Money, Time, Manpower – Stinginess With a Tiny Slice May Cost You the Entire Expat Pie

Any cost-conscious organization sending employees abroad needs to be prudent and justify all the expenses of an expatriate assignment. Smart organizations know that a small percentage of the overall expat management cost protects their investment in global talent. International employee relocations can fail for various reasons: A company may have chosen the wrong team member for the […]

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How IRS Rules on Passive Foreign Investment Companies Affect American Expat Investors

Background While many parts of the U.S. tax code are both convoluted and punitive, the IRS regulations involving the treatment of PFICs – Passive Foreign Investment Companies (PFICs) are almost unmatched in their complexity and harsh tax treatment. The PFIC regime is a penalty provision that taxes gains and distributions at the highest tax rate […]

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Building Relationships in Cultures that Don’t Do Small Talk

By Andy Molinsky, Expatriate Specialist: Global Competence Michael has been in Frankfurt for about a week and is really missing his home office in Chicago. Everyone in Germany seems to be so serious at work. No small talk, no conversation about the weekend, no interest in his American background — in fact, no interest really in him […]

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