Overview
In my decades of experience with tax equalization policies and expatriate employees from companies of all sizes it has become clear to me that expatriates are often confused by tax equalization policies.
Consequently, they may feel intimidated to raise questions to management about a program they believe they should be expected to understand. A little secret: Management often knows as little as, if not less than, the affected expatriate. And the staff at the tax firms guiding the mobility managers may not fully understand them either! So all the contacts available to expatriates are at their happiest when questions don’t get raised.
Expatriates have moved around the world on assignments for their employers for literally thousands of years. As mentioned, one of the least understood but most financially critical aspects of these assignments is the handling of the transferees’ tax costs and the development of policies that seek ways to fairly split the burden between employers and their employees.
Most companies that administer international assignment programs suggest to their expatriates that they administer tax policies designed to “keep the employee whole”. On the surface this makes sense, but in fact there are different tax equalization models for companies to choose from. Some may tilt the benefit to the employer, some tilt to the employee. Some do get close to achieving a good balance. However, because this aspect of mobility program management is so technical and narrow, and it requires strong supporting processes and procedures, companies may choose a model and integrate policies they believe are fair, but end up being unintentionally unbalanced in practice.
Additionally, mobility program management, who usually climb the HR ladder to get to their position (rather than a tax ladder), may not have the tax skills and competencies to effectively review Tax Equalization computations or to answer technical questions that expatriates may have about them. The mobility manager may even turn questions over to the firms chosen tax advisor that, more often than not, understands clearly that answers regarding policy need to first and foremost defend the employer (client) before providing any objective information to the employee.
For these reasons it is prudent for expatriate employees to have reliable resources and advocates to turn to that can help them answer many questions such as:
This course is designed to answer many of these, and specifically to point out the common areas of error in Tax Equalization computations.
This course will also provide attendees with basic foundational information about tax equalization programs and policies, how they are operationalized, how to read tax equalizations to understand if they are accurate, and where to go when you have questions.
Why you should Attend
If you are expatriate who has wondered if your tax burden is fairly split between you and your employer, you are not alone! This webinar will help you sort this out. In fact, any expatriate who
Areas Covered in the Session
Who Will Benefit
Speaker Profile
Dave Leboff has close to 40 years of experience in international human resources with companies such as Arthur Young, PepsiCo, UBS and DoubleClick.
In my decades of experience with tax equalization policies and expatriate employees from companies of all sizes it has become clear to me that expatriates are often confused by tax equalization policies.
Consequently, they may feel intimidated to raise questions to management about a program they believe they should be expected to understand. A little secret: Management often knows as little as, if not less than, the affected expatriate. And the staff at the tax firms guiding the mobility managers may not fully understand them either! So all the contacts available to expatriates are at their happiest when questions don’t get raised.
Expatriates have moved around the world on assignments for their employers for literally thousands of years. As mentioned, one of the least understood but most financially critical aspects of these assignments is the handling of the transferees’ tax costs and the development of policies that seek ways to fairly split the burden between employers and their employees.
Most companies that administer international assignment programs suggest to their expatriates that they administer tax policies designed to “keep the employee whole”. On the surface this makes sense, but in fact there are different tax equalization models for companies to choose from. Some may tilt the benefit to the employer, some tilt to the employee. Some do get close to achieving a good balance. However, because this aspect of mobility program management is so technical and narrow, and it requires strong supporting processes and procedures, companies may choose a model and integrate policies they believe are fair, but end up being unintentionally unbalanced in practice.
Additionally, mobility program management, who usually climb the HR ladder to get to their position (rather than a tax ladder), may not have the tax skills and competencies to effectively review Tax Equalization computations or to answer technical questions that expatriates may have about them. The mobility manager may even turn questions over to the firms chosen tax advisor that, more often than not, understands clearly that answers regarding policy need to first and foremost defend the employer (client) before providing any objective information to the employee.
For these reasons it is prudent for expatriate employees to have reliable resources and advocates to turn to that can help them answer many questions such as:
- How does my company’s Tax Equalization program work?
- How does it affect me financially?
- What taxes am I responsible for?
- What taxes am I NOT responsible for?
- Is my compensation statement accurate?
- Is it fair?
- How do I know if the tax equalization calculation is accurate?
- What happens to tax refunds I may receive or have received?
- Where do I go to ask questions about my TEQ calculation?
- What are hypothetical taxes?
- What happens if there are penalties and interest on my taxes - who pays?
- Am I responsible for taxes on bonuses, equity, personal income, capital gains?
- It is critical to remember that there are answers in your company’s policies and procedures that address each of these questions (or if not, there should be).
This course is designed to answer many of these, and specifically to point out the common areas of error in Tax Equalization computations.
This course will also provide attendees with basic foundational information about tax equalization programs and policies, how they are operationalized, how to read tax equalizations to understand if they are accurate, and where to go when you have questions.
Why you should Attend
If you are expatriate who has wondered if your tax burden is fairly split between you and your employer, you are not alone! This webinar will help you sort this out. In fact, any expatriate who
- Has questions about his or her Tax Equalization calculations
- May not fully understand his/her employers TEQ policies
- Believes that their employer has not been clear enough about how their TEQ program works
- Is concerned that the mobility manager or the company-appointed tax advisor may not be able or motivated to give helpful answers to your TEQ-related queries, this course is for you.
Areas Covered in the Session
- Tax policy options for expatriates
- Core tax equalization policy elements
- Areas of confusion in TEQ policies
- Sample TEQ calculation
- Where’s the money?? Most common errors in Tax Equalization
Who Will Benefit
- International transferees at any level
- Mobility managers and above
- Global payroll specialists and above
Speaker Profile
Dave Leboff has close to 40 years of experience in international human resources with companies such as Arthur Young, PepsiCo, UBS and DoubleClick.
Speaker
Dave Leboff has close to 40 years of experience in international human resources with companies such as Arthur Young, PepsiCo, UBS and DoubleClick. He has served in key management roles overseeing global compensation and benefits, global mobility, expatriate taxes, international payroll and global mobility. In 2002, Dave founded Expaticore Services, LLC, which he built into a globally recognized international payroll solutions and mobility support concern. After selling Expaticore in 2017, Dave served as President, US Operations for Immedis, Inc., a global payroll solutions firm based in Dublin, Ireland.Who Should Attend
- International transferees at any level
- Mobility managers and above
- Global payroll specialists and above
