<h1>Why a $1 Salary and Stock Options Might Be the Smartest Move</h1>
Tyler?
Yep.
We’re pleased to let you know that the Board of Directors has approved a $300,000 salary for you as the CEO.
Oh, no thank you.
What?
I’ll just take a $1 a year salary, please.
See, I told them you were the right guy for the job—always thinking of others and putting the company first.
Oh, I'm definitely thinking of myself.
If you pay me a $300,000 a year salary, I'd have to pay income tax on that income. That puts me in the 35% tax bracket, my friend.
But if you compensate me instead with, let’s say, company stock options, then when we sell the company, or when I sell the stock, I get to take that money as a capital gain.
Instead of 35%, I'd end up paying 20%.
Damn. You should run this company.
I do run this company.