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Best Efforts contract clause examples

Best After Tax. If any payment or benefit Executive would receive pursuant to a Change in Control from the Company or otherwise (“Payment”) would # constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and # but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment shall be reduced to the Reduced Amount. The “Reduced Amount” shall be either # the largest portion of the Payment that would result in no portion of the Payment being subject to the Excise Tax or # the largest portion, up to and including the total, of the Payment, whichever amount, after taking into account all applicable federal, state and local employment taxes, income taxes, and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal rate), results in Executive’s receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greater amount of the Payment notwithstanding that all or some portion of the Payment may be subject to the Excise Tax. If a reduction in payments and/or benefits constituting “parachute payments” is necessary so that the Payment equals the Reduced Amount, reduction shall occur in the following order: reduction of current cash payments; reduction of deferred cash payments subject to Code Section 409A; cancellation of accelerated vesting of stock options; cancellation of accelerated vesting of stock awards other than stock options; reduction of employee benefits. In the event that acceleration of vesting of stock award compensation is to be reduced, such acceleration of vesting shall be cancelled in the reverse order of the date of grant of Executive’s stock awards.

Golden Parachute Tax. In the event that any payments, entitlements or benefits (whether made or provided pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise) provided to Executive constitute “parachute payments” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), may be subject to an excise tax imposed pursuant to Section 4999 of the Code, then, Executive shall be entitled to the greater of, as determined on an after-tax basis (taking into account any such excise tax), # such parachute payments or # the greatest reduced amount of such parachute payments as would result in no amount of such parachute payments being subject to such excise tax. Any such payment reduction contemplated by the preceding sentence shall be implemented as follows: first, by reducing any payments to be made to Executive under paragraph 4(a)(ii)(B) or 4(b)(ii)(B) hereof, as applicable; second, by reducing any other cash payments to be made to Executive but only if the value of such cash payments is not greater than the parachute value of such payments; third, by cancelling the acceleration of vesting of any outstanding equity-based compensation awards that are subject to performance vesting, the performance goals for which were met as of Executive’s date of termination or if later the date of the occurrence of the change in control; fourth, by cancelling the acceleration of vesting of any restricted stock or restricted stock unit awards; fifth, by eliminating the Company’s payment of the cost of any post-termination continuation of medical and dental benefits for Executive and his eligible dependents and sixth, by cancelling the acceleration of vesting of any stock options or stock appreciation rights. In the case of the reductions to be made pursuant to each of the above-mentioned clauses, the payment and/or benefit amounts to be reduced and the acceleration of vesting to be cancelled shall be reduced or cancelled in the inverse order of their originally scheduled dates of payment or vesting, as applicable, and shall be so reduced # only to the extent that the payment and/or benefit otherwise to be paid or the vesting of the award that otherwise would be accelerated, would be treated as a “parachute payment” within the meaning of [Section 280G(b)(2)(A)] of the Code, and # only to the extent necessary to achieve the required reduction hereunder. The determination of such after-tax amount under clauses (i) and (ii), above, shall be made by a nationally recognized certified public accounting firm that is selected by the Company and for purposes of present valuing any such payments under Treasury Regulation 1.280G-1 Q&A 32, the discount rate to be used shall be the applicable Federal rate as in effect on the Effective Date.

constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code, and # but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment shall be reduced to the Reduced Amount. The “Reduced Amount” shall be either # the largest portion of the Payment that would result in no portion of the Payment being subject to the Excise Tax or # the total amount of the Payment, whichever of the amounts determined under [(A) and (B)], after taking into account all applicable federal, state and local employment taxes, income taxes, and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal rate), results in the Executive’s receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greater amount of the Payment notwithstanding that all or some portion of the Payment may be subject to the Excise Tax. If a reduction in payments or benefits constituting “parachute payments” is necessary so that the Payment equals the Reduced Amount, reduction shall occur in the following order: reduction of cash payments; reduction of employee benefits; and cancellation of accelerated vesting of outstanding equity awards. In the event that acceleration of vesting of outstanding equity awards is to be reduced, such acceleration of vesting shall be undertaken in the reverse order of the date of grant of the Executive’s outstanding equity awards. All calculations and determinations made pursuant this [Section 6] will be made by an independent accounting or consulting firm or independent tax counsel appointed by the Company (the “Tax Counsel”) whose determinations shall be conclusive and binding on the Company and the Executive for all purposes. For purposes of making the calculations and determinations required by this [Section 6], the Tax Counsel may rely on reasonable, good faith assumptions and approximations concerning the application of Section 280G of the Code and Section 4999 of the Code. The Company shall bear all costs the Tax Counsel may reasonably incur in connection with its services.

Parachute Payments. If any payment or benefit (including payments and benefits pursuant to this Agreement) that Executive would receive in connection with a Change in Control from the Company or other event that constitutes a change in ownership or control within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code and the regulations thereunder (in either case, a “[[Unknown Identifier]] Event” and any such payment or benefit, a “Transaction Payment”) would # constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code, and # but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then the Company shall cause to be determined, before any amounts of the Transaction Payment are paid to Executive, which of the following two alternative forms of payment would result in Executive’s receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greater amount of Transaction Payments notwithstanding that all or some portion of the Transaction Payment may be subject to the Excise Tax: # payment in full of the entire amount of the Transaction Payments (a “Full Payment”), or # payment of only a portion of the Transaction Payments so that Executive receives the largest payment possible without the imposition of the Excise Tax (a “Reduced Payment”). For purposes of determining whether to make a Full Payment or a Reduced Payment, the Company shall cause to be taken into account all applicable federal, state, local and foreign income and employment taxes and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal rate, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which could be obtained from a deduction of such state and local taxes). If a Reduced Payment is made, # Executive shall have no rights to any additional payments and/or benefits constituting the forfeited portion of the Full Payment, and # reduction in payments and/or benefits will occur in the manner that results in the greatest economic benefit for Executive. If more than one method of reduction will result in the same economic benefit, the items so reduced will be reduced pro rata. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such reduction would result in any portion of the Transaction Payments being subject to penalties pursuant to Section 409A of the Code that would not otherwise be subject to such penalties, then the reduction method shall be modified so as to avoid the imposition of penalties pursuant to Section 409A of the Code as follows: # Transaction Payments that are contingent on future events (e.g., being terminated without Cause), shall be reduced (or eliminated) before Transaction Payments that are not contingent on future events; and # Transaction Payments that are “deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code shall be reduced (or eliminated) before Transaction Payments that are not deferred compensation within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code. In the event that acceleration of vesting of any equity compensation awards is to be reduced, such acceleration of vesting will be cancelled in the reverse order of the date of grant of Executive’s equity awards. In no event will the Company or any stockholder be liable to Executive for any amounts not paid as a result of the operation of this provision.

In the event that any payment received or to be received by the Executive in connection with a Change in Control of the Company or the termination of the Executive’s employment (whether payable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or any other plan, arrangement or agreement with the Company, any person whose actions result in a change in control of the Company or any person affiliated with the Company or such person (together with the Severance Payment, the “Total Payments”, and each a “Payment”)) would be treated as “parachute payments” under Section 280G of the Code and would, but for this section, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), or any corresponding provisions of state or local tax laws, or any interest or penalties are incurred by the Executive with respect to such excise tax (such excise tax, together with any such interest and penalties, is hereinafter collectively referred to as (the “Excise Tax”)), then prior to making any Total Payments, a calculation shall be made comparing # the Net Benefit (as defined below) to the Executive of the Total Payments after payment of the Excise Tax, to # the Net Benefit to the Executive if the Total Payments are limited to the extent necessary to avoid being subject to the Excise Tax. Only if the amount calculated under # above is less than the amount under # above will the Total Payments be reduced to the minimum extent necessary to ensure that no portion of the Total Payments is subject to the Excise Tax (that amount, the “Reduced Amount”). “Net Benefit” shall mean the present value of the Total Payments net of all federal, state, local, foreign income, employment and excise taxes. The reduction of the amounts payable under this Agreement, if applicable, shall be made by reducing taxable payments before non-taxable payments, and payments nearest in time before payments later in time, unless an alternative method of reduction is elected by the Executive to the extent consistent with Section 409A of the Code. For purposes of reducing the Total Payments to the Reduced Amount, only amounts payable under this Agreement (and no other Payments) shall be reduced.

If any payment or benefit Executive would receive under this Agreement, when combined with any other payment or benefit Executive receives pursuant to a Change of Control (for purposes of this section, a “Payment”) would: # constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of [Section 280G] the Code; and # but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment shall be either: # the full amount of such Payment; or # such lesser amount (with cash payments being reduced before stock option compensation) as would result in no portion of the Payment being subject to the Excise Tax, whichever of the foregoing amounts, taking into account the applicable federal, state and local employments taxes, income taxes, and the Excise Tax, results in Executive’s receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greater amount of the Payment notwithstanding that all or some portion of the Payment may be subject to the Excise Tax.

Best Pay. Any provision of this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, if any payment or benefit Executive would receive from the Company pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise (“Payment”) would # constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code and # but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment will be equal to the Reduced Amount (as defined below). The “Reduced Amount” will be either # the largest portion of the Payment that would result in no portion of the Payment (after reduction) being subject to the Excise Tax or # the entire Payment, whichever amount after taking into account all applicable federal, state, and local employment taxes, income taxes, and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal rate, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which could be obtained from a deduction of such state and local taxes), results in Executive’ s receipt, on an after- tax basis, of the greater economic benefit notwithstanding that all or some portion of the Payment may be subject to the Excise Tax. If a reduction in a Payment is required pursuant to the preceding sentence and the Reduced Amount is determined pursuant to clause (A) of the preceding sentence, the reduction shall occur in the manner (the “Reduction Method”) that results in the greatest economic benefit for Executive. If more than one method of reduction will result in the same economic benefit, the items so reduced will be reduced pro rata (the “Pro Rata Reduction Method”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Reduction Method or the Pro Rata Reduction Method would result in any portion of the Payment being subject to taxes pursuant to Section 409A (as defined below) that would not otherwise be subject to taxes pursuant to Section 409A, then the Reduction Method and/or the Pro Rata Reduction Method, as the case may be, shall be modified so as to avoid the imposition of taxes pursuant to Section 409A as follows: # as a first priority, the modification shall preserve to the greatest extent possible, the greatest economic benefit for Executive as determined on an after-tax basis; # as a second priority, Payments that are contingent on future events (e.g., being terminated without cause), shall be reduced (or eliminated) before Payments that are not contingent on future events; and # as a third priority, Payments that are “deferred compensation” within the meaning of [Section 409A] shall be reduced (or eliminated) before Payments that are not deferred compensation within the meaning of [Section 409A].

#280G Provisions. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any payment or distribution Executive would receive pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise (“Payment”) would # constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code, and # but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment shall either be # delivered in full, or # delivered as to such lesser extent which would result in no portion of such Payment being subject to the Excise Tax, whichever of the foregoing amounts, taking into account the applicable federal, state and local income taxes and the Excise Tax, results in the receipt by Executive on an after-tax basis, of the largest payment, notwithstanding that all or some portion of the Payment may be taxable under Section 4999 of the Code. The accounting firm engaged by the Company for general audit purposes as of the day prior to the effective date of the Change in Control shall perform the foregoing calculations. The Company shall bear all expenses with respect to the determinations by such accounting firm required to be made hereunder. The accounting firm shall provide its calculations to the Company and Executive within thirty (30) calendar days after the date on which Executive’s right to a Payment is triggered (if requested at that time by the Company or Executive) or such other time as requested by the Company or Executive. Any good faith determinations of the accounting firm made hereunder shall be final, binding and conclusive upon the Company and Executive. Any reduction in payments and/or benefits pursuant to this Section 4.2 will occur in the following order: # reduction of cash payments; # cancellation of accelerated vesting of equity awards other than stock options; # cancellation of accelerated vesting of stock options; and # reduction of other benefits payable to Executive.

Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, if any payment or benefit Executive would receive from the Company or otherwise (“Payment”) would # constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code; and # but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment shall be equal to the Reduced Amount. The “Reduced Amount” shall be either # the largest portion of the Payment that would result in no portion of the Payment being subject to the Excise Tax; or # the largest portion, up to and including the total, of the Payment, whichever amount, after taking into account all applicable federal, state and local employment taxes, income taxes, and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal rate), results in Executive’s receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greater amount of the Payment. Any reduction made pursuant to this Section 5(a) shall be made in accordance with the following order of priority: # stock options whose exercise price exceeds the fair market value of the optioned stock (“Underwater Options”), # Full Credit Payments (as defined below), that are payable in cash, # non-cash Full Credit Payments that are taxable, # non-cash Full Credit Payments that are not taxable, # Partial Credit Payments (as defined below) and # non-cash employee welfare benefits. In each case, reductions shall be made in reverse chronological order such that the payment or benefit owed on the latest date following the occurrence of the event triggering the excise tax will be the first payment or benefit to be reduced (with reductions made pro-rata in the event payments or benefits are owed at the same time). “Full Credit Payment” means a payment, distribution or benefit, whether paid or payable or distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise, that if reduced in value by one dollar reduces the amount of the parachute payment (as defined in Section 280G of the Code) by one dollar, determined as if such payment, distribution or benefit had been paid or distributed on the date of the event triggering the excise tax. “Partial Credit Payment” means any payment, distribution or

In the event that any payment or benefit received or to be received by Executive pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to another compensation or benefit program or otherwise (“Payments”) would # constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code and # but for this Section 13, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (“Excise Tax”), then such Payments shall either be # provided in full pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and any other plan, program or applicable agreement, or # provided as to such lesser extent which would result in no portion of such Payments being subject to the Excise Tax (“Reduced Amount”), whichever of the foregoing amounts, taking into account the applicable federal, state and local income, employment and other taxes and the Excise Tax (including, without limitation, any interest or penalties on such taxes), results in the receipt by Executive, on an after-tax basis, of the greatest amount of payments and benefits provided for hereunder or otherwise, notwithstanding that all or some portion of such Payments may be subject to the Excise Tax.

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