The Definitive Online Guide to Evaluating Mobility Tax Providers

Many global networks have member firms that are strong in some countries, but not others. Your mobility tax firm should have the global reach you need and the flexibility to work with the tax vendor in each location that is right for you. A mobility tax firm that has the ability to work with foreign offices, regardless of their brand, has the added benefit of being able to choose which foreign office they work with based on your needs. This means that if you are not getting the level of service you expect from, for example, the Netherlands office, your provider can use a different office in the Netherlands to ensure you always get the level of service you need and deserve.

Ensure the provider you work with has experience in and access to offices in all the countries you operate or plan to operate in.

Ask yourself these questions to determine how well your mobility tax provider aligns with your needs:

• How responsive is my provider to my questions?
• How quickly do they return phone calls and emails?
• Is my account representative able to provide timely answers and guidance, or do they have to run my questions up the chain of command?

Some businesses find that working with a firm that focuses on clients with very large mobility programs results in those with smaller mobility programs taking a back seat, with those smaller program clients not receiving the attention and responsiveness that is required for them to be effective in their global operations.

Additionally, a mobility tax provider should be able to provide timely answers to your questions. They should be well versed in your account and know the specific details of your program—an experienced tax manager understands your challenges and questions and should provide you with both technical expertise and practical options for how to handle the situation.

If you get the feeling that you are a “small fish in a big pond,” or if you don’t get the level of proactive and personalized service you expect, perhaps it is time to re-evaluate your mobility tax provider and find one that aligns with your specific business needs.

Subpar attention to global mobility programs can be addressed by having another global mobility provider perform an independent program review. Using a holistic and comprehensive approach, they can review items including business traveler risk and trailing equity. By seeking out an independent review, your business receives a second opinion of the quality of services and level of value you are receiving from your current provider.

Ensure your internal team members, both the professionals who run the program and the employees you are sending cross-borders, are provided with contacts who can quickly and easily answer any questions they have. GTN’s account managers, for example, generally have decades of industry experience—and many have foundational experience that was gained in earlier careers working at large firms.

Look for a firm that leverages technology to fulfill business goals but also focuses on providing advice based on your specific business needs. Your organization may find value in a firm that is agile enough to work as an extension of your employees and other strategic vendors, providing tax services that take into consideration business implications beyond tax parameters.

Additionally, technology solutions are often cost-prohibitive for companies with small populations of mobile employees. These businesses would be best served by firms that provide value-added, efficient insight. Be cautious about trying to replace expert guidance and smart, efficient processes with flashy technology.

Technology is an important tool that can and should enhance your global mobility program, but don’t forget that simple human interaction is what provides you with the proactive, actionable advice that will keep you ahead of any issues.

Why should companies with global employees have to have a separate contact that manages their equity or payroll needs? Clients should not be burdened with communicating the same message multiple times to their provider’s various departments.

A firm focused on mobility tax manages all of this on behalf of their clients, thus ensuring
a consistent and accurate flow of information. Companies with globally mobile employees should insist on this level of service.

Unfortunately, this results in the primary compliance team being unfamiliar and unengaged with the specific tax situations of its mobility clients. Response timeliness is also impacted because time zone differences between the compliance team and US coordination team cause unnecessary delays and an additional management burden. For example, rather than spending time on value-added client work, senior professionals may be compelled to address management tasks such as global coordination for the purpose of outsourcing compliance work.

The stakeholders involved in the decision-making process should include the team that manages the day-to-day development of policies, management, and reporting of mobile employees, and this often falls to the human resources department. As an organization moves forward with evaluating a global mobility tax partner, finance, payroll, equity, and corporate tax should also be brought in to validate and evaluate a provider. Before sending an employee on a cross-border assignment, download this checklist. It illustrates why hiring the right provider is essential for any mobility program, and it will help to identify many of the tasks that you need to think about as you start the evaluation process.

Businesses new to international expansion or those building up their mobility programs should consider the following when evaluating a mobility tax provider.

• Does your organization have the internal skill set and capacity to run a successful mobility program?
  
  
• Does your organization have internal resources with the knowledge, experience, and tools to effectively complete the specific tasks related to globally mobile employees?
  
  
• If internal resources are available, do they have the time and capacity to handle the anticipated volume and workload?
  
  
• Is the activity a strategic or critical business need that should not be handled by a third- party vendor? Would it be less expensive to hire additional internal resources than to outsource to a third-party vendor, considering salary, benefits, training, and other employee costs?
  
  
• Could outsourcing negatively impact employee morale or company culture?

Chances are, unless you have a very large internal team dedicated specifically to your mobility tax program, you will find immediate and significant value in working with an outside mobility tax services firm.

We understand how difficult managing a global mobility program can be. You want to be confident and in control, and in order to do that, you need a trusted partner to help with the tax issues related to mobile employees and business travelers—both domestic and international. The problem is the complexity of global tax laws, which can leave you feeling stressed and overwhelmed. We believe you already have a lot on your plate and you shouldn’t have to become a global tax expert, which is why we help you navigate mobility tax laws in more than 100 countries.

Schedule a call so you can stop feeling overwhelmed and instead have peace of mind about your mobility tax program.