More Incentives for Employee Ownership Plans in Europe

Austria has increased the nontaxable maximum amount allowed for shares contributed by employers to employees under qualified employee ownership plans from €1,460 to €3,000 (roughly from $2000 to $4000).

Spain's Minister of Employment and Social Security, Fatima Banez, praised worker cooperatives at a recent international meeting of cooperatives and pledged increased government support for employees to form these companies. Worker cooperatives, she noted, have lost only 7% of their total employment during Spain's economic crisis, one that has seen unemployment exceed 25%.

The United Kingdom continues to expand its employee ownership incentives. Workers in companies controlled by an employee ownership trust could now receive an annual bonus of up to £3,600 ($6,000) per year. The monthly limit on Save as You Earn (SAYE) plans (plans similar to U.S. ESPPs, but with better tax treatment for employees) will be doubled from £250 to £500 ($400 to $800). The limit on free shares that can be awarded under a Share Incentive plan (a plan that contributes shares to employees) will go from £3,000 to £3,600 per. SAYE plans are particularly important in the U.K. Recent research by York University and Leeds University in conjunction with YBS Share Plans showed that 39 percent of SAYE participants save only through these plans, a number that rises to 58% for those making less than less than £20,000 ($33,000).