Stock options allow employees to acquire shares of their company at a price, usually beneficial, which is fixed permanently on the day the option is available. For the recipient there are 3 types of gains:

* Discount surplus (if the discount exceeds 5% of the value of the title) to be imposed upon the exercise of the option;
* The most-taxed capital gain on it at the time of the sale of securities ;
* The gain on sale also imposed on the sale.

The added value of acquisition

In international relations, would rule that the imposition of the earnings of recipients depends the legal qualification to be given to that income by the tax treaty.

However, few tax treaties treat the particular case of stock options and qualification of the gain (rev enu wage or capital gains from securities) varies from one country to another. The Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the OECD said in a report published in March 2002 that the gain acquisition was seen as a wage supplement taxable according to Articles 13 and 15 of the OECD model convention. The tax should then be made to the "pro rata" between countries, depending on the duration of exercise of the profession in each country considered eras that led to the grant.

This notion of "pro rata" has also been taken over by French jurisprudence in a decision of the Administrative Court of Versailles (December 18, 2001, # 95-2871) . This jurisprudence was confirmed by a decree of the French Council of State dated March 17, 2010.

To determine what taxes will be applicable, it will be necessary to determine several elements:

1. p period of awarding stock options, country of residence at that time and period of activity as the stock options remunerate;
2. criteria for vesting of stock options, ie if the latter were attrib uées for past or future professional activity (depending on the contract of stock options).

If the beneficiary meets all these criteria then it is non-resident, it will be subject to the laws of the country of battery it. However that does not meet the conditions previously mentioned (or if there is only partial answers), there is a risk of double taxation.

The added value of transfer

The added value of transfer will always be treated e as of a capital gain (capital gain) and eventually taxed in the country of residence of the beneficiary.

In all cases we recommend that you refer you to a tax advisor and / or a Avoca t specialized in international taxation to determine precisely which taxes will be applicable.

[20-01-2011]