Economic slowdown across the globe is presenting organizations with a seemingly never-ending list of challenges, from rising wage costs to decreasing demand for products and services. Inevitably, the impacts filter through to Global Mobility (GM) functions, who find themselves tasked with maintaining or increasing their level of service despite slashed budgets and static (or even decreased) headcount. Examples of this stretched scope include a post-pandemic explosion in Remote Work, plus the trend of moving Business Travel (historically managed by other business stakeholders) into GM. To effectively manage these increased Remote Work and Business Travel demands, GM professionals need swift, complete tax risk assessments so they can focus their time and expertise on high-risk, value-add cases. Put simply, GM functions must find a way to achieve more with less.
For tax risks in particular, they need to quickly and accurately determine:
- Can host income tax be exempted by a treaty between the home and host country?
- Similarly, is a totalization agreement available to relieve any social security obligation in the host location?
- Lastly, could the employee’s activities in the host location create a Permanent Establishment? This situation could potentially pull the organization into the host tax net and lead to corporate tax liabilities and filing obligations. Missing these obligations could lead to fines, interest and reputational damage.
Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom, as the Equus Compliance Engine can answer these questions for you at the click of a button! Holding over 3,000 treaties covering 160 countries, the Tax Engine frees your team from repetitive tasks (like scouring the internet for treaties!) so they can add value by applying their expertise to more complex cases. Click here to learn more about the Equus Tax Engine.
