I fully understand the merits of such a plan and I am not against looking into, for example, the possibility of tax deferral for a number of things.
Your comparison with options is interesting, but I think the options are the issue. I do not think that options should be treated as capital gain. Since they are part of the total compensation package, they should be taxed the same as the normal salary and other income gained by an individual. If anything is to be done, it is surely on the option side.
Perhaps tax deferral should be allowed. I think it would be more reasonable and would cost next to nothing to the government.