Repeal of the Tax Doctrine Excluding BSPCEs from Tax Deferral
Recently, the French Administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d’Etat) delivered a pivotal ruling on BSPCEs’ tax regime, a specialized form of stock options.
Understanding BSPCEs
BSPCEs, known formally as bons de souscription de parts de créateur d’entreprise, aren’t a music genre or a trendy substance; they’re a unique stock option variant.
Introduced in 1998, BSPCEs offer a legally regulated framework for employee share ownership, aiming to foster loyalty and engagement in burgeoning companies.
Key Characteristics
BSPCEs are exclusively available to unlisted limited companies or those with a market capitalization under €150m, contingent upon specific ownership criteria.
Issuing firms must have a registration history of less than 15 years, typically aligning with startups’ profiles.
Essentially, BSPCEs are tailor-made stock options crafted to suit the dynamics of startup environments.
Beneficiaries and Mechanics:
Employees or directors are the intended beneficiaries, receiving the privilege to convert BSPCEs into shares, contingent upon performance metrics and tenure.
The conversion price, set at grant time, enables potential gains linked to the company’s valuation upticks.
About Our Tax Team
Our Tax Team is regularly involved in reorganization and external growth transactions (acquisitions, LBOs).
- It also advises executives and managers on structuring their compensation and professional investments.
- Our team frequently assists and represents clients during tax audits and disputes.
- It often handles international taxation matters, with a particular expertise in transfer pricing.
- Additionally, our team is active in innovation-related taxation.
- Moreover, it has developed strong sector-specific expertise, particularly in retail, new technologies, real estate, and industry.
