Orion Mobility presented trends, concerns and "hot topics" explored at its 20th Anniversary Conference held September 17-19, 2007 in Chicago at the Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium. Presentations included topics in domestic and international relocation, as well as relocation taxes, expense management and reporting.
Orion Mobility presented trends, concerns and "hot topics" explored at its 20th Anniversary Conference held September 17-19, 2007 in Chicago at the Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium. Presentations included topics in domestic and international relocation, as well as relocation taxes, expense management and reporting.
David Oltman, Orion Co-Founder and President reports, "Compliance is still very much on corporate America's mind. Everyone wants to hear what's being done by peers."
He adds, "One big advantage of these well-attended seminars is that Orion can do a lot of informal surveys and get a sense who's doing what. With representatives from many companies in the room, it's a great opportunity to track current best practices."
Oltman says that the hottest topic of all was the issue of temporary assignments, and the new bill proposed in the House of Representatives, HR 3359, The Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2007. "The law today is ambiguous and only selectively enforced," Oltman explains. "In theory, if you work one day in a state, you would owe taxes in that state. HR 3359 would provide welcome clarity to employers and relocation professionals."
Peter Fonseca, Orion's Director of Operations, reports that the housing market is still a major concern. "Rising inventories of unsold homes was a big topic in our corporate panel." He says, "Companies have come up with new ideas, from offering employees incentives to sell their own homes to mass marketing campaigns. Others are revisiting asset recovery programs."
Fonseca also notes the new focus on paybacks. "We polled the audience. Two to three years ago, only 30-40% of companies used payback agreements. Now, it's up to about 80%." One reason for the shift: "The new focus is on Gen X & Gen Y," Fonseca says. "Companies are offering more temporary assignments, versus relocations, to attract the top talent and using payback agreements to retain them."
Quentin Hormel, Orion's Privacy and Compliance Manager, reports, "We heard a lot more concern about doing it smarter." He says, "Companies are realizing that for years their gross-up policies have been too generous. Now, with software like Orion provides, companies can get exact numbers on each individual's tax impact.""
Hormel adds, " It goes beyond software, of course. You need the expertise to teach the user how to take advantage of cost-savings, like using itemized deductions versus standard, for example."
"To learn more about insights from the Conference, give us a call or email me directly," says Mary Reilly, VP Business and Client Development. "We're always happy to share our latest findings."
About Orion Mobility
Orion Mobility supports every move - nationally, globally and governmentally. Serving the relocation industry since 1987, Orion Mobility offers the best solution for your success. reloviewsComplete™, is our suite of relocation software solutions facilitating relocation event process flow management, expense tracking and reporting, tax calculation and gross-up functions. Our best-in-class, secure solutions are designed for in-house use or on an outsourced basis, and are complemented by a full range of software consulting services. For more information on Orion Mobility's solutions and services, visit orionmobility.com or contact: Orion Mobility, Corporate Headquarters, 88 Danbury Rd. Wilton, CT USA 06897; Email: hello@orionmobility.com;
Tel: +1 800 GROSSUP (476-7787) or +1 203-762-0365; Fax: +1 203-834-9625.
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