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Does your business take you, your employees, or your products to the other countries?
If you’re an owner of a closely held, middle-market company that is becoming internationally active, your needs are unique. You want to understand how to optimize the balance between increased investment overseas and the assumption of increased business risk. Naturally, you want to avoid double taxation. You may decide to temporarily relocate U.S. employees overseas, and you want to keep those employees productive and motivated. Finally, you want to bring your investment and earnings back to the U.S. in the most cost-effective manner, without incurring unnecessary risk. In short, you want a partner with plenty of experience in helping clients evaluate and implement practical, effective international business policies – a partner such as Plante & Moran. We offer international help such as:
International Business Structures
When you enter a foreign market, you can do so in a variety of ways – through a branch office, foreign subsidiary, limited liability company, partnership, or “hybrid” entity. You can also enter through a merger or acquisition. However you choose to enter, an appropriate legal and tax structure is crucial to your success. The right way for your company is the one that provides the legal protection you need to operate efficiently – one that minimizes your worldwide tax burden. Plante & Moran has a wealth of experience in this field for privately owned companies.
Transfer Pricing
How you structure business transactions, and how you develop pricing models are extremely complex issues in a global market. If, for example, you engage a distributor overseas, you need to decide whether they will merely earn a commission on sales, or whether they will buy and sell your product directly – thus controlling the client relationship. In addition, you need to structure transactions between related companies in a way that results in an “arm’s length” transaction, in order to avoid potential income tax adjustments and penalties by domestic or foreign tax authorities. You must be able to structure transactions that stand up to scrutiny. Plante & Moran can help you manage this slippery slope expertly.
International Employee Transfers
Cross-border employment transfers can be quite expensive, and require careful planning to ensure a successful assignment for the employee and the employer. Plante & Moran can help you move employees overseas in compliance with applicable tax rules, while minimizing the assignment costs. We provide services for both tax compliance and planning when relocating employees to foreign posts and bringing them back again. If you plan to send an employee overseas in the future, we can help you create and implement a written “expatriate” policy and design a compensation package that fits.
Global Strategy and Implementation
Plante & Moran can help you assess whether or not you need to expand internationally and, if so, can help you on the ground in most major international markets.
Expansion into the U.S.
Internationally based companies can benefit from all of the above when starting to conduct business in the U.S. In addition, Plante & Moran offers start up company services including client accounting services, employee benefit consulting/compliance and domestic tax planning and compliance services.
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