IPM Blog - Global Mobility Specialists

Government unveils plans to abolish tax free allowances for foreign nationals working in Australia

2011-12-05T01:43:00.000-08:00

The Australian government released a consultation paper on 29^th November unveiling plans to effectively abolish tax free living-away-from-home-allowance (“LAFHAs”) for foreign nationals working in Australia. The reforms follow an extensive review by the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) in response to concerns over its growing use and perceived abuse of LAFHAs paid to foreign executives.

Currently the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 provides concessional tax treatment on accommodation for employees “temporarily” in Australia (which in practice means most expatriate assignments of a few years duration), whereby this benefit is exempt from Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) for the employer, and also not taxable in the hands of the employee for income tax. It is also possible to exempt some taxable income in respect of “food expenses”

The proposed changes are intended to apply from 1 July 2012 for all new and existing arrangements, and it is likely that only those arrangements where the accommodation is directly used for living from for work will be allowed.

The potential consequences for Australian companies that utilise LAFHAs are that costs will increase significantly, as accommodation will now attract an FBT gross up of 46.5%. In addition there appear to be no transitional arrangements so existing arrangements would be affected from the start of the 2012/13 Australian tax year.

We will keep you advised of developments.

IPM are proud to announce to be the Runner-Up in FEM event.

2011-11-07T03:10:00.000-08:00

IPM are delighted to proudly announce our success as Runner-Up for 'Relocation Management Company of the Year' in the FEM EMMAs Awards.

Over 500 entries were received from both Corporate HR and Service Providers.

The winners, highly commended, Runners Up and the ultimate “Outstanding Contribution to Global Mobility Award” had been announced in the EMMAs Gala Dinner on Friday 4^th November.

These events are prestigious gala dinners, where the giants of the industry meet to celebrate the successes of colleagues and meet fellow professionals.

IPM would like to congratulate all the EMMAs Winners, Runner ups and Highly Commended.

IPM assists with the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) 100 in 100 campaign.

2011-08-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Peterborough has been working hard to hit the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) 100 in 100 goal of creating 100 apprenticeship vacancies in 100 days. The city successfully created 104 vacancies and IPM were delighted to be joined by our own apprentice, Georgia Georgiou.

Georgia

has joined IPM in the role of Business Development Administrator on a 12 month Business Administration apprenticeship and will be working towards an NVQ Level 2 qualification.

Georgia’s role is to support our Business Development Manager and learn and support the business development functions of the company.

Going forward she will be helping increase the company's profile through involvement with exhibitions, conferences and seminars, coordinating our business travel arrangements and by keeping our online and social media content up to date.

Why going green is now cool….

2011-04-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

GREEN is definitely the ‘in-colour’ at the moment judging by the huge take up of businesses supporting environmental initiatives.

Here at IPM we have just received our first Environmental Award as part of the Investors in the Environment accreditation scheme to support Peterborough’s growing reputation as Home of the Environment Capital.

A wide range of organisations – from multi-nationals like Coca Cola, IKEA and Mars to small, independently owned companies – are increasingly realising the importance of this approach to business life.

We picked up a bronze award for various simple changes within our office, from using recycled paper to having a car share scheme. We also demonstrated significant savings in energy usage in a six-week period. We are now working towards our silver accreditation – so watch this space!

As global mobility specialists, we deal with clients all over the world – and the message about protecting natural resources, reducing energy usage and running costs is as relevant across other continents as it is here in Europe. It’s a universal message that translates whatever the language.

Alan Bentley
Managing Director

Controlling global mobility costs

2011-03-10T01:42:00.000-08:00

Inevitably, HR global mobility departments are being pressured to reduce costs and find easier and simpler ways to address international mobility needs. The secret is to reduce costs without negatively impacting on your business strategy.

High skilled individuals continue to be assigned internationally across a range of business sectors for many reasons including troubleshooting; project delivery; skills gaps; career development; talent management; or promoting company culture.

These areas are inextricably linked to business strategy, so to simply ‘do away’ with international assignments is not practical. What can companies do to manage costs without affecting strategy then?

IPM has put together a document outlining the key areas where costs can be controlled effectively. They include ways of managing the policy; reviewing the allowances and benefits available; assessing recruitment and selection; success-proofing assignments; and reviewing assignment types.

Our document provides a menu of tips and advice on controlling costs and is available by using the following link: http://bit.ly/eB81Qi

Alan Bentley
Managing Director

Capitalising on your assignee investment

2011-02-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

Recent research shows that international assignments can have a major impact on both a business and an individual. Here are some sobering facts:

21% leave the company during the assignment
23% leave within one year of repatriation
20% leave between one and two years after repatriation
Attrition rates are double the rates of other employee groups

With statistics like that, it is clearly critical to manage all stages of the assignment process effectively to minimise the loss of these people. Recruitment and training costs are significantly more than retention, and you will already have invested heavily in these employees, so to lose them would more than likely be a false economy.

The key to a successful assignment is to avoid focusing solely on the assignee.

Don’t ignore the needs of the assignee’s family
Remember the importance of language and cultural training
Carefully manage the repatriation process well in advance
Have a plan to develop the assignees new-found experience
The lesson to learn? Value assignees and their families – failure to do so can prove very costly indeed.

Alan Bentley
Managing Director