Welcome to the April 2025 edition of Acumen’s Global Employment Tax and Compliance Newsletter.
Each month, we track the regulatory shifts that affect how international employers hire, pay, and manage people across borders.
Remote work is being redefined through tax policy, visa exemptions are disappearing, and long-standing compliance shortcuts are being closed.
Countries are tightening reporting rules, revisiting employment protections, and stepping up scrutiny on cross-border hiring models.
This edition captures what’s already in force, what’s been tabled, and what employers should be preparing for now.
🇳🇱🇩🇪 Netherlands–Germany: Tax Treaty Amendment on Cross-Border Remote Work
On 14 April 2025, the Netherlands and Germany agreed to amend their tax treaty to ease the rules for cross-border remote work. Under the new arrangement, employees who live in one country and work for an employer based in the other may work remotely from home for up to 34 days per year without triggering additional tax liabilities in their country of residence.
This amendment reduces the risk of double taxation for cross-border workers, simplifies income reporting, and lowers administrative overhead for both employees and employers managing remote work scenarios.
How the Amendment Changes Remote Work Taxation
Traditionally, employees are taxed where their work is physically performed. If a cross-border worker performed duties from home, their income could be subject to tax in both their home country and the employer’s country — creating complex compliance obligations from the very first remote workday.
The new provision allows taxing rights for up to 34 days of remote work to remain solely with the employer’s country. A remote workday is defined as any day where an employee spends more than 30 minutes working from home.
This threshold provides significant relief compared to prior rules, ensuring that limited remote work will no longer trigger immediate tax complications.
Key Advantages for Employers and Employees
- Administrative Simplicity: Income during the allowed remote workdays remains taxable only in the employer’s country.
- Greater Predictability: Employees can more easily calculate their net income without navigating complex cross-border tax filings.
- Reduced Compliance Burden: Employers avoid additional reporting requirements and tax withholding obligations across two jurisdictions for limited remote work periods.
Timeline
The amendment must still pass through formal approval processes:
- In the Netherlands: Review by the Council of State and ratification by the Staten-Generaal (Dutch Parliament).
- In Germany: Ratification by the Bundestag (Federal Parliament).
🇨🇿 Czech Republic: Employer Reporting Reform and Withholding Tax Changes
The Czech government is advancing two major reforms: the introduction of single monthly employer reporting (JMHZ) and the phased abolition of certain withholding taxes under the Income Tax Act.
The new reporting framework will significantly reduce administrative burdens, replacing 25 separate reports with one monthly submission.
Withholding tax changes aim to align tax treatment between residents and nonresidents, reducing disparities.
Single Monthly Employer Reporting (JMHZ)
Approved in March 2025, the JMHZ system will consolidate employer reporting across social security, labour, tax, and statistical bodies into a single electronic report. A unified deadline will apply.
The bill was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies on 11 March 2025 and is awaiting debate. Launch is targeted for 2026.
Income Tax Act Amendments: Key Proposals
- From 1 January 2026: Abolish withholding tax on remuneration paid to individual nonresident members of corporate bodies.
- From 1 January 2027: Fully abolish withholding tax on income from dependent activities below social insurance thresholds.
Taxpayers affected will need to file a personal tax return unless their employer handles an annual tax settlement. Nonresidents earning over 36 times the average wage annually from corporate body roles must also file.
A second phase will introduce pre-filled tax returns based on JMHZ data, further simplifying compliance.
🇪🇺 EU: Entry/Exit System (EES) Launch Confirmed for October 2025
The European Union has confirmed that the long-anticipated Entry/Exit System (EES) will go live in October 2025, with the exact launch date to be announced closer to implementation.
The EES will introduce automated border checks across the Schengen Area, replacing manual passport stamping for non-EU travellers.
It will specifically target overstays by short-term business visitors and visa-exempt travellers, enhancing border security and compliance tracking.
How EES Will Work
Non-EU travellers — including UK nationals — entering or exiting the Schengen Zone will:
- Provide biometric data (fingerprints and a facial photograph) at e-gates.
- Have their entry and exit recorded electronically.
- Avoid repeated biometric capture for three years after first registration.
Refusal to provide biometrics will result in denied entry.
The system applies to non-EU nationals either travelling with a short-stay visa or under visa-free 90/180-day rules.
Countries Affected
- The EES will operate across 29 Schengen countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and others.
- Ireland and Cyprus, not part of the Schengen Zone, will continue manual passport stamping.
- The EES will roll out progressively over six months following the October 2025 launch. Each Schengen country will introduce the system at its own pace within this window.
🇧🇷 Brazil: Visa-Free Entry Ends for US, Canada, and Australia
From 10 April 2025, nationals of the United States, Canada, and Australia are no longer eligible for visa-free travel to Brazil. A new electronic visit visa (e-visa) is now mandatory, following the implementation of Decree No. 11,982.
The new requirement affects business travellers, tourists, and accompanying family members. Although the visa process is fully online via brazil.vfsevisa.com, it introduces extra cost and processing steps that must be planned for in advance.
Originally set for October 2023, the policy was delayed twice after concerns from the tourism sector. It is now fully in force from 10 April 2025, with no further extensions.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom: New PAYE and Overseas Workdays Relief Rules
From 6 April 2025, the UK introduced changes to the PAYE process for globally mobile employees and reformed Overseas Workdays Relief under the new Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime.
PAYE Changes
- Employers can now operate reduced PAYE withholding immediately after notifying HMRC and receiving acknowledgment — prior approval is no longer required.
- All previous section 690 agreements are invalid; new notifications are required for the 2025/26 tax year.
- Notifications are valid for one tax year only and must be renewed annually.
- Employees must still file a self-assessment return.
Overseas Workdays Relief Under the FIG Regime
- Relief applies for the first four years of UK tax residence (not just year of arrival plus two years).
- Eligibility requires no UK residence in the preceding 10 tax years.
- No obligation to pay or retain earnings offshore (except for income linked to pre-6 April 2025 periods).
- Relief capped at the lower of 30% of qualifying income or £300,000 per tax year.
Employees who became UK tax residents in 2023–24 or 2024–25 remain eligible under transitional measures.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Employment Rights Bill Advances
In April 2025, the UK government advanced the Employment Rights Bill, aiming to introduce significant changes to worker protections and employer obligations.
Key proposals include:
- A ban on zero-hours contracts, extending to agency workers
- Day-one unfair dismissal rights for employees
- Statutory sick pay entitlement for lower earners
- Expanded paternity leave rights
The bill has generated mixed reactions: while broadly welcomed by employees and trade unions, employer groups have raised concerns about rising operational costs and potential workforce planning challenges.
Employer Action: Monitor the legislative process closely. If passed, businesses will need to update contracts, review employment models, and ensure compliance ahead of enforcement deadlines.
🇮🇹 Italy: Labour Law Referendums Scheduled for June 2025
Italy has scheduled a series of labour law referendums for 8–9 June 2025, which could lead to major changes in employment regulations.
Key areas under referendum:
- Repeal of parts of the Jobs Act related to reduced employment protections
- Tightened rules on fixed-term contracts and dismissals in small businesses
- Strengthening of joint liability provisions in subcontracting arrangements
If approved, the reforms would roll back some pro-employer flexibility introduced in previous years and could result in stricter termination rules and higher risks for businesses operating in Italy.
Employer Action: Companies with Italian operations should prepare for the possibility of stricter hiring and dismissal frameworks. Workforce planning and risk assessment reviews are advisable ahead of the vote.
🇧🇪 Belgium: Labour, Wage, and Compliance Reforms
Belgium’s new coalition government has announced a set of proposals likely to impact employers, particularly those managing internationally mobile staff.
Wage Costs and Expat Relief
- Employer social security capped for gross salaries above EUR 250,000
- Plus Plan relief increased: up to EUR 3,000/quarter for early hires
- Expat tax regime enhanced:
- Tax-free portion raised from 30% to 35%
- Salary threshold lowered from EUR 75,000 to EUR 70,000.
Labour Law Updates
- Proposed reintroduction of trial period dismissal with one week’s notice (decision due by 31 Dec 2025)
- Severance capped at 52 weeks of salary
- Night work ban lifted
- Voluntary overtime limit extended to 360 hours/year (240 hours tax and social charge-exempt).
Compliance Priorities
Authorities signal increased enforcement on:
- 183-day rule under tax treaties
- False self-employment and secondment misuse
- Undeclared work
- Platform economy and digital nomad structures
- Single permit compliance for foreign nationals.
Hiring in Lebanon Through an EOR: Practical Options for High-Risk Markets
Lebanon isn’t a typical global hiring market, but for NGOs, regional firms, and diaspora-led ventures, it’s often essential.
This article explores how global EOR solutions provide structure in a fragile legal environment, where labour laws exist but enforcement is unpredictable. From dual-currency payroll to selective compliance risks, it breaks down how to hire legally without exposing the business to long-term liability.
Hiring in Egypt: Guide for Global Employers
Labour laws in Egypt are clear on paper, but hiring staff, registering contracts, or processing payroll often comes down to procedural know-how, not regulation.
This article explains how delivery requirements collide with bureaucratic friction, and how Global EOR solutions help employers stay compliant and operational when entity setup is premature, and informal hiring can’t hold under delivery pressure.
Global Payroll Calculator: Put Numbers Behind Hiring Decisions
Compliance changes are constant, but your budgets can’t be.
Global Payroll Calculator helps you stay ahead by showing what it actually costs to employ someone in over 190 countries.
Use Global Payroll Calculator to
- Calculate total employer cost — salary, tax, social contributions, and statutory benefits
- Compare cost structures across countries before making hiring decisions — quickly, clearly, and without guesswork.
- Avoid surprises linked to statutory contributions or benefit entitlements
- Validate budgets against real, country-specific employer obligations — not assumptions.
Hiring across borders isn’t just about headline salary — it’s about what you owe as an employer, and what the candidate actually receives.
The Global Payroll Calculator breaks down total employment costs in 190+ countries — including taxes, social insurance, and mandatory benefits, while also showing estimated employee take-home pay.
Whether you’re budgeting for new roles, responding to policy shifts, or planning regional headcount — this tool turns regulatory complexity into decision-ready numbers.
Wrap Up
Across the updates this month — from treaty shifts and tax rule revisions to new hiring restrictions and visa obligations — one thing is clear: employment compliance isn’t static, and it’s rarely straightforward.
We track these updates because decisions rarely wait for perfect conditions.
The decisions employers face now require more than legal awareness — they demand practical judgment, timing, and the right structure in each jurisdiction.
Whether you’re reviewing contracts, planning headcount, or responding to a compliance shift — steady, context-aware information makes it possible to move with confidence.
We’ll be back next month with the next round of changes and the signals behind them.