The Revenue has carried out a random sample of 39 cases from share option scheme returns of eight companies for 1997/98 for the governments Tax Strategy Group. The largest value of share options granted to an employee was IEP2.4 million – with an exercise value of IEP5.76 million – while the salary for the relevant employee was $40,000.
Options granted to one individual to the value of IEP1.5 million were exercised for IEP10.8 million. The Revenue commented, ‘These figures give some indication of the potential cost of share option schemes if tax relief were given’. However, only four of the cases involved options which, when exercised, involved gains of over IEP1 million; 17 out of the 39 cases reported involved gains of over IEP100,000.
The smallest value of share options as granted was IEP210 (worth IEP132,948 when exercised) and the last known salary for that individual was IEP38,663. The lowest salary on the list was IEP16,206. The person here achieved a gain of nearly IEP70,000. The highest salary was IEP692,000 and this person made a gain of IEP2.4 million. |
