Share plans and disguised remuneration

With the enactment of the disguised remuneration legislation, companies must review their share plans and other incentive plans to ensure that they do not trigger adverse income tax and NIC charges. Particular care is needed if shares are to be delivered through employee benefit trusts. The days of aggressive tax planning using EBTs are over. Increasingly, there is likely to be an increased focus on the overall commercial effectiveness of share plans. There is likely to be an increased interest in HMRC approved share plans and in Enterprise Management Incentive Plans. Some companies are also likely to consider other forms of legitimate tax planning – for instance, by increasing their use of restricted share plans.