covered officer during the clawback period (i.e., the three-year period preceding the publication of the restated financials), to the extent such compensation paid or distributed was in excess of what would have been paid under the restated financials. Our Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee, in its sole discretion, may also reduce the amount of future compensation, including, without limitation, any bonus or severance, or the future grant or vesting of any equity award, payable to any covered officer by an amount equal to such excess proceeds from performance-based compensation received by the covered officer during the clawback period. The Clawback Policy is applicable to all cash and equity-based compensation predicated on the achievement of financial performance goals or financial metrics (excluding any such compensation based on total stockholder return or similar stock price-based metrics).
Tax and Accounting Considerations
Deductibility of Executive Compensation
Generally, Section 162(m) of the Code, or Section 162(m), disallows a federal income tax deduction for public corporations of remuneration in excess of $1 million paid in any fiscal year to certain specified former or current executive officers.
Other than for certain remuneration excluded under the IPO transition relief or provided pursuant to written binding contracts which were in effect on November 2, 2017 (and which are not subsequently modified in any material respect), for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, all remuneration in excess of $1 million paid to a specified executive officer will not be deductible.
To maintain flexibility to compensate our executive officers in a manner designed to promote our short- and long-term corporate goals, the Compensation Committee has not adopted a policy that all compensation must be deductible. The Compensation Committee believes that our stockholders’ interests are best served if its discretion and flexibility in awarding compensation is not restricted in order to allow such compensation to be consistent with the goals of our executive compensation program, even though some compensation awards may result in non-deductible compensation expense. Consequently, the Compensation Committee will not necessarily limit executive compensation to that which is or may be deductible under Section 162(m).
Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation
We follow FASB ASC Topic 718 for our stock-based compensation awards. FASB ASC Topic 718 requires us to measure the compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to our employees and non-employee members of our Board of Directors, including stock options to purchase shares of our common stock and other stock awards, based on the grant date “fair value” of these awards. This calculation is performed for accounting purposes and reported in the executive compensation tables required by the federal securities laws, even though the recipient of the awards may never realize any value from their awards.
Taxation of “Parachute” Payments
Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code provide that executive officers and directors who hold significant equity interests and certain other service providers may be subject to significant additional taxes if they receive payments or benefits in connection with a change in control of the Company that exceeds certain prescribed limits, and that the Company (or a successor) may forfeit a deduction on the amounts subject to this additional tax. We have not agreed to provide any executive officer, including any NEO, with a “gross-up” or other reimbursement payment for any tax liability that the executive officer might owe as a result of the application of Sections 280G or 4999 of the Code.
Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code
Section 409A of the Code imposes additional significant taxes in the event that an executive officer, director or service provider receives “deferred compensation” that does not satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. Although we do not maintain a traditional nonqualified deferred compensation plan, Section 409A of the Code does apply to certain severance arrangements, bonus arrangements and equity awards. We structure all our severance arrangements, bonus arrangements and equity awards in a manner to either avoid the application of Section 409A or, to the extent doing so is not possible, to comply with the applicable requirements of Section 409A of the Code.
Compensation Risk Assessment
We structure our pay to consist of both fixed and variable compensation to motivate our employees, including our NEOs, to produce superior short-term and long-term results that are in the best interests of our Company and stockholders to attain our ultimate objective of increasing stockholder value. In addition, we have established, and the Compensation Committee endorses, several controls to address and mitigate compensation-related risk, such as maintaining an anti-hedging and anti-pledging policy and stock ownership guidelines for our executive officers (including our NEOs) and our non-employee directors.
The Compensation Committee, in consultation with its compensation consultant, Compensia, evaluates whether our policies and practices create excessive risk in our compensation programs, including executive and non-executive compensation
Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. ï 2022 Proxy Statement 53