GTN Mobility Tax Blog

This article was originally published in Spiceworks.

Employees are moving, and technology infrastructures need help to keep up. An AIRINC survey found global mobility activity has increased for 60% of companies in the last year. However, only 14% of those company leaders say they “strongly agree” that they have the right technology to meet the general administrative needs that spring out of their mobility programs. That figure must change if organizations want to avoid tax compliance and immigration headaches.

You likely know by now that employees who receive equity-based compensation, and who relocate—either domestically or internationally—during the life of the award, create tax withholding and reporting obligations. Still, when it comes to equity reporting and withholding, companies do not always act to address the risk with their mobile workforce. Often this comes down to a lack of staffing, information, or technology. So how do you move from the stage of recognizing the problem to finding and implementing a solution?

The following is a transcription of a webcast, “The Next Step: Practical Solutions for Work Anywhere Mobility Tax Issues,” recorded in June 2020. This webcast showcased some of GTN’s industry experts: Chris Hall, Managing Director for GTN’s Atlantic region; David Livitt, National Practice Leader for GTN’s Business Traveler Services; and Brett Sipes, Managing Director for GTN’s Pacific region. This panel discussed practical solutions to mobility tax issues that may occur when implementing a remote worker or work anywhere policy.

It’s been over twenty years since I made my own global mobility move, relocating from the UK to the US. Back then, I was a lowly minion at one of the accounting giants at that time. To say my relocation package was sparse would be an understatement. I received a bit of temporary housing support when I first arrived and that was pretty much it. Off I went. Even from a distance of over two decades, I still remember the stress of the move and trying to get myself situated. Little did I realize that I would be the precursor to a growing trend in global mobility—the self-requested move with little or no company assistance.

To say these are unprecedented times would be something of an understatement. GTN, along with our friends and affiliates in the mobility industry, was built on the movement of human capital around the globe for business. To date, the worldwide spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is proving to be the exact opposite with countries shutting borders, banning travel, and restricting social interaction.