Employment-Related Tax & Incentives

The tax implications associated with incentive arrangements can be complex, particularly for cross-border or global arrangements. They are dependent on your commercial drivers and the changing regulatory landscapes that vary by jurisdiction.

We draw on our extensive experience consulting with governments and revenue authorities around the world to provide bespoke tax structuring solutions for employers, issuers, participants and plan administrators across the globe.

We also understand the importance of your employees – executive level or otherwise – and can assist in preparing employee communications so that incentive arrangements and their taxation consequences are understood by your employees.  The tax implications of incentive arrangements are constantly evolving and we ensure that we are at the front of all relevant market trends. 

How can we help you

The tax-related areas of employee benefit law we advise on include:

• Tax implications relating to payments made to employees and contractors (including engaging with federal and state tax authorities in relation to investigations and enquiries)
• Corporate law provisions on executive termination benefits
• Economics of option and performance share award structures
• Employee benefit trust structures 
• Employee share schemes, employee share options plans, profit-sharing schemes
• Carried interest and co-investment arrangements for individual executives
• Incentive plans for executives and other employees, including profit-related pay and phantom plans
• Management participation in buy-outs and management buy-ins
• Executive termination benefits and packages
• Dual contracts
• Remittance basis of taxation
• Tax issues and tax disputes that arise in the context of major corporate transactions such as takeovers, corporate restructures, demergers and securities transactions.

We were an integral part of the government consultation on the law executive compensation and employee benefits – writing submissions and meeting with Treasury. Our strong working relationship with relevant government offices in Australia means we’re ready to help you – whether it’s in obtaining tax rulings from the ATO or securities law waivers from ASIC.