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EFES NEWSLETTER - JULY 2017
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Austrian legislation for employee ownership was simple
until now. Any benefit that an employee received from
an employee share plan (as share price rebate, as free
shares, matching shares, etc.) was free of tax up to
1.460 Euro annually. This
amount was doubled last year, to 3.000 Euro annually.
This
is probably the best example of the "basic block", in
a "building block" approach of legislation for employee
ownership.
This
simple piece of legislation enabled Voestalpine (50.000
employees, the Austrian steel industry, 15% employee-owned)
to make employee ownership a key factor in its success.
A
strong contrast with many other steel industries in
Europe as Arcelor, Florange, Cockerill and others !
Now
the Austrian Government (big coalition with Christian
Democrats and Social Democrats) has just decided to
increase the free annual amount to 4.500 Euro annually.
This
will be conditioned to a new scheme: In place of individual
direct employee ownership, it will be collectively managed
through an Employee Ownership Foundation (Mitarbei-terbeteiligungsstiftung),
as it is for Voestalpine.
Many
Austrian companies, even the largest, have indicated
that they are ready.
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Press
review
We have a selection of 27 remarkable articles in 9 countries
in June 2017: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Spain, USA.
Austria: New employee ownership legislation, through
an Employee Ownership Foundation (Mitarbeiterbeteiligungsstiftung).
Belgium: Renewed political interest in employee ownership.
Canada: Canada celebrates first Employee Ownership
Day.
France: France must return to a coherent policy of
promoting employee ownership. Michel Bon calls France to wake
up. Saint-Gobain celebrates its 30th annual employee share
plan. New employee share plan for Sanofi. Green light for
Vinci in Morocco. All Orange employees will receive free shares.
Germany: Manifesto for employee ownership in the election
campaign. ProSiebenSat.1 and Axel Springer belong to the few
large German companies which promote employee share ownership.
Ireland: Currently Ireland is at significant competitive
disadvantage due to our poor employee ownership record and
employee share incentive schemes. Sweden to abolish income
tax on stock options for smaller start-ups.
Italy: Most employees are shareholders of Decathlon.
Spain: New employee share plan for Repsol.
USA: Employee ownership can broaden wealth for all.
The new study "Employee Ownership and Economic Well-being".
With income inequality at record high levels, employee
ownership is increasingly being lauded as a potential solution
to spreading wealth more broadly. New firms turning to ESOPs.
The full press review is available
on:
http://www.efesonline.org/PRESS
REVIEW/2017/June.htm
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A
political roadmap for employee ownership in Europe
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