Unexercised stock option compensation remains non-salary when voluntary restructuring payments lack a proximate employment nexus and option transfer.

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....Voluntary compensation for diminution in the value of unexercised employee stock options following corporate restructuring is not taxable as a perquisite or salary where it is not contractually or statutorily required, is paid without exercise, allotment, transfer, surrender, cancellation or repurchase of the options, and the employee retains the options. The proximate cause is the restructuring rather than employment. Payer-side tax deduction or Form 16 classification cannot create a tax charge absent satisfaction of the charging provisions. The payment also cannot be treated as profits in lieu of salary merely through an alternative salary provision.....