereof to the holding company’s employees. The payment made to the subsidiary for the services rendered and to enable the subsidiary to acquire holding company shares in the open market, was structured as a fee together with a risk premium payable and not as an intercompany interest-free loan. A study of the investigation and evaluation of the adequacy and legality of such schemes and structures and whether or not appropriate tax principles were applied to achieve possible tax benefits, creates several research challenges. Although previous research has been conducted on the tax implications for employees under a share-based plan, payments structured as interest-free loans and several case law on the deductibility of payments structured as interest-free loans, there is a lack of extensive previous academic research on the funding of employee share plans structured as a fee together with a risk premium, made to wholly-owned subsidiaries to manage and administer an employee share plan. The aim of this study is to help to fill the gap in relevant research, case law and legislation regarding the tax implications of this new funding structure of conditional employee share plans. The tax implications for both the holding company and the subsidiary will be taken into consideration to assess whether or not the scheme will be beneficial to all parties involved. AFRIKAANS : Aandeelgebaseerde skemas vir werknemers word algemeen gebruik om personeelvoordele aan werknemers te verskaf wat lang en deurlopende diens gelewer het, asook om vergoeding te bied aan werknemers vir hul toewyding in die bereiking van die maatskappy se doelwitte en prestasie-kriteria. Verskeie skemas en strukture het al ontstaan as gevolg van die feit dat enige persoon, onder wie werkgewers wat sulke skemas implementeer, deurgans transaksies sal struktureer om die beste moontlike belastinguitkoms te bewerkstellig. ’n Onlangse aandeelgebaseerde skema vir werknemers is soos volg gestruktureer: Die houermaatskappy het ’n volfiliaal ingelyf met die uitsluitlike doel om die administrasie en bestuur van die aandeelgebaseerde skema, namens die houermaatskappy te onderneem. Die verkryging van die houermaatskappy-aandele in die ope mark en die daaropvolgende oordrag daarvan aan die houermaatskappy se werknemers is beplan. Die betaling aan die filiaal vir die dienste gelewer en om die filiaal in staat te stel om die houermaatskappy se aandele in die ope mark te bekom, is gestruktureer as ’n fooi en ’n risiko-premie betaalbaar eerder as ’n rentevrye intergroep-lening as sodanig. ’n Studie oor die ondersoek en evaluering van die geskiktheid en wettigheid van sulke strukture en of die korrekte belastingbeginsels toegepas is om moontlike belastingvoordele te bereik, skep verskeie navorsingsuitdagings. Hoewel vorige navorsing onderneem is oor die belastingimplikasies vir werknemers in die lig van aandeelgebaseerde transaksies, betalings wat gestruktureer is as rentevrye lenings en verskeie wetsbepalings ten opsigte van die aftrekbaarheid van betalings wat gestruktureer is as rentevrye lenings, is daar ’n gebrek aan uitgebreide vorige akademiese navorsing oor die befondsing van aandeelgebaseerde skemas deur ’n fooi insluitende ’n risikopremie. Die doel van hierdie studie is om te help om die die gaping in relevante navorsing, regspraak en wetgewing ten opsigte van die belastingimplikasies van die nuwe finansieringstruktuur van voorwaardelike aandeelgebaseerde skemas vir werknemers te vernou. Die belastingimplikasies vir die houermaatskappy en filiaal sal in ag geneem word om vas te stel of die skema voordelig is vir albei die betrokke partye Copyright 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Van Wyk, C-L 2011, A critical analysis of the income tax implications of conditional employee share plans in South Africa, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03202012-150330 / > F12/4/173/gm