这里是SAR和ESPP的解释

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)

An ESPP is a corporate stock purchase plan that allows employees to purchase their company’s stock at a discount. The Internal Revenue Code allows employers to offer employees the right to purchase company stock at up to a 15% discount of the fair market value of the stock. The difference between the 15% discount and the fair market value of the stock is also known as the spread. Most employees are eligible except new hires, part-time employees, highly compensated employees and employees who own more than 5 percent of the company stock. Payroll deduction is the method most frequently used to purchase the stock.

Under this employee stock purchase plan, there is no taxable income on the spread when employee purchases the stock. Taxation on the discounted amount occurs later, when the stock is sold and proceeds are treated as capital gains. Without this IRS provision, the employee would be required to pay income tax on that 15% discount or spread, in the year of the stock purchase. To qualify for this the employee must hold the stock for two years from the purchase period start and one year from the actual stock purchase.

Internal Revenue Code Sections 421 and 423 discuss the tax treatment for qualified ESPP.

Stock Appreciation Rights (SAR)

This is a contractual right that permits the individual to receive cash or stock of a value equal to the amount of appreciation from the grant date to the date the SAR is exercised. A stock appreciation right is frequently granted with the option.

Correct me if I am wrong.  ESPP is periodic and defined by the company, whereas SARs are option that, instead of a traditional option where you actually would purchase stock at a strike price less than the current price (profit) you can opt to receive the difference between current market price and strike price in cash (no stock ever purchased).

[此贴子已经被作者于2006-10-18 14:23:16编辑过]

[此贴子已经被作者于2006-10-18 17:15:30编辑过]