Given Dutch Court's Decision on Allocating Employment Income in Cross-Border Situations, Let's Consider How Other Countries Do It

Allocating employment income, when taking into consideration overseas assignments, sick days, vacation days, work week days, and actual days worked in a week, is not a straight-forward matter, at first glance. And different countries do it differently. On September 23, 2005, the Dutch Supreme Court rendered its decision on how employment income should be allocated in cross-border situations. In light of this decision, Amsterdam-based IES professional Marieke Kees-van der Zwet thought it would be instructive to look at the rules in other countries regarding allocating employment income in cross-border situations.
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Taking the Sting out of International Assignments to the People's Republic of China

U.S. companies—and others around the world—are increasingly recognizing the manufacturing and market potential of the People’s Republic of China and seeking to do business there. IES professional Angela Arnold looks at the elements that are part of the typical international assignment package and considers the potential tax treatment under Chinese law. She notes that with carefully structured short-term assignments and the planning of assignment length, a U.S. company’s assignment-related Chinese tax costs may be successfully managed and made less onerous for the company and its assignees in the country.
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Alternative Minimum Tax: A Good Tax Gone Wrong?

The U.S. alternative minimum tax (AMT) is the subject of much recent debate in Congress and at the executive level. AMT is becoming relevant for a growing number of taxpayers. This was not the aim of the tax, which was initially legislated in the wake of revelations that many high-income households were paying little or no income tax. Suzanne Barnum, an IES professional in Short Hills, New Jersey, warns that in its current unreformed state, the AMT’s widening application is creating unrest among taxpayers and lawmakers and discusses how it may affect international assignment programs.
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Taking a Look at Some Pros and Cons of Foreign National Participation in U.S. 401(k) Plans

Charlotte-based IES professional Vince Rieck comments that many foreign national employees are interested in participating in the 401(k) retirement plans of their U.S. employers. Typically, participation in such a plan offers many benefits for both the employers and the foreign national employees. His article examines some of the issues and the relative advantages and disadvantages of foreign nationals opting to participate in their U.S. employers' 401(k) plans.
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Cross-Border Equity Compensation in Australia –
Clarity at Last?

Until recently, the Australian taxation of employee shares and rights (including options) in cross-border situations was complicated by domestically “focused” legislation and by the lack of formal guidance from the Australian tax authorities. But Sydney-based Nerida Hayse, an IES professional, informs us that the New International Tax Arrangements (Foreign-owned Branches and Other Measures) Act 2005 (“the Act”) has brought some degree of clarity to the situation. Read this article and learn about the new cross-border rules and gain a better understanding of the issues for tax-equalized assignees and non-tax-equalized assignees.
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Using Real-Time Survey Data To Benchmark Your International Assignment Program

Assessing the international assignment arena and understanding trends and challenges are elements of good corporate decision making when trying to map out strategy for doing business abroad. IES professionals Achim Mossmann and Andrew Preston note how seven years ago, KPMG became the first professional services firm to offer an online survey of organizations’ international assignment practices and issues. Their article describes how KPMG’s Web-based Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey has evolved and what useful information it has yielded to organizations and their international assignment departments.
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Technology Trends: Equity Compensation and Location of Employees – Should You Be Concerned?

When asked at a recent National Foreign Trade Council conference if companies are tracking mobile employees, HR professionals from multinational companies responded saying they are being increasingly asked to become responsible for all mobile employees. However, these same professionals also noted certain problems in tracking such employees. IES professionals Leann Balbona and Geoff Perkins shed light on the risks to companies that fail to implement appropriate tracking and recordkeeping mechanisms for their expatriates – this scenario becomes more complex if equity compensation is added to the mix. Read this article and heighten your awareness of tracking systems and equity compensation for globally mobile employees.
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Worldwide Digest

We are providing readers with a link to the IES practice's Flash International Executive Alert newsletters, which are archived right through the most recent issue on the IES Web site. Readers can scan the titles and select the news stories that are most relevant to their international assignment situations.
Go to IES practice's Flash International Executive Alert newsletters