Our Tax team deal with employment tax issues on a daily basis. Employment tax spans both our advisory and transactional tax practices.

We advise employers and senior executives and managers on all aspects of tax efficient remuneration, including relocation and termination arrangements and equity based incentivisation.

Feedback indicates that our technical expertise in this complex area is considered to be first class. Our tax lawyers, employee incentive specialists and employment lawyers work together to provide a seamless service to our clients.

We regularly advise businesses and senior executives on:

• tax efficient remuneration (having regard in particular to the employment-related securities code and the impact of the disguised remuneration regime);
• tax planning for domestic and international relocation (including residency and domicile, dual contracts, share incentives, tax equalisation arrangements and payroll and social security issues); and
• termination and redundancy packages.

In recent years, the employment-related securities code and disguised remuneration provisions have added considerable complexity to remuneration arrangements.  We have a high level of familiarity with the rules (and HMRC's stance and practice in relation to this area) and pride ourselves on being able to penetrate the complexity and produce robust and clear solutions.  Working as a team we find practical solutions to complex problems and deliver advice clearly and concisely.

We structure:

• management's equity in leveraged buyouts (together with assisting them with their CGT and personal tax planning);
• arrangements for owner-managers;
• the carried interest elements of fund structures; and
• tax efficient employee equity schemes (from Government-approved schemes such as "EMI" and "CSOP" through to bespoke structures such as "value" or "growth" shares).

Employment-related income returns often suffer tax at an effective rate of 52% or more; whilst CGT rates are generally at 28% and can be as low as 10% (due to entrepreneurs' relief) or even 0% (for some non-UK domiciled individuals). If a capital outcome can be achieved, there is the opportunity to make material tax savings.  We are continually vigilant for such opportunities and, given our strong sector awareness, are often particularly well placed to identify possibilities when they may not be apparent.

Olswang's Tax Team's commentary and analysis of the 2012 Budget can be viewed here.

Due to the confidential nature of tax planning advice, much of the advice we provide cannot be published. However, the deal summaries set out below provide a flavour of our experience.

We have developed a specialty in what we describe as "talent JVs"; namely, setting up corporate joint venture arrangements between individuals (e.g. in front of camera talent in the TV or film industries, the creators of format rights, directors, music artists, chefs etc.) and media companies and, in particular, arranging for talent to acquire, hold and dispose of shares in a tax efficient manner.

We represented the management team of AIM-quoted independent TV production company Shed Media plc on their £99.9 million recommended takeover of Shed Media backed by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The takeover was effected by way of a scheme of arrangement, which became effective on 13 October 2010.  We created bespoke share-based arrangements for the management team and senior employees and delivered a complete solution that included working with specialist valuers and liaising with HMRC's Employee Shares and Securities Unit and HMRC's share valuation specialists.

We advise Warner Music on a variety of employment tax issues including stock option and restricted stock awards, international relocation packages and employment-related tax issues connected with their arrangements with talent.
We played a pivotal role in the highly complex pan continental acquisition by Euronext listed SPAC company Liberty of the Pearl Insurance Group, the largest closed life and pension fund consolidator in the UK with assets valued at $6.7 billion. We also advised on the implications of the transaction on the various employee related equity issues and were closely involved in designing the most appropriate incentivisation structure for management going forward.

We advised the management of Delancey Real Estate Asset Management, in connection with the establishment of DV4 Limited, a new property investment fund which raised in excess of £1 billion.

We advise IBM and other clients on structuring termination packages for employees.