The Minister for Digital Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot announced a tax advantage for the distribution of stock options, eagerly awaited by start-ups, during an event organized for the tenth anniversary of the French Tech label on Thursday.
The tax administration will authorize young innovative companies that issue BSPCEs (company creator share subscription warrants, editor’s note) to apply an illiquidity discount, to make up for the gap with other countries which compromised their ability to attract talents, he announced in front of some 250 entrepreneurs gathered at Bercy.
Concretely, companies could already offer their employees and managers BSPCE, a tool which allows them to buy company shares at a price fixed in advance. If the share increases in value, they can resell it, pocketing the capital gain, with very advantageous taxation.
But, until now, the price fixed in advance had to be that of the share at the time of the BSPCE issue.
From now on, thanks to the authorized discount, companies will be able to offer BSPCEs at a price much lower than the value of the share, which constitutes a much higher potential gain for beneficiaries.
It is a way for young companies to offer, without a purse, bonuses to employees who they could not pay at market wages, a technique widely used in Silicon Valley.
Emmanuel Macron had already relaxed the BSPCE regime through the Macron law of 2015, when he was Minister of the Economy.
Another tax advantage, continued Jean-Nol Barrot, the finance bill for 2024 will raise the tax exemption thresholds (income tax reduction) for investment in young innovative companies, a presidential commitment which will be kept despite or thanks to 49.3, he said.
To boost the French tech sector and make it known abroad, the Minister of Digital at the time, Fleur Pellerin, launched the French Tech label in 2013. He was then supported by an investment bank, BPIFrance, the Vivatech trade show as well as Station F, one of the largest business incubators.
Who has not benefited from BPIfrance here?, joked its general director Nicolas Dufourcq on Thursday, in front of an audience where were Fleur Pellerin, her successor Mounir Mahjoubi, as well as the boss of Free Xavier Niel, creator of Station F, and the MP Paul Midy, architect of the young business system included in the 2024 budget.
Clara Chappaz, director of the French Tech mission, recalled the successes of the sector, of Doctolib Blablacar. We are in a tipping point, the context is difficult but pushes us to be more ambitious, she admitted, however, while the money for the funds has become scarce.
The participants warmly applauded the name of Emmanuel Macron, who greatly encouraged the tech sector, which remains one of his loyal supporters.