Worldwide ERC®’s Government Affairs Forums meet routinely to keep Worldwide ERC® members up-to-date on issues affecting talent mobility. The most recent in-person meetings took place in Boston at the Worldwide ERC® Global Workforce Symposium.

The Worldwide ERC® Tax Forum met on Tuesday, 15 October 2019 at the Global Workforce Symposium in Boston, MA. The Forum, which is chaired by Hank Roth of Dwellworks with Vice Chair Craig Anderson of AECC Mobility, is open to anyone interested in tax issues relevant to mobility and meets at Worldwide ERC®’s U.S. conferences. The minutes of the meeting are available online for those interested in a full report. The Forum also maintains and reviews an issues matrix reflecting the issues it follows, and Forum leaders participate in monthly calls to review issues.

Forum members discussed a variety of current issues. Chairman Roth reported on a new Worldwide ERC® survey concerning the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on mobility. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents had not reduced transfer volumes, while 36% reported that they had. Not surprisingly, 76% reported that use of lump sum programs has increased. About half of respondents made changes to gross-up policies, and a majority said their companies had not used corporate savings from the TCJA to enhance mobility programs. A full report on the survey will be published separately by Worldwide ERC®.

Forum members also discussed conformity to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, filing season results, the new IRS Form W-4, and the new provisions allowing truncation of social security numbers on the employee copy of the Form W-2.

Legislation was another focus, with members talking about possible fixes to the TCJA, and the status of the Mobile Workforce Act. Other federal issues addressed included home sale program audits, and passport revocation.

At the state level, discussions included the solar panel mandate in California, as well as California legislation concerning application of its false claims act to tax issues, and a new law considerably restricting the ability to classify workers as independent contractors. A report was provided on developments in Maryland and Delaware concerning withholding on nonresident sales of real estate, and on issues arising in Wisconsin and Massachusetts.

Finally, the Forum discussed developments in efforts in the EU to impose new taxes on digital sales and income.

As noted, a more detailed report is available in the Forum minutes. All Worldwide ERC® members are welcome to attend future Forum meetings. Please also consider joining our online communities dedicated to the forums.