Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

The legislative regulation of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) has long been the subject of professional discussions.
In 2023, the National Council of the Slovak Republic adopted a more extensive amendment to the Income Tax Act, the aim of which was to make ESOPs more attractive for tax purposes and thus promote this type of employee benefit.
However, the adopted wording of the amendment had many shortcomings and its interpretation was ambiguous.
How was the ESOP amendment adopted and why does this piece of legislation also exhibit such significant qualitative deficiencies?
These questions are addressed in the sixth episode of the Highgate Talks video podcast series, hosted by our partner Peter Varga and featuring guests Peter Cmorej, a former member of the Slovak Parliament who was on the floor of the Slovak Parliament when the ESOP amendment was passed, and Jaroslav Bukovina, a member of the Research and Innovation Authority, who was instrumental in getting the ESOP amendments passed in Slovakia. Watch the video podcast to the left, or just listen to the audio podcast itself below.