News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Proposed Tax Reform Stands to Impact Equity and Performance-Based Compensation.

Re:Proposed Tax Reform Stands to Impact Equity and Performan... by PrgsvThgt on Friday November 10, 2017 @03:40PM (#15672796)
Personally happy to see that the new tax code appears to reduce the inequality between staff and executives, with regard to compensation and taxation. I'm a strong advocate for leveling the playing field for EVERYONE; because it eliminates (or reduces to the extent possible) the ability to negotiate these special options for "deferred" compensation.... for which the vast majority of us will never qualify.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Proposed Tax Reform Stands to Impact Equity and Performan... by hedora on Friday November 10, 2017 @04:45PM (#15673319)
This doesn't do that at all. It punishes employees 100-1000 of late stage startups with unknown, perhaps bankrupting retroactive taxes. The entire 409a system was designed to protect exactly that group of employee after the dot-com crash, and this undoes it.

Founders and execs likely will be fully vested before their options are worth anything at all (figure 8 years from founding to IPO, 4 years to vest).

[ Parent | on HN ]