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Venturing Abroad: What You Need to Know When Developing International Tax, HR, and Compensation Policies



Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Product Code - TMA44
Speaker(s): James Sabo, Expatriate Tax Services LLC
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Your U.S. based company has decided to expand globally and will start by sending one U.S. employee to the United Kingdom on a 3-year assignment commencing January 1, 2012, to be followed by an additional 10 employees on January 1, 2013, also on a 3-year assignment.

What do you need to do? First, you need to develop an international human resource, compensation, and tax policy. In 60-90 minutes, James Sabo, one of the nation’s leading consultants in this arena, will lead you through the basic steps you need to take to establish a foreign operations footprint while considering all of these factors. Sabo will cover:

  • Human Resource
    • Establishing a procedure for initiating the assignment
    • Determining the policy’s ultimate decision maker
    • Identify additional responsibilities:
  • International assignment policy issues 
    • Medical
    • Home country residence
    • Relocation expenses
    • Annual vacation
    • Working spouse
    • Automobiles – home country
    • Automobile allowance – host country
  • Benefit plans 
    • Host country statutory benefits participation
    • Children’s education
      • Language training
    • Family emergency leave
    • Bereavement leave
    • Emergency medical evacuation
    • Death while on foreign assignment
  • Employment dispute and countries employment laws 
  • Consultants and companies to be engaged 
  • International compensation package 
  • International allowances 
    • Assignment Cost
    • Tax reimbursement policy
    • Tax equalization or tax protection or laissez faire?
      • Objectives
      • Employee responsibilities
      • Employer responsibility
    • Tax equalization
    • Final home country tax computation
    • Other considerations
    • Housing equalization
  • Payroll and compliance 
    • Tracking and reporting taxable amounts
    • Method of payment of compensation, allowances and benefits
    • Tax compliance
    • Tax return preparation
    • Tax counseling
    • Foreign tax credits

James Sabo, Expatriate Tax Services LLC

James Paul Sabo, President of Expatriate Tax Services LLC, has over 30 years of experience in the international tax, human resource, compensation and benefit areas.

Jim received a B.S. degree in accounting from Rutgers - The State University.

Partnerships and employment include:

Coopers & Lybrand, Senior International Tax Partner
National Director - Expatriate Tax practice

Arthur Andersen & Co., Senior International Tax Partner,
Director - Expatriate Tax practice

Arthur Young & Company, Manager - Expatriate Tax practice

Jim has had engagement tax partner responsibility on major multinational companies, such as AIG, Amerada Hess, ARCO, Bankers Trust Company, Barclays Bank, Caltex, GTE, General Dynamics, Johnson & Johnson, Loral Corp., McKinsey and Company, Mobil Oil, Morgan Stanley, Philip Morris, Salomon, Inc., Sinclair Oil, and Texaco.

Jim has worked extensively in all areas of expatriate taxation, including the development of offshore employment companies, international compensation manuals, tax reimbursement programs, and the reduction of overall corporate costs by effective local country tax planning.

Jim's professional affiliations included membership in the:

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
  • New York Society of Certified Public Accountants
  • New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
  • International Personnel Association
  • American Society for Payroll Management
  • American Compensation Association
  • UK Based Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

Jim has served on the:

  • Board of Trustees of the One East Sixtieth Street Historical Foundation
  • Board of Governors of the Metropolitan Club in New York City
  • Expatriate Tax Advisory Board of "Personal Taxation Abroad"
  • International Payroll Advisory Board of CCH Incorporated
  • International Tax Advisory Board of Global Education Services

Jim has spoken frequently before international tax and personnel organizations in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States on such subjects as current developments in international compensation, tax problems in compensating expatriate employees, avoiding excessive and multiple taxation of expatriates, and other related expatriate tax problems and practices.

Jim has had articles published in such periodicals as the:

  • Compensation Planning Journal
  • International Essays for Business Decision Makers
  • International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

Jim co-authored the book Globalizing Compensation-Extending Stock Option and Equity Participation Plans Abroad

Jim currently authors two columns for "The Royal Gazette," a daily newspaper in Bermuda:

  • United States tax issues
  • United Kingdom tax issues