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A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee (usually upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. Most definitions specify the employment termination is as a result of a merger or takeover,〔"(golden parachute )". ''InvestorWords''. WebFinance.〕〔"(golden parachute )". ''Collins English Dictionary''. HarperCollins:London.〕〔"(golden parachute )". ''Miriam-Webster Online''. Encyclopædia Britannica.〕 also known as "Change-in-control benefits",〔(Golden parachutes on the rise during down economy ) by Éric L’Italien, Lawyer, Norton Rose Canada| Deal Law Wire| 5 April 2012〕 but more recently the term has been used to describe perceived excessive CFO (and other executives) severance packages unrelated to change in ownership (also known as a golden handshake).〔(CEOs' golden parachute exit packages pass $100 million ) By Gary Strauss, USA TODAY 11/8/2011〕 The benefits may include severance pay, cash bonuses, stock options, or other benefits. ==History== The first use of the term "golden parachute" is credited to a 1961 attempt by creditors to oust Howard Hughes from control of Trans World Airlines. The creditors provided Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. an employment contract that included a clause that would pay him money in the event that he lost his job.〔(Biggest Golden Parachutes ) time.com〕 The use of golden parachutes expanded greatly in the early 1980s in response to the large increase in the number of takeovers and mergers. In Europe the highest "change-in-control benefits" have been for French executives, as of 2006 according to a study by the Hay Group human resource management firm. French executives receive roughly the double of their salary and bonus in their golden parachute. News reference volume of the term "golden parachute" spiked in late 2008 during the global economic recession, and 2008 US Presidential Debates.〔(Gross increase in "golden parachute" queries in 2008 " ), ''Google Trends''〕 Despite the poor economy, in the two years before 2012 a study by the professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal found a 32% increase in the value of "change-in-control benefits" provided to US executives.〔 In late 2011, USA Today reported several CEO retirement packages in excess of $100 million, "raising eyebrows even among those accustomed to oversized payouts".〔 In the 1980s, golden parachutes prompted shareholder suits challenging the parachutes' validity, SEC "termination agreement disclosure rules" in 1986, and provisions in the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 aimed at limiting the size of future parachutes〔(see note 37, 38, 39 )〕 with a special tax on payouts that topped three times annual pay.〔Mitchell Schnurman `CEO Pay Is A Real Problem, but This Isn't the Time to Fix It` ''Fort Worth Star Telegram'', September 28, 2008〕 In the 1990s in the United States, some government efforts were made to diminish "change-in-control benefits". As of 1996, Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code denies a corporation a deduction for any excess "parachute payment" made to a departing employee, and Section 4999 imposes on the recipient a nondeductible 20% excise tax, in addition to regular income and Social Security taxes. The idea being the expenses are in excess of reasonable compensation for personal services〔(Executive Compensation Tax Issues ) By Paul James Hanley of Grimshaw & Harring, P.C. © 1996.〕 The 2010 United States Dodd-Frank Act includes in its provisions a mandate for shareholder votes on any future adoption of a golden parachute by publicly traded firms.〔(Golden Parachutes and the Wealth of Shareholders ) Harvard Law and Economics Discussion Paper No. 683 | Lucian A. Bebchuk, Alma Cohen, Charles C. Y. Wang | 1 December 2010〕 In Switzerland, a referendum which "would give shareholders the power to veto executive pay plans, including golden parachutes" was put to a vote on March 3, 2013.〔Revill, John; Walen, Jeanne; Morse, Andrew (February 20, 2013). "Furor Ends $78 Million Pay Deal". ''Wall Street Journal'', pp B1.〕 Voters in Switzerland passed measures limiting CEO pay and outlawing golden parachutes in Swiss referendum, 2013. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「golden parachute」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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