Tax Implications of Cross-Border Assignments
Lex Protector
IP Law Firm specialized in Intellectual Property Law, in different parts of the globe since its formation in year 2012.
Cross Border Assignments have become more prevalent and significant as businesses become more global and multinational. They wish to pursue the most effective platform for economic growth and an international consumer base.
"More assignees, more business travel, more virtual tools, and especially more quick, short term, and commuter assignments."
Secondly, as cross-border assignments grow more common, expat packages become less necessary. Employees will need fewer incentives to accept international assignments as they acclimate to them.
Thirdly, while most experts agree that these assignments will increase, hiring locally rather than assigning employees from the multinational's home base (or country) will also increase.
Undoubtedly, Cross-Border Assignments are subjected to tax implications that affect employers and employees. To have a better understanding of these Tax Implications, we can view them in the following categories with the help of case studies:
1.?Permanent establishment
Permanent establishment (PE) defines a minimum commercial presence below which the source country doesn't tax foreign companies.?The jurisdiction needs minimum physical presence. Therefore, employers in the host country must determine whether their worldwide activities are PEs. PE payments are subject to corporate income tax and withholding tax.
The famous Google Ireland case asked whether Google's Irish unit was a PE in France owing to its advertising. The French tax authorities said it did, resulting in tax assessments.
2. Tax Residency and Double Taxation
When working in a foreign country, determining an employee's tax residency is important. Taxation may be imposed on them in their home country and the nation where they reside.
It is possible to avoid this problem by using double taxation treaties. As a result of these accords, taxation rights are distributed across nations, and taxpayers get favorable treatment.
2.?Transfer Pricing
Prices for cross-border transactions between linked organizations (such as commodities, services, or intellectual property) must be established by multinational corporations by the applicable standards.
The transfer pricing policies of Starbucks were subject to investigation, which resulted in modifications being made by the relevant tax authorities.
3.?Expatriate Taxation:
Additional incentives, such as housing allowances or tax equalization, are often provided to expatriates to mitigate the negative effects of higher taxes in the nation in which they are living. A tax equalization package is administered to a German expatriate working in China. The purpose of this package is to guarantee that the individual pays the same total amount of tax as they would in Germany.
In conclusion, employers?and employees must plan taxes and follow local and international laws to handle these complications. As overseas assignments grow increasingly short-term and commuter and local recruiting increases, knowing and managing these tax concerns becomes even more important for improving results and maintaining seamless worldwide operations.
Case Study :
Network18 Media And Investments Limited & Ors. Vs www.Brawlersfightclub.Com & Ors.
This case involves Network18 Media & Investments Limited (Plaintiff) suing various websites and platforms (Defendants) for infringing their intellectual property rights.
Plaintiff's Claims:
The Defendants:
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Court's Decision:
The court granted an ex-parte injunction (temporary order) in favour of the Plaintiff, restraining the Defendants from:
The court also directed the domain name registrars to provide KYC details of the website owners and the government ministries to block access to the infringing websites.
Key Takeaways:
IP News Update-Australia
The Australian IP report that has been released recently entails a comprehensive overview about the recent changes that has occurred in the field of IP in the country. Despite facing difficulties in developing new intellectual property last year, Australian firms have continued to evolve amidst all challenges. There has been a considerable rise in their domestic IP filings in the form of trademarks and patents that shows the continuous efforts and readiness of their innovation sector to invest in new intellectual property.
According to the report, the applications for trademark registrations are growing at a rate of 5% every year. More than 90,000 trademark applications were filed last year. This rising figure shows the significance that the new businesses have for safeguarding their brand identity and reputation against their competitors. A record of 2020 and 2021 reflects a surge of 9.8% in domestic trademark applications.
A considerable improvement can be witnessed in the designs developed by the Australian firms. The designs are seen to be more complex and technologically advanced. There has been a surge 4% in design application filings from that of 2023 with over 12,000 applications made last year. The growing figures reflect an urge to protect various visual elements of a design that is distinctive to a product.
The patent filings in Australia have grown by 7% from that of previous year with over 30,000 patent applications. A rapid growth has been noticed in the sectors of biotechnology, digital technologies and renewable energy. Moreover, Australia has emerged as the second fastest growing patent technology hub for clean energy.
The initiatives of IP Awareness Program and IP toolkit for Business by Australian government have assisted SMEs and entrepreneurs to understand IP rights and their significance in the growth of businesses. It realised the potential of SMEs in fostering innovation thereby providing them with unwavering support in their patenting activity by spreading IP awareness. Moreover, the research sector plays a pivotal role in boosting the patent performance of Australian startups and hence, their involvement is highly significant to the startups.
Success Story
Do You Know That Extensive Use Of A Trademark Can Turn A Generic Mark Into A Legally Protectable Trademark?
Recently, we came across such a situation and we succeeded in obtaining publication approval for a mark that though was generic and descriptive, was approved owing to have acquired distinctiveness through extensive use in commerce.
Acquired distinctiveness through extensive use in commerce helps overcome generic descriptive refusal in trademarks by demonstrating that the mark has become uniquely associated with the applicant's goods or services in the minds of consumers, proving that the mark has gained a secondary meaning and uniquely distinguishes the source of the goods or services.
It is through such strategic suggestions and application of legal principles that we ensure to afford protection to our clients’ trademark and their respective goods.
So, suppose you are using a trademark that is inherently generic or descriptive but has been in commerce for a few years. In that case, you can reach out to us to explore the possibility of a trademark registration.
Our Editorial Team
Editor in chief : Siddharth Mathur
Research Assistants : Keya Modi
Blog Author : Anhuya K