Excise Taxes. If any payment or benefit, or the acceleration of any payment or benefit, the Executive would receive from the Company under this Agreement or otherwise in connection with a Change in Control (collectively, the “Payments”) would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then either # such Payments will be reduced or delayed by the minimum amount necessary such that no portion of the Payments is subject to the Excise Tax, or # the full amount of the Payments shall be made, whichever, after taking into account all applicable taxes, including the Excise Tax, results in the Executive’s receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greater amount. If a reduction or delay in the Payments is necessary, such reduction or delay will occur in the following order: # cancellation of accelerated vesting of stock and option awards (reduced from the highest value to the lowest value under Section 280G of the Code) with the understanding that such awards may be replaced with the right to an equivalent cash payment at such future time because of the delisting of the underlying stock; # reduction or delay of cash payments (reduced from the latest payment to the earliest payment); and # reduction of other benefits payable to the Executive (reduced from the highest value to the lowest value under Section 280G of the Code). The Company will select a reputable third party professional firm to make all determinations required to be made under this provision. The Company will bear all reasonable expenses with respect to the determinations by such firm required to be made hereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, neither the Company nor any of its affiliates shall have any obligation to indemnify, gross-up or otherwise pay or reimburse the Executive for any Excise Tax assessed on any payment or benefit made or provided, or required to be made or provided, to the Executive by the Company under this Agreement or otherwise.

Notwithstanding anything contained in this Plan to the contrary, if upon or following a Change in Control, the tax imposed by Code section 4999 or any similar or successor tax (the “Excise Tax”) applies, solely because of the Change in Control, to any payments, benefits and/or amounts received by an Eligible Executive under the Plan or otherwise, including, without limitation, any amounts received or deemed received, within the meaning of any provision of the Code, by the Eligible Executive as a result of (and not by way of limitation) any automatic vesting, lapse of restrictions and/or accelerated target or performance achievement provisions, or otherwise, applicable to outstanding grants or awards to the Eligible Executive under any of the Company’s incentive plans (collectively, the “Total Payments”), then the Total Payments shall be reduced (but not below zero) so that the maximum amount of the Total Payments (after reduction) shall be one dollar ($1.00) less than the amount which would cause the Total Payments to be subject to the Excise Tax; provided that such reduction to the Total Payments shall be made only if the total after-tax benefit to the Eligible Executive is greater after giving effect to such reduction than if no such reduction had been made. If such a reduction is required, the Company shall reduce or eliminate the Total Payments by first reducing or eliminating any cash severance benefits, then by reducing or eliminating any accelerated vesting of stock options, then by reducing or eliminating any accelerated vesting of other equity awards, then by reducing or eliminating any other remaining Total Payments, in each case in reverse order beginning with the payments which are to be paid the farthest in time from the Change in Control. The preceding provisions of this [Section 5.3] shall take precedence over the provisions of any other plan, arrangement or agreement governing the Eligible Executive’s rights and entitlements to any benefits or compensation.

Reduction in Payments. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, whether or not there occurs a Termination of Employment, in the event it shall be determined that any payment or benefit received or to be received by the Executive in connection with a Change of Control of the Company or the termination of the Executive’s employment, whether pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or any other plan, arrangement or agreement with the Company, any entity whose actions result in a Change of Control of the Company or any entity affiliated with the Company or such entity (any such payment or benefit being hereinafter called a “Payment,” and all such payments and benefits being hereinafter called “Total Payments”), would be subject (in whole or part) to the excise tax under Section 4999 of the Code of 1986, or any interest or penalties incurred with respect to such excise tax (such excise tax, together with such interest and penalties, are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), then the payments hereunder (or, if no payments are being made hereunder, payments and benefits pursuant to other plan and arrangements) shall be reduced to the extent necessary so that no portion of the Total Payments is subject to the Excise Tax but only if # the net amount of such Total Payments, as so reduced (and after subtracting the net amount of federal, state and local income taxes on such reduced Total Payments and after taking into account the phase out of itemized deductions and personal exemptions attributable to such reduced Total Payments) is greater than or equal to # the net amount of such Total Payments without such reduction (but after subtracting the net amount of federal, state and local income taxes on such Total Payments and the amount of Excise Tax to which the Executive would be subject in respect of such unreduced Total Payments and after taking into account the phase out of itemized deductions and personal exemptions attributable to such unreduced Total Payments).

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.

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.

#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.

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.

If in connection with the Change in Control or other event Executive would be or is subject to an excise tax under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code (an “Excise Tax”) with respect to any cash, benefits or other property received, or any acceleration of vesting of any benefit or award (the “Change in Control Benefits”), Employee may elect to have the Change in Control Benefits otherwise payable under this Agreement reduced to the largest amount payable without resulting in the imposition of such Excise Tax. Within 15 days after the occurrence of the event that triggers the Excise Tax, a nationally recognized accounting firm selected by the Company shall make a determination as to whether any Excise Tax would be reported with respect to the Change in Control Benefits and, if so, the amount of the Excise Tax, the total net after-tax amount of the Change in Control Benefits (after taking into account federal, state and local income and employment taxes and the Excise Tax) and the amount of reduction to the Change in Control Benefits necessary to avoid such Excise Tax. Any reduction to the Change in Control Benefits shall first be made from any cash benefits payable pursuant to this Agreement, if any, and thereafter, as determined by Employee, and the Company shall provide Employee with such information as is necessary to make such determination. The Company shall be responsible for all fees and expenses connected with the determinations by the accounting firm pursuant to this [Section 10(e)]. Employee agrees to notify the Company in the event of any audit or other proceeding by the IRS or any taxing authority in which the IRS or other taxing authority asserts that any Excise Tax should be assessed against Employee and to cooperate with the Company in contesting any such proposed assessment with respect to such Excise Tax (a “Proposed Assessment”). Employee agrees not to settle any Proposed Assessment without the consent of the Company. If the Company does not consent to allow Employee to settle the Proposed Assessment, within 30 days following such demand therefor, the Company shall indemnify and hold harmless Employee with respect to any additional taxes, interest and/or penalties that Employee is required to pay by reason of the delay in finally resolving Employee’s tax liability (such indemnification to be made as soon as practicable, but in no event later than the end of the calendar year following the calendar year in which Employee makes such remittance).