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Latest Updates / Employee Tax Benefits
October 30, 2024
Amendment to Income Tax Rules on Employee Equity
On September 17, an amendment to the Income Tax Rules (Relief in Issuance of Shares to Employees) was officially published, approximately 20 years from the last amendment. The amendment will enter into force on January 1, 2025 and will mainly affect the processes of approving equity incentive plans and of reporting to the Israeli Tax Authority.
November 28, 2022
Tax Aspects of Cryptocurrency-Based Compensation to Employees and Service Providers
The use of token-based compensation has grown in recent years. It is important to understand the tax aspects of such compensation, especially when a company is gearing up for a major deal.
March 5, 2020
Court Rules an Employee whose Shares in a Company Are Held by a 102 Trustee Has No Shareholder Rights in the Company
The Haifa District Court recently held, in a precedential decision, that an employee who received shares in a company held by a trustee in accordance with section 102 of the Income Tax Ordinance has no shareholder rights.
July 17, 2019
Precedential Court Ruling on Option Plans for Employees
A precedential judgment was handed down on option plans for employees in respect of section 102 of the Income Tax Ordinance. The court ruled that when a tax assessor is notified of the allocation of options in accordance with section 102 and fails to respond within 90 days, the plan is approved and the assessor cannot later claim that this is not so, except in very exceptional cases.
January 8, 2019
Hosting Participants of the EdStart Program
We hosted today participants of AWS EdStart, an educational technology (EdTech) startup accelerator. A number of partners from our firm spoke at the seminar, discussing topics such as founders' agreements, intellectual property, and the tax issues of startups.
December 19, 2018
ITA Sharpens Procedures in Wake of New Tax Circular
Adv. Micky Barnea was featured in a follow-up article in Globes about the Income Tax Authority's new circular that changes the tax policy relating to capital-based compensation dependent on performance. According to Barnea, "The new circular stipulates that options allocated under an approved plan, submitted lawfully to the Tax Authority, may be discovered on judgment day as not being entitled to reduced capital taxation."
December 18, 2018
High-Tech Earthquake: Tax on Exercising Options for Employees Will Increase Upon Exit or Issue
Adv. Daniel Lorber, the head of our firm's Equity Incentives practice field, was interviewed by Globes on the Israel Tax Authority's latest decision. Instead of a capital gains tax rate of 25% on options granted to employees for exercise in the event of an exit or issue, the proceeds from such exercise will now be considered labor income, and therefore the tax liability may rise to 50%.
December 13, 2018
Companies Required to Amend Option Plans
A new circular by the Israel Tax Authority determines the terms for granting options to employees when the vesting of such options is contingent upon performance milestones or the occurrence of an IPO or exit event.
November 20, 2017
Workshop: Guidelines for Equity-Based Plans
Barnea is hosting today together with barneaXcrossing and ESOP Excellence, a morning workshop on equity-based plans for entrepreneurs and technological startups. Micky Barnea, Managing Partner, will discuss options plans for partners and employees.