Tax aspects of employee shareholdings in the form of so-called hurdle shares

From an economic and tax point of view, typical employee stock ownership programs in the form of virtual and "real" stock ownership programs are often not the best alternative for giving employees a share in the success of the company. In practice, therefore, so-called hurdle shares have recently been increasingly used, although there are a number of tax pitfalls to be considered when structuring them. This article provides an overview of the main tax issues.