Like you said, if the employees filed an 83b, they would be in the clear. However, the article’s talking about some of Stripe’s earliest employees, who might not have elected to file an 83b because the company was still unestablished and risky, and filing the 83b meant potentially paying taxes on shares that might ultimately be worthless.
And since these are the company’s early employees, I imagine that Stripe is doing this to try and ensure they retain them.
And since these are the company’s early employees, I imagine that Stripe is doing this to try and ensure they retain them.