Excise Tax Gross-Up If Executive becomes entitled to one or more payments (with a "payment" including the vesting of restricted stock, a stock option, or other non-cash benefit or property), whether pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or any other plan or agreement with the Company or any affiliated company (collectively, "Change of Control Payments"), which are or become subject to the tax ("Excise Tax") imposed by Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), the Company shall pay to Executive at the time specified below such amount (the "Gross-up Payment") as may be necessary to place Executive in the same after-tax position as if no portion of the Change of Control Payments and any amounts paid to Executive pursuant to this paragraph 5(c) had been subject to the Excise Tax. The Gross-up Payment shall include, without limitation, reimbursement for any penalties and interest that may accrue in respect of such Excise Tax. For purposes of determining the amount of the Gross-up Payment, Executive shall be deemed: (A) to pay federal income taxes at the highest marginal rate of federal income taxation for the year in which the Gross-up Payment is to be made; and (B) to pay any applicable state and local income taxes at the highest marginal rate of taxation for the calendar year in which the Gross-up Payment is to be made, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which could be obtained from deduction of such state and local taxes if paid in such year. If the Excise Tax is subsequently determined to be less than the amount taken into account hereunder at the time the Gross-up Payment is made, Executive shall repay to the Company at the time that the amount of such reduction in Excise Tax is finally determined (but, if previously paid to the taxing authorities, not prior to the time the amount of such reduction is refunded to Executive or otherwise realized as a benefit by Executive) the portion of the Gross-up Payment that would not have been paid if such Excise Tax had been used in initially calculating the Gross-up Payment, plus interest on the amount of such repayment at the rate provided in Section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code. In the event that the Excise Tax is determined to exceed the amount taken into account hereunder at the time the Gross-up Payment is made, the Company shall make an additional Gross-up Payment in respect of such excess (plus any interest and penalties payable with respect to such excess) at the time that the amount of such excess is finally determined. The Gross-up Payment provided for above shall be paid on the 30th day (or such earlier date as the Excise Tax becomes due and payable to the taxing authorities) after it has been determined that the Change of Control Payments (or any portion thereof) are subject to the Excise Tax; provided, however, that if the amount of such Gross-up Payment or portion thereof cannot be finally determined on or before such day, the Company shall pay to Executive on such day an estimate, as determined by counsel or auditors selected by the Company and reasonably acceptable to Executive, of the minimum amount of such payments. The Company shall pay to Executive the remainder of such payments (together with interest at the rate provided in Section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code) as soon as the amount thereof can be determined. In the event that the amount of the estimated payments exceeds the amount subsequently determined to have been due, such excess shall constitute a loan by the Company to Executive, payable on the fifth day after demand by the Company (together with interest at the rate provided in Section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code). The Company shall have the right to control all proceedings with the Internal Revenue Service that may arise in connection with the determination and assessment of any Excise Tax and, at its sole option, the Company may pursue or forego any and all administrative appeals, proceedings, hearings, and conferences with any taxing authority in respect of such Excise Tax (including any interest or penalties thereon); provided, however, that the Company's control over any such proceedings shall be limited to issues with respect to which a Gross-up Payment would be payable hereunder, and Executive shall be entitled to settle or contest any other issue raised by the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority. Executive shall cooperate with the Company in any proceedings relating to the determination and assessment of any Excise Tax and shall not take any position or action that would materially increase the amount of any Gross-up Payment hereunder.
Excise Tax Payments (a) If any payment or benefit (within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(2) of the Code) to the Executive or for his benefit paid or payable or distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise in connection with, or arising out of, his employment with the Company or a change in ownership or effective control of the Company or of a substantial portion of its assets (each a “Payment” and collectively, the “Payments”), would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code 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, are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), then the Executive will be entitled to receive an additional payment (a “Gross-Up Payment”), such that the net amount retained by the Executive, after deduction and/or payment of any Excise Tax on the Payments and the Gross-Up Payment and any federal, state and local income tax on the Gross-Up Payment (including any interest or penalties, other than interest and penalties imposed by reason of the Executive’s failure to file timely a tax return or pay taxes shown due on his return, imposed with respect to such taxes), shall be equal to the Payments.
(b) An initial determination as to whether a Gross-Up Payment is required pursuant to this Agreement and the amount of such Gross-Up Payment shall be made at the Company’s expense by an accounting firm selected by the Company and reasonably acceptable to the Executive which is designated as one of the four largest accounting firms in the United States (the “Accounting Firm”). The Accounting Firm shall provide its determination (the “Determination”), together with detailed supporting calculations and documentation to the Company and the Executive within five days of the Termination Date if applicable, or such other time as requested by the Executive (provided the Executive reasonably believes that any of the Payments may be subject to the Excise Tax) and if the Accounting Firm determines that no Excise Tax is payable by the Executive as provided in Section 5(a) above, it shall furnish the Executive with an opinion reasonably acceptable to the Executive to such effect. Within ten days of the delivery of the Determination to the Executive, the Executive shall have the right to dispute the Determination (the “Dispute”). The Gross-Up Payment, if any, as determined pursuant to this Paragraph 5(b) shall be paid by the Company to the Executive within five days of the receipt of the Accounting Firm’s determination. The existence of the Dispute shall not in any way affect the Executive’s right to receive the Gross-Up Payment in accordance with the Determination. Upon the final resolution of a Dispute, the Company shall promptly pay to the Executive any additional amount required by such resolution. If there is no Dispute, the Determination shall be binding, final and conclusive upon the Company and the Executive subject to the application of Section 5(c) below.
(c) As a result of the uncertainty in the application of Sections 4999 and 280G of the Code, it is possible that a Gross-Up Payment (or a portion thereof) will be paid which should not have been paid (an “Excess Payment”) or a Gross-Up Payment (or a portion thereof) which should have been paid will not have been paid (an “Underpayment”). An Underpayment shall be deemed to have occurred (i) upon notice (formal or informal) to the Executive from any governmental taxing authority that the Executive’s tax liability (whether in respect of the Executive’s current taxable year or in respect of any prior taxable year) may be increased by reason of the imposition of the Excise Tax on a Payment or Payments with respect to which the Company has failed to make a sufficient Gross-Up Payment, (ii) upon a determination by a court, (iii) by reason of a determination by the Company (which shall include the position taken by the Company, together with its consolidated group, on its federal income tax return) or (iv) upon the resolution of the Dispute to the Executive’s satisfaction. If an Underpayment occurs, the Executive shall promptly notify the Company and the Company shall promptly, but in any event, at least five days prior to the date on which the applicable government taxing authority has requested payment, pay to the Executive an additional Gross-Up Payment equal to the amount of the Underpayment plus any interest and penalties (other than interest and penalties imposed by reason of the Executive’s failure to file timely a tax return or pay taxes shown due on the Executive’s return) imposed on the Underpayment. An Excess Payment shall be deemed to have occurred upon a Final Determination (as hereinafter defined) that the Excise Tax shall not be imposed upon a Payment or Payments (or portion thereof) with respect to which the Executive had previously received a Gross-Up Payment. A “Final Determination” shall be deemed to have occurred when the Executive has received from the applicable government taxing authority a refund of taxes or other reduction in the Executive’s tax liability by reason of the Excess Payment and upon either (x) the date a determination is made by, or an agreement is entered into with, the applicable governmental taxing authority which finally and conclusively binds the Executive and such taxing authority, or if a claim is brought before a court of competent jurisdiction, the date upon which a final determination has been made by such court and either all appeals have been taken and finally resolved or the time for all appeals has expired or (y) the statute of limitations with respect to the Executive’s applicable tax return has expired. If an Excess Payment is determined to have been made, the amount of the Excess Payment shall be treated as a loan by the Company to the Executive and the Executive shall pay to the Company on demand (but not less than 10 days after the determination of such Excess Payment and written notice has been delivered to the Executive) the amount of the Excess Payment plus interest at an annual rate equal to the Applicable Federal Rate provided for in Section 1274(d) of the Code from the date the Gross-Up Payment (to which the Excess Payment relates) was paid to the Executive until the date of repayment to the Company.
Excise Tax Payment (a) Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and except as set forth below, in the event it shall be determined that any payment or distribution by the Company or the Bank to or for the benefit of Executive (whether paid or payable or distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise, but determined without regard to any additional payments required under this Section 4) (a “Payment”) would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code or any interest or penalties are incurred by Executive with respect to such excise tax (such excise tax, together with any such interest and penalties, are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), then Executive shall be entitled to receive an additional payment (a “Gross-Up Payment”) in an amount such that after payment by Executive of all taxes (including any interest or penalties imposed with respect to such taxes), including, without limitation, any income taxes (and any interest and penalties imposed with respect thereto) and Excise Tax imposed upon the Gross-Up Payment, and taking account of any withholding obligation on the part of the Bank, Executive retains an amount of the Gross-Up Payment equal to the Excise Tax imposed upon the Payments.
(b) All determinations required to be made under this Section 4, including whether and when a Gross-Up Payment is required and the amount of such Gross-Up Payment and the assumptions to be used in arriving at such determination, shall be made by the Company’s regular certified public accounting firm (the “Accounting Firm”) which shall provide detailed supporting calculations both to the Company and Executive within 15 business days of the receipt of notice from Executive that there has been a Payment, or such earlier time as is requested by the Company. In the event that the Accounting Firm is serving as accountant or auditor for the individual, entity or group effecting the Change in Control, the Company shall appoint another nationally recognized accounting firm to make the determinations required hereunder (which accounting firm shall then be referred to as the Accounting Firm hereunder). All fees and expenses of the Accounting Firm shall be borne solely by the Company.
(c) As a result of the uncertainty in the application of Section 4999 of the Code at the time of the initial determination by the Accounting Firm hereunder, it is possible that Gross-Up Payments which will not have been made by the Company should have been made (“Underpayment”), consistent with the calculations required to be made hereunder. In the event of an Underpayment, the Accounting Firm shall determine the amount of the Underpayment that has occurred and any such Underpayment shall be promptly paid by the Bank to or for the benefit of Executive.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 4, any Gross-Up Payment or Underpayment shall be paid in a single lump sum payment at a time which will enable timely payment of any excise tax due by the Executive, but in no event later than December 31 of the year following the year (A) any excise tax is paid to the Internal Revenue Service regarding this Section 4 or (B) any tax audit or litigation brought by the Internal Revenue Service or other relevant taxing authority related to this Section 4 is completed or resolved.
Gross-Up Payment Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement (but subject to the remaining provisions of this Section 8.01), in the event that any payment, benefit or distribution by the Company to or for the benefit of Employee, whether paid, payable, provided, distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise (a “Payment”), would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code or any interest or penalties with respect to such excise tax (such excise tax, together with any such interest or penalties, are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), the Company shall pay to Employee an additional payment (a “Gross-up Payment”) in an amount such that after payment by Employee of all taxes (including any interest or penalties imposed with respect to such taxes), including any Excise Tax imposed on any Gross-up Payment, Employee retains an amount of the Gross-up Payment equal to the Excise Tax imposed upon all Payments except for the Cobalt Equity Payments. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, if it shall be determined that Employee is entitled to the Gross-up Payment, but that the Parachute Value of all Payments does not exceed 110% of the Safe Harbor Amount, then no Gross-up Payment shall be made to Employee and the amounts payable under Article 6 shall be reduced so that the Parachute Value of all Payments, in the aggregate, equals the Safe Harbor Amount. The reduction of the amounts payable under Article 6, if applicable, shall be made by reducing Payments payable hereunder (including reducing a Payment to zero) in the order in which such Payments would be made (beginning with such Payment that would be made first in time and continuing, to the extent necessary, through to such Payment that would be made last in time). For purposes of reducing the Payments to the Safe Harbor Amount, only amounts payable under Article 6 (and no other Payments) shall be reduced. If the reduction of the amount payable under Article 6 would not result in a reduction of the Parachute Value of all Payments to the Safe Harbor Amount, then no amounts payable under Article 6 shall be reduced pursuant to this Section 8.01. The Company’s obligation to make a Gross-up Payment under this Section 8.01 shall not be conditioned upon Employee’s termination of employment. The Gross-up Payment attributable to a particular Payment shall be made at the time such Payment is made; provided, however, that in no event shall the Gross-up Payment be made later than the end of Employee’s taxable year next following Employee’s taxable year in which Employee remits the related taxes. The Company and Employee shall make an initial determination as to whether a Gross-up Payment is required and the amount of any such Gross-up Payment.
Gross-Up Payments If all or any portion of any payment or benefit that the Employee is entitled to receive from the Company pursuant to this Agreement (a "Payment") constitutes an "excess parachute payment" within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code, and as such is subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code or to any similar Federal, state or local tax or assessment (the "Excise Tax"), the Company or its successors or assigns shall pay to the Employee an additional amount (the "Gross-Up Payment") with respect to such Payment. The amount of the Gross-Up Payment shall be sufficient that, after paying (a) any Excise Tax on the Payment, (b) any Federal, state or local income or employment taxes and Excise Tax on the Gross-Up Payment, and (c) any interest and penalties imposed in respect of the Excise Tax, the Employee shall retain an amount equal to the full amount of the Payment. For the purpose of determining the amount of any Gross-Up Payment, the Employee shall be deemed to pay Federal income taxes at the highest marginal rate applicable in the calendar year in which the Gross-Up Payment is made, and state and local income taxes at the highest marginal rate applicable in the state and locality where the Employee resides on the date the Gross-Up Payment is made, net of the maximum reduction in Federal income taxes that could be obtained from deducting such state and local taxes. The Gross-Up Payment with respect to any Payment shall be paid to the Employee within ten (10) days after the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority issues a notice stating that an Excise Tax is due with respect to the Payment, unless the Company undertakes to challenge the taxing authority on the applicability of such Excise Tax and indemnifies the Employee for (a) any amounts ultimately determined to be payable, including the Excise Tax and any related interest and penalties, (b) all expenses (including attorneys' and experts' fees) reasonably incurred by the Employee in connection with such challenge, as such expenses are incurred, and (c) all amounts that the Employee is required to pay to the taxing authorities during the pendency of such challenge (such amounts to be repaid by the Employee to the Company if they are ultimately refunded to the Employee by the taxing authority).
Excise Tax In the event you become entitled to any amounts payable hereunder or any other amounts in connection with a change in control (whether or not such amounts are payable pursuant to this Agreement) (the "Severance Payments"), if any of such Severance Payments are subject to the tax (the "Excise Tax") imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (or any similar federal, state or local tax that may hereafter be imposed), the Company shall pay to you at the time specified in Section 7 hereof an additional amount (the "Gross-Up Payment") such that the net amount retained by you, after deduction of any Excise Tax on the Total Payments (as hereinafter defined) and any federal, state and local income tax and Excise Tax upon the payment provided for by this Section 6, shall be equal to the Total Payments. For purposes of determining whether any of the Severance Payments will be subject to the Excise Tax and the amount of such Excise Tax: (i) any other payments or benefits received or to be received by you in connection with a Change in Control or your termination of employment (whether 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 or any Person affiliated with the Company or such Person) (which, together with the Severance Payments, constitute the "Total Payments") shall be treated as "parachute payments" within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(2) of the Code, and all "excess parachute payments" within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(1) of the Code shall be treated as subject to the Excise Tax, unless in the opinion of nationally-recognized tax counsel selected by you such other payments or benefits (in whole or in part) do not constitute parachute payments, or such excess parachute payments (in whole or in part) represent reasonable compensation for services actually rendered within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(4) of the Code in excess of the base amount within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code, or are otherwise not subject to the Excise Tax; (ii) the amount of the Total Payments which shall be treated as subject to the Excise Tax shall be equal to the lesser of (A) the total amount of the Total Payments and (B) the amount of excess parachute payments within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(1) of the Code (after applying Section 6(i) hereof); and (iii) the value of any non-cash benefits or any deferred payments or benefit shall be determined by a nationally-recognized accounting firm selected by you in accordance with the principles of Sections 280G(d)(3) and (4) of the Code. For purposes of determining the amount of the Gross-Up Payment, you shall be deemed to pay federal income taxes at the highest marginal rate of federal income taxation in the calendar year in which the Gross-Up Payment is to be made and state and local income taxes at the highest marginal rate of taxation in the state and locality of your residence, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which could be obtained from deduction of such state and local taxes. In the event that the Excise Tax is subsequently determined to be less than the amount taken into account hereunder, you shall repay to the Company within ten days after the time that the amount of such reduction in Excise Tax is finally determined the portion of the Gross-Up Payment attributable to such reduction (plus the portion of the Gross-Up Payment attributable to the Excise Tax and federal and state and local income tax imposed on the Gross-Up Payment being repaid by you if such repayment results in a 5 5 reduction in Excise Tax and/or federal and state and local income tax deduction) plus interest on the amount of such repayment at the rate provided in Section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code. In the event that the Excise Tax is determined to exceed the amount taken into account hereunder (including by reason of any payment the existence or amount of which cannot be determined at the time of the Gross-Up Payment), the Company shall make an additional gross-up payment in respect of such excess) within ten days after the time that the amount of such excess is finally determined.
Excise Tax Limitation (a) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, to the extent that the payments and benefits provided under this Agreement and benefits provided to, or for the benefit of, Executive under any other Employer plan or agreement (such payments or benefits are collectively referred to as the “Payments”) would be subject to the excise tax (the “Excise Tax”) imposed under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Payments shall be reduced (but not below zero) if and to the extent necessary so that no Payment to be made or benefit to be provided to Executive shall be subject to the Excise Tax (such reduced amount is hereinafter referred to as the “Limited Payment Amount”). Unless Executive shall have given prior written notice specifying a different order to Employer to effectuate the foregoing, Employer shall reduce or eliminate the Payments, by first reducing or eliminating the portion of the Payments which are not payable in cash and then by reducing or eliminating cash payments, in each case in reverse order beginning with payments or benefits which are to be paid the farthest in time from the Determination (as hereinafter defined). Any notice given by Executive pursuant to the preceding sentence shall take precedence over the provisions of any other plan, arrangement or agreement governing Executive’s rights and entitlements to any benefits or compensation.
(b) The determination of whether the Payments shall be reduced to the Limited Payment Amount pursuant to this Agreement and the amount of such Limited Payment Amount shall be made, at Employer’s expense, by a reputable accounting firm selected by Executive and reasonably acceptable to Employer (the “Accounting Firm”). The Accounting Firm shall provide its determination (the “Determination”), together with detailed supporting calculations and documentation to Employer and Executive within ten (10) days of the date of termination, if applicable, or such other time as specified by mutual agreement of Employer and Executive, and if the Accounting Firm determines that no Excise Tax is payable by Executive with respect to the Payments, it shall furnish Executive with an opinion reasonably acceptable to Executive that no Excise Tax will be imposed with respect to any such Payments. The Determination shall be binding, final and conclusive upon Employer and Executive.
Excise Taxes (a) If any payment or distribution by the Company or any affiliate to or for the benefit of the Executive, whether paid or payable or distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise pursuant to or by reason of any other agreement, policy, plan, program or arrangement, including without limitation any stock option, stock appreciation right or similar right, or the lapse or termination of any restriction on or the vesting or exercisability of any of the foregoing (a “Payment”), would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Code Section 4999 or to any similar tax imposed by state or local law, or any interest or penalties with respect to such tax (such tax or taxes, together with any such interest and penalties, being hereafter collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), then the benefits payable or provided under this Agreement (or other Payments as described above) shall be reduced (but not in excess of the amount of the benefits payable or provided under this Agreement) if, and only to the extent that, such reduction will allow the Executive to receive a greater Net After Tax Amount than such Executive would receive absent such reduction.
(b) The Accounting Firm (as defined below) will first determine the amount of any Parachute Payments (as defined below) that are payable to the Executive. The Accounting Firm also will determine the Net After Tax Amount attributable to the Executive’s total Parachute Payments.
(c) The Accounting Firm will next determine the largest amount of payments that may be made to the Executive without subjecting the Executive to the Excise Tax (the “Capped Payments”). Thereafter, the Accounting Firm will determine the Net After Tax Amount attributable to the Capped Payments.
(d) The Executive then will receive the total Parachute Payments or the total Capped Payments, whichever provides the Executive with the higher Net After Tax Amount; however, if the reductions imposed under this Section 14 are in excess of the amount of benefits payable or provided under this Agreement, then the total Parachute Payments will be adjusted by first reducing, on a pro rata basis, the amount of any noncash or cash benefits under this Agreement, then noncash or cash benefits under any other plan, agreement or arrangement, then any cash payments under this Agreement and finally any cash payments under any other plan agreement or arrangement. The Accounting Firm will notify the Executive and the Company if it determines that the Parachute Payments must be reduced and will send the Executive and the Company a copy of its detailed calculations supporting that determination.
(e) As a result of the uncertainty in the application of Code Sections 280G and 4999 at the time that the Accounting Firm makes its determinations under this Section 14, it is possible that the Executive will have received Parachute Payments or Capped Payments in excess of the amount that should have been paid or distributed (“Overpayments”), or that additional Parachute Payments or Capped Payments should be paid or distributed to the Executive (“Underpayments”). If the Accounting Firm determines, based on either the assertion of a deficiency by the Internal Revenue Service against the Company or the Executive, which assertion the Accounting Firm believes has a high probability of success or controlling precedent or substantial authority, that an Overpayment has been made, that Overpayment may, at the Executive’s discretion, be treated for all purposes as a loan ab initio that the Executive must repay to the Company immediately together with interest at the applicable Federal rate under Code Section 7872; provided, however, that no loan will be deemed to have been made and no amount will be payable by the Executive to the Company unless, and then only to the extent that, the deemed loan and payment would either reduce the amount on which the Executive is subject to tax under Code Section 4999 or generate a refund of tax imposed under Code Section 4999 and the Executive will receive a greater Net After Tax Amount than such Executive would otherwise receive. If the Accounting Firm determines, based upon controlling precedent or substantial authority, that an Underpayment has occurred, the Accounting Firm will notify the Executive and the Company of that determination and the amount of that Underpayment will be paid to the Executive promptly by the Company after such determination.
(f) For purposes of this Section 14, the following terms shall have their respective meanings:
Tax Gross-Up Amount Developer’s liability for the cost consequences of any current tax liability under this Article 5.17 shall be calculated on a fully grossed-up basis. Except as may otherwise be agreed to by the parties, this means that Developer will pay Connecting Transmission Owner, in addition to the amount paid for the Attachment Facilities and System Upgrade Facilities and System Deliverability Upgrades, an amount equal to (1) the current taxes imposed on Connecting Transmission Owner (“Current Taxes”) on the excess of (a) the gross income realized by Connecting Transmission Owner as a result of payments or property transfers made by Developer to Connecting Transmission Owner under this Agreement (without regard to any payments under this Article 5.17) (the “Gross Income Amount”) over (b) the present value of future tax deductions for depreciation that will be available as a result of such payments or property transfers (the “Present Value Depreciation Amount”), plus (2) an additional amount sufficient to permit the Connecting Transmission Owner to receive and retain, after the payment of all Current Taxes, an amount equal to the net amount described in clause (1). For this purpose, (i) Current Taxes shall be computed based on Connecting Transmission Owner’s composite federal and state tax rates at the time the payments or property transfers are received and Connecting Transmission Owner will be treated as being subject to tax at the highest marginal rates in effect at that time (the “Current Tax Rate”), and (ii) the Present Value Depreciation Amount shall be computed by discounting Connecting Transmission Owner’s anticipated tax depreciation deductions as a result of such payments or property transfers by Connecting Transmission Owner’s current weighted average cost of capital. Thus, the formula for calculating Developer’s liability to Connecting Transmission Owner pursuant to this Article
Parachute Payments (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement to the contrary, in the event that it shall be determined that any payment or distribution to or for the benefit of Executive, whether paid or payable or distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise (a “Payment”) would be nondeductible by the Company for Federal income tax purposes because of Section 280G of the Code, the Company shall reduce the aggregate present value of the Payments under this Agreement to the Reduced Amount (as defined below) if, and only if, reducing the Payments under this Agreement will provide Executive with a greater net after-tax amount than would be the case if no such reduction was made, taking into account the applicable federal, state, local and foreign income, employment and other taxes, including the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code. If a reduction in the Payments is necessary, such reduction shall occur in the following order: (1) reduction of cash payments; (2) cancellation of accelerated vesting of equity awards other than stock options; (3) cancellation of accelerated vesting of stock options; and (4) reduction of other benefits paid to Executive. Within any such category of payments and benefits (that is, clauses (1), (2), (3) or (4) of this Section 6.9(a)), a reduction shall occur first with respect to amounts that are not “deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code and then with respect to amounts that are. The “Reduced Amount” shall be an amount expressed in present value that maximizes the aggregate present value of Payments under this Agreement without causing any Payment to be nondeductible by the Company because of Section 280G of the Code.
(b) All determinations to be made under this Section 6.9 shall be made at the Company’s expense by a firm of certified public accountants of national standing selected by the Company (the “Accounting Firm”) which may be the firm regularly auditing the financial statements of the Company. The Company and Executive shall furnish to the Accounting Firm such information and documents as the Accounting Firm may reasonably require in order to make a determination under this Section. To the extent requested by Executive, the Company shall cooperate with Executive in good faith in valuing, and the Accounting Firm shall value, services to be provided by Executive (including refraining from performing services pursuant to a covenant not to compete) before, on or after the date of the transaction which cause the application of Section 280G of the Code such that payments in respect of such services may be considered to be “reasonable compensation” within the meaning of the regulations under Section 280G of the Code. In making its determinations hereunder, the Accounting Firm shall apply reasonable, good faith interpretations regarding the applicability of Section 280G and Section 4999, along with any other applicable portions of the Code or other tax laws. The Accounting Firm shall make all determinations required to be made under this Section and shall provide detailed supporting calculations to the Company and Executive within 30 days after the Termination Date or such earlier time as is requested by the Company, and provide an opinion to Executive that he or she has substantial authority not to report any excise tax on his or her Federal income tax return with respect to any Payments. Any such determination by the Accounting Firm shall be binding upon the Company and Executive. Subject to Sections 6.1(c) and 6.9, within five business days thereafter, the Company shall pay to or distribute to or for the benefit of Executive such amounts as are then due to Executive under this Agreement.
(c) As a result of the uncertainty in the application of Section 280G of the Code at the time of the initial determination by the Accounting Firm or the Company hereunder, it is possible that Payments, as the case may be, will have been made by the Company which should not have been made (“Overpayment”) or that additional Payments, as the case may be, which will not have been made by the Company could have been made (“Underpayment”), in each case, consistent with the calculations required to be made hereunder. In the event that the Accounting Firm, based upon the assertion of a deficiency by the Internal Revenue Service against Executive which the Accounting Firm believes has a high probability of success determines that an Overpayment has been made, promptly on notice and demand Executive shall repay to the Company any such Overpayment paid or distributed by the Company to or for the benefit of Executive together with interest at the applicable Federal rate provided for in Section 7872(f)(2)(A) of the Code; provided, however, that no such amount shall be payable by Executive to the Company if and to the extent such payment would not either reduce the amount on which Executive is subject to tax under Section 1 and Section 4999 of the Code or generate a refund of such taxes. In the event that the Accounting Firm, based upon controlling precedent or other substantial authority, determines that an Underpayment has occurred, any such Underpayment shall be promptly paid by the Company to or for the benefit of Executive together with interest at the applicable federal rate provided for in Section 7872(f)(2)(A) of the Code.
