GTN Mobility Tax Blog

This article was originally published in Corporate Compliance Insights.

Business travel is once again raging and is mobilizing the already travel-happy workforce even more. The Global Business Travel Association expects global business travel spending to overtake pre-pandemic levels, reaching $1.4 trillion this year. It also predicts it will accelerate to $1.8 trillion in the next three years.

This resurgence in business travel adds to a remote workforce that’s more active than ever, with 58% of employees now saying they have access to some type of remote work option.

However, international and remote work often creates complicated tax situations, inviting a long list of new compliance risks. All the while, members of the mobile workforce are largely unaware of the tax and compliance risks they’re putting on themselves and their companies by participating in remote or international work.

This article was originally published in HR Daily Advisor.

Taxes can be intimidating, time-consuming, and confusing for any employee. But tax complexities shoot through the roof for international employees, business travelers, and remote workers.

Here are the reasons taxes are so tricky for mobile and remote employees, along with the secrets to communicating tax matters effectively.

In our globalized business landscape, international assignments remain a cornerstone of talent management strategies. And the responsibility for HR and mobility program professionals to orchestrate seamless transitions for employees stepping into roles on foreign soil is pivotal. The success of these endeavors hinges on a multitude of factors, including strategic planning, resource allocation, and policy implementation.

This article was originally published in Training magazine.

Why does duty of care training need an update in the age of remote work?

Most business leaders realize remote and hybrid work have significantly transformed the way organizations operate. However, amid this shift, one critical aspect that often goes unnoticed is the need to address the duty of care training and safety measures concerning remote workers’ tax compliance obligations.

For many companies, the new workforce norm has shifted to virtual and remote employees. However, for several businesses, there remains a need to have employees working in-person on multiple projects across the country or around the world. Business travel, while still not up to pre-pandemic levels, is making its way back as a standard way of working.

While typical mobile workforce structures such as permanent and long-term assignments are generally managed through a defined HR or mobility function, management of short-term business travel tends to be less defined. Yet, understanding and actively managing the tax risks of short-term business travelers can greatly reduce costs and a variety of risks for both your organization and business travelers. Therefore, developing a structure to oversee this area is imperative.

Imagine this: you are sitting at your desk working to finalize the weekly status update. In walks the president of the company and says, “In order to increase our business, we are expanding overseas. I would like to send Jane Smith to Germany for three years. How soon can you make this happen?”

I’ll bet the questions that race through your mind are the same as every other HR manager tasked with sending employees internationally for the first time:

• Where do I start?
• What do I need to consider?
• What processes need to be in place?