Perks for senior staff in jeopardy

After Macquarie said yesterday it would defer plans to cut the proportion of cash paid to senior staff until the controversial changes were clarified, other businesses said their schemes remained in limbo.

Alcoa and Woodside have suspended their share schemes, and both said the hiatus would remain until consultation with the Government was concluded.

"It's unlikely that our current scheme ... would be continuing in its current form", a Woodside spokesman said.

A spokesman for Wesfarmers, whose chief executive, Richard Goyder, has labelled the changes an "enormous problem", said the future of its scheme was up in the air.

For employers and their tax advisers, the main points of opposition to the changes relate to rules about deferring tax on share options, and the $150,000 threshold for a tax discount on company shares.

The Assistant Treasurer, Nick Sherry, is preparing a response to submissions about draft legislation on the tax treatment. Treasury is understood to have received up to 60 submissions, and the response is expected towards the end of next week.

A Business Council of Australia spokesman said its members could follow Macquarie's lead if a workable compromise did not emerge.