EY Tracer Technology for Smart Phones Helps Globetrotting Workers Avoid Tax Surprises

NEW YORK, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young has released a new smart phone application that helps business travelers and their employers avoid global tax traps and immigration violations. This technology helps companies to manage the increasing risks associated with employees crossing borders, the conflicts they create and, in extreme cases, keeping executives out of jail.

The new app works in conjunction with Ernst & Young's existing Traveler Risk and Compliance (TRAC) service which assists organizations in navigating the myriad of personal and corporate tax and immigration rules for more than 100 countries. Employees who download the app can use it to report their location to a central tracking system, allowing travel data to be analyzed by employers to avoid unexpected taxes and comply with immigration laws. The app tracks current location, home location and whether time spent abroad has been a work day, travel day, or vacation day – no personal identifiable information is transmitted.

"Companies continue to explore rapid growth markets and new territories, which makes short term business travelers much more attractive to employers. It is imperative to constantly be up to date with all the requirements and compliance issues or an organization may find themselves unintentionally at risk and in breach of the law," says Dina Pyron, Global Director of Ernst & Young's Human Capital practice, which released the software.

"Multiple visits to the same country in a single year can trigger tax and immigration risks. A combination of our existing traveler risk and compliance services, together with our smart phone technology and Tracer app will help companies send their people where they need to and stay on the right side of the law," Pyron said.

Tracer helps their employers accurately count work days and compares this data against local tax laws and configurable business rules for each country in which their workers are travelling. TRAC currently covers more than 100 countries around the globe, allowing organizations to structure pay and projects in tax-efficient ways, reduce overall risk, increase global compliance, and allow employees to focus on their jobs without fear they'll be greeted by the tax man when they leave the country.

Tracer is available for free to users of Blackberry, iPhone and Android.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a US client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

SOURCE Ernst & Young