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6 March 2012
Adhering to tax regulations, social security legislation and possession of visa and work permits is becoming increasingly more important. This is partly due to rigorous monitoring by the Government. Based on its numerous years of experience in supplying services and professionals worldwide, Atlas has the knowledge to offer pro-active support to clients and employees with a view to adhering to these complex rules and regulations.
Company Tax Specialists
Atlas has its own Tax department, staffed by Aimée Kamphuis, previously employed by Price Waterhouse Cooper Tax Consultants, and Roxanna Windzak, previously working for Horlings Tax Consultants. Aimée has been working as Group Tax Manager at Atlas since 2009. “I have noticed that a lot of companies don’t pay enough attention to their personnel’s tax and social security matters. Due to the complexity of rules and regulations, thorough research needs to take place in order to establish which obligations must be fulfilled and how to organize actual compliance with these rules and regulations. Unfortunately, in the world of huge, technically demanding projects, the importance of the fiscal position of personnel tends more than often to become, somewhat understandably, a matter of little importance. However, when tax and social security matters are not researched and made transparent in advance, extremely uncomfortable discussions may arise later, both with personnel and the client, not to mention potential claims and fines from local governments. What makes my job so enjoyable is the fact that I am able to offer support to field personnel and customers, as well as to Atlas. Experience has taught us that transparency and communication with customers and employees is the most effective and efficient way to ensure that everybody involved complies with all rules and regulations”, Aimée tells us.
Complex situations
“In both the energy and the marine industry we may be faced with complex agreements between four parties, each of which may be situated in a different country: the client, (the location of) the project, the employee and of course, Atlas as an organisation.. Extensive research must take place in order to establish in which country (country of origin or country in which employee is working) the employee is liable to taxation. One of Atlas’ strong points is that, by strictly adhering to international laws and regulations, the client has no need to worry about such matters. After all, if such matters were not taken care of the client would, in most cases, be primarily responsible for personnel employed on the project in question.”
Ambition
“Our department must ensure that there is clarity regarding the social security and tax matters of personnel working for a client, and also to ensure that all obligations are correctly fulfilled. Furthermore, our ambition is to offer our clients strategic advice as to the optimal structure when it comes to employing personnel on a particular project. The different tax regulations between countries, as well as the appropriate social security rulings can, if the correct choices and combinations are taken into account, lead to an important reduction in costs.”
We will be paying more attention to news and tips regarding international tax laws and social security matters in future newsletters.
