Special thanks to co-authors Glenn Fox and Paul DePasquale.

One of the biggest sleeper issues (in my opinion) for US companies when granting equity awards to non-US employees or other service providers is the fact that their heirs may be assessed with US estate tax and be required to file an estate tax return in the US if the individual dies while holding equity awards or shares.

US Estate Tax Exemptions

Individual US taxpayers (i.e., US citizens and non-US citizens who are domiciled in the US) can currently benefit from a significant estate tax exemption: no estate tax is due unless the value of the estate exceeds US$13,610,000 (this is the inflation-adjusted amount for 2024), reduced for taxable lifetime gifts, but doubled for married couples if both spouses’ estates qualify for the exemption. Accordingly, relatively few US estates currently are subject to estate tax. In any event, US employees and their heirs will most likely be well aware of possible estate tax consequences for their assets, including equity awards and shares acquired under a company share plan.Continue Reading A Cautionary Tale: US Estate Tax May be Due on Equity Awards/Shares Held by Non-US Residents

Special thanks to guest contributors: Erik Christenson and Melissa Allchin.

Baker McKenzie’s Labor and Employment, Global Immigration and Mobility, and Tax lawyers review the wide variety of legal issues for employers to consider regarding a temporary or permanent remote work opportunity, and provide tips on how employers can offer employees flexibility while remaining compliant

For a company to effectively expand its global footprint, it’s almost always necessary to engage workers on the ground. The legal risks and opportunities in structuring these relationships differ significantly around the world, and the complexity is further compounded by the intersection with other areas of law, including tax, corporate, intellectual property and employment, to

Special thanks to our guest contributors Anne Batter, Alexandra Minkovich, Joshua Odintz, Christopher Hanna, Etienne Couret and Derek Gumm.

After months of partisan bickering and Senate inaction, Congress finally passed another round of COVID-19 relief legislation as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, P.L. 116-260, (“CAA”), which was signed

As the pandemic necessitates continued physical distancing, tech companies worldwide have turned to remote working to ensure the stability of their businesses. This episode of TMT Talk explores the working-from-home phenomenon from a data privacy, tax, and employment standpoint. Join Kate Alexander, Michael Brewer, Michiel Kloes, and Flavia Rebello as they share

Multinational employers are facing a new era of globalization characterized by the polarized forces of cooperation and competition ─ a duality that makes for a messy business landscape. Our new report,  Globalization 3.0: How to survive and thrive in a new era of trade, tax and political uncertainty, aims to provide corporate leaders with

Seraphim Ma, a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Taiwan office, shares a broad overview of Taiwan’s new Act for Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals.

The Act provides a package of benefits designed to increase the desirability and convenience for foreign nationals to work in Taiwan. Currently, the Executive hopes to promulgate the Act by the end of February. While the Act is limited in applicability to specific fields, the passage of this legislation marks the start of an exciting era for Taiwan as it begins to compete for foreign talent.Continue Reading Taiwan Passes Act To Encourage Employment Of Foreign Professionals

Narendra Acharya, a Partner our Chicago office, answers the question and explains why companies rely on them in their global employee mobility programs.

Moving employees across borders quickly and within budget is a formidable task considering the immigration and visa requirements, tax and social security implications, data privacy mandates, employment rules, stock benefits and

Since many Texas companies send employees on international assignment, they should be mindful that the U.S. federal income tax rules don’t apply to everyone in the same way.  A case in point is a recent Tax Court Memorandum decision, Qunell v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue.  In that case, the Tax Court held that even though the taxpayer was employed in Afghanistan for 16 months, he was not entitled to exclude his income earned in Afghanistan for 2011 from U.S. tax because he was deemed to have a U.S. abode.  For those who have only a high-level understanding of the foreign earned income exclusion under Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code (see previous post here), this result may not be obvious.  But the statute is clear that even if a taxpayer otherwise qualifies to exclude foreign earned income under Section 911, that exclusion is not available if the taxpayer has an abode within the United States.

So, what is an “abode”?
Continue Reading Expatriate Taxation, Part II: Not All U.S. Expats Can Exclude Their Foreign Earned Income