Regulation Impact Statement – Department of the Treasury
From 1 July 2015, the Government has made arrangements for employee share schemes to be more attractive and accessible, particularly for start-ups. The changes include allowing employees of all companies who are issued with options through an employee share scheme to, in most cases, defer tax until they exercise the options (that is, convert the options to shares). Additionally, eligible start-ups are now able to issue options or shares to their employees at a small discount, and have that discount exempt (for shares) or further deferred (for options) from income tax. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) considers the Department of the Treasury is compliant with the Government’s RIS requirements but not best practice because the RIS does not reach a clear conclusion about which option has the highest net benefit and should be implemented. The Department of the Treasury estimates the average annual regulatory cost of the proposal to be $1.3 million and this has been agreed with the OBPR.
- Employee Share Schemes RIS – [
87KB] - Employee Share Schemes RIS – [
301KB] - Employee Share Schemes OBPR Assessment Advice – RIS – [ 154KB]
- Employee Share Schemes OBPR Assessment Advice – RIS – [ 56KB]
- Employee Share Schemes Deputy Secretary Certification Letter – [ 24KB]
- Employee Share Schemes Deputy Secretary Certification Letter – [ 30KB]