GTN Mobility Tax Blog

In this mobile age, your employees are just as likely to work with clients from a desk down the hall as they are to work from different facilities halfway around the world. This makes keeping track of your organization’s business travelers a challenge—one that could potentially add complexity, costs, and risks.

It’s important for global companies of all sizes to be aware of tax obligations whenever an employee crosses a border. Remembering to check into possible tax exposure is critical to ensuring your employees are informed and to allow your company to mitigate potential risks. There are three common mobile employment scenarios that your company should understand and be prepared to handle.

Whether employees travel across state lines or international borders, when your organization supports a business traveler program, the responsibility for risk management extends beyond the executive and financial suites. Human resources specialists also play crucial roles in helping recognize and reduce exposure to potential liabilities. After all, you’re in the best position to anticipate and react when employees encounter the unexpected while traveling.

The number of businesses choosing to move employees abroad, as part of their efforts to increase their international presence, is increasing each year. Unfortunately, some businesses are exposing themselves to unnecessary risks when it comes to tax compliance in the Home and Host countries of those employees by failing to have a plan in place to avoid mobility tax problems. Below are five common mistakes made by employers who move employees abroad.

Before you send an employee off on a new assignment in Canada, there are a few things they could probably use: a warm parka, an introductory guide to ice hockey, and a thorough understanding of Canadian tax law.

For employees working in any country, understanding the tax system is crucial to avoiding unnecessary risks and costs. When it comes to Canada, this starts with determining whether your mobile employee will be considered a Canadian resident or be considered a non-resident business traveler.

Last week we shared information about withholding US social security tax from wages. This week, we want to talk about social security within the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), and Switzerland. Many of the conversations we have with companies sending business travelers intra-EU involve a deep sigh and a shake of the head. Getting the Posted Worker Directive (PWD) and social security withholding obligations correct when sending an employee from one EU-member state to another is a necessary statutory requirement; yet for most it is an administrative challenge.