Since the start of this year we have seen the tax market gradually picking up. However it has been interesting to see that during the recession there has been one area within tax that has stayed stable and is now growing more than many other areas – Human Capital.
In a time where businesses focused on reducing their costs, which has led in some cases to a recruitment freeze, there has still been a need for expatriate tax professionals. This is due, in part, to the global nature of multinationals and large companies with overseas interests. There is an increasing demand for individuals to relocate internationally within these companies which called for a closer look at the processes that were in place and how they could become more cost efficient. In order to ensure efficiency in relocations organisations have needed to have solid expatriation systems in place. This need, combined with the group of professionals who decide to work and/or live in a different country, has seen an increase in the demand for expatriate tax professionals.
Therefore, throughout the recent recession, Human Capital and in particular Expatriate Tax has proven to be one of the more steady areas within tax and we have continued to see a vast majority of vacancies. There are two main reasons for this:
- The increase in relocating people overseas creates more complex tax and social security implications.
- The recession has contributed to companies looking for more cost saving opportunities that otherwise would have easily been neglected.
Recognising the benefits of having expert advisors with a solid knowledge of the complex tax rules of the jurisdictions in which their expats work and live has resulted in companies asking additional services from their advisors. Due to this increase of work and the growth of their client base professional services firms have responded by allocating more resources to their human capital teams which includes global mobility and expatriate taxes.
Opportunities for you
The trends as described here have resulted in new opportunities for experienced expatriate tax professionals. There are opportunities on all levels but specifically we have noticed a high demand for professionals at Manager and Senior Manager level.
We are currently recruiting for several challenging and interesting opportunities and would be happy to have a confidential conversation with you to discuss your options and the current market situation.
Please feel free to contact Merijn van der Steen at Maven Partners on +41 (0)20 3178 8854 or emailmerijnvandersteen@mavenpartners.co.uk
