Employee Mutual Benefit Organization

Assignments

Assignments and filing tax returns.

When you are assigned to a country where you are responsible for paying income tax make sure you inform the taxagent and / or EMBO asap.  Because the tax returns are prepared a year later you are always responsible for signing/completing it, eventhough you are no longer assigned to the country. 

YOUR OBLIGATION WILL NOT END WHEN YOU ARE NO LONGER THERE OR EVEN STOPPED WORKING FOR SCHLUMBERGER!! You are required to comply to the tax rules. Remember tax years will be finalized one year later…Always make sure that you leave your private e-mail address with the Fund or tax agent.

Failure to comply with the above will result in suspension of your EMBO tax refunds as well as any payment relating to your Deferred Benefits. 

Also the EMBO rules state: 

The Member undertakes to pay to the Fund any refund that may be received by him or on his behalf from the Government Revenue Authority on account of amounts previously paid by the Fund. This payment shall be made within two (2) weeks from the date of receipt. 

On our home page  as well as on this page you will find a PayPal button so that you can directly remit the funds to us!!  

AUSTRALIA:
If you are assigned to Australia you will need to know the following:

PREPARATION OF YOUR  INCOME TAX RETURN
(Covers the period 01/07/….. to 30/06/…..)
 
Findex (Aust) Pty Ltd ABN 84 006 466 351
Allendale Square
Level 24, 77 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000 Australia
PO Box P1213, PERTH WA 6844
Australia
Ph (08) 94811448
findex.com.au
 
 
As you may be aware, all International Mobiles (IM’s) of the Schlumberger Group who worked in Australia are required by law to lodge personal Income Tax Returns (ITR) to reflect the income they earned whilst in Australia. Findex is contracted by Schlumberger to prepare Income Tax Returns for all IM’s.
Findex is committed to ensuring that the Income Tax Return process is efficient and to enable this, we kindly request the following from you:
 
1. Tax Return Questionnaire
 
Please complete the Tax Return Questionnaire and return it to slb@findex.com.au as soon as possible but no later than 31st August ……..
 
For most IM’s, the preparation of your Income Tax Return should be fairly straight forward as “temporary residents” of Australia are only taxed on income earned in Australia (i.e. your foreign income will not be taxed in Australia). Further explanation is contained in the questionnaire.
 
2. Medicare Entitlement Statement
 
Findex has also included an Application for a Medicare Entitlement Statement for you to complete in order to obtain the exemption from the Medicare Levy & Surcharge. To obtain this exemption, you and your dependents must be ineligible for Medicare benefits. You will not be eligible for the exemption and do not need to complete the form if you either:-
 
(a) Hold or have applied for an Australian Permanent Residency Visa
(b) Are an Australian Citizen
(c) Are a New Zealand Citizen
(d) Were a resident of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Malta, Sweden, The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Belgium or Slovenia prior to entering Australia
(e) Maintain a dependent that was eligible for Medicare benefits.
To claim the exemption, please complete the application form and return via email (slb@findex.com.au) together with the certified copy of your passport photo page and copy of your electronic visa. Please note that we have pre-filled some of the questions for your convenience. Completion of this form is critical as it takes 6-8 weeks to process the Medicare Entitlement Statement with the Department of Human Services.
 
3. Findex will complete your Income Tax Return based on the information provided and email you your completed return. You will need to sign the Electronic Lodgment Declaration and Income Tax Declaration where indicated and return them to Findex for lodgment with the Australian Taxation Office.
 
4. According to Article 6 of the Rules of Personal taxes cannot be charged Stichting EMBO, EMBO will only cover income taxes on your employment income received from Schlumberger Personal taxes can not be charged to EMBO and have to be paid by you as the recipient of the personal taxable income. The types of personal income that may result in you having to pay income tax include bank interest income, employee share plan benefits (DSPP) and employee stock options and restricted stock units (RSUs). If you have a personal tax liability we will inform you when we send you your completed Income Tax Return.
 
5. Special Note – Employee Share Plan Benefits (DSPP)
 
The ATO imposes tax on any discount you receive when acquiring SLB shares through DSPP, calculated as the difference between the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of SLB shares traded in the 5 days before allotment of shares. For example, if your DSPP subscription price is $50 and the VWAP is $75, the ATO imposes tax on the $25 difference. Tax is usually payable at your marginal tax rate. A statement of benefit will be mailed to employees. The ATO requires this statement to be reflected in your Income Tax Return. If you need the computation of DSPP Taxable Income, please contact Roceliza Wagland (Rwagland@slb.com).
 
6. Special Note – Employee Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
 
When employee’s stock options are exercised and RSUs vest, an amount of taxable income in Australia is generally triggered for the greater of
 
• the difference between the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of SLB shares traded in the 5 days before the date of share distribution and the Exercise Price of Stock Options or RSUs; or
• the value of the Stock Options calculated as per ATO rules.
To the extent an employee is located outside Australia for part of the vesting period, the Australian taxable income will be reduced on a pro rata basis. Tax is usually payable at marginal tax rates. Affected employees will be provided with an annual statement. This statement is also provided to the ATO and as such, the ATO will expect to see these amounts reflected in the employee’s Income Tax Return. If a detailed computation of the taxable income is required, you may raise an HR Generic Query via https://esm.slb.com/.
 
If you have any queries in relation to the Tax Return Questionnaire or the Income Tax Return process, please send an email at slb@findex.com.au


Purchase of DSPP and SO/RSU


The discount you receive on purchase of your DSPP and SO/RSUs from SLB is taxable in Australia based on the number of days you were employed in Australia during the vesting period. You will have received an email from SLB in July with the amount of income to be reported in your Australian income tax return for the preceding financial year. This email also includes an FAQ, please refer to this in the first instance should you have any queries.


This income is not considered to be part of your SLB salary income under the agreement with EMBO. You are therefore required to repay the tax payable on this income to EMBO (see example calculation below). Our Australian tax advisors Findex will advise the amount of personal taxes to be repaid when preparing your income tax return. 


If you require a detailed breakdown of the calculation of your DSPP and SO/RSU income, you may raise a HR Generic Query via https://esm.slb.com/.



Sale of SLB Shares


Generally speaking, capital gains are not taxable in Australia if you are a non-resident or on a temporary resident visa. You will need to contact your tax advisor in your home country to determine the tax treatment of any sale of SLB shares, including those purchase under a DSPP or SO/RSU arrangement. Please note that this is general advice only, Findex will provide advice specific to your circumstances based on the information you provide in your questionnaire. 


Example Calculation


Assume that you earned AUD200,000 as your annual salary and the income from your DSPP is AUD10,000.


Your salary of AUD200,000 puts you in the top marginal tax rate of 45% (excluding any potential Medicare Levy). 


The tax payable to EMBO will be AUD4,500, or 45% of your DSPP income. 


Please be aware that in situations where your personal taxes exceed AUD2,000 the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) may begin charging quarterly Pay As You Go Instalments. You will need to pay these directly to the ATO, and they will be applied as a credit against your personal tax liability in the following tax return. If the Instalments exceed the actual tax payable on your personal income, any excess will be refunded to you by EMBO.


Following on from the above example, assume that you had paid AUD500 across four quarterly Instalments for a total of AUD2,000. 


The tax payable to EMBO will then be AUD2,500. 


Findex will provide a Tax Payable Breakdown along with your tax return setting out the above calculation for your specific circumstances each year. 



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UPDATED
GREAT BRITAIN:
If you are assigned to Great Britain you will need to know the following:
Tax year runs from April 1/….. to May 30/….
Make sure that you apply or are given a Unique Tax Payer reference number (UTR), contact you Schlumberger HR representative about it.  You will need this number in order to have your tax return prepared. This is Mandatory and we advise you to apply for a number as soon as you are assigned to the UK. If you have your tax return, you can find this number on the right hand corner of the return.

Your Income tax return (ITR) will be prepared by the Company’s assigned tax agent. (SLB@deloitte.co.uk)

Deloitte LLP
Global Employer Services
Deloitte LLP
Union Plaza, 1 Union Wynd, Aberdeen, AB10 1SL, United Kingdom
Tel/Direct: +44 (0) 1224 847777 | Fax: +44 (0) 1224 625025
slb@deloitte.co.uk | www.deloitte.co.uk

When you agree with the ITR you will need to sign it and send it back via e-mail together with:

• Forms 64-8 ‘Authorising your tax agent to deal with HMRC (can be downloaded from the GA portal www.gadeloitte.com)
• SA1 ‘Registering for self-assessment’ (can be downloaded from the GA portal www.gadeloitte.com)
• EMBO mandate

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DOWNLOADING YOUR TAX RETURN:

When HMRC  says they have not received your tax return you can download it once again from the GA portal via www.gadeloitte.com.

Once downloaded, please make sure you do the following:

• Print a copy of the tax return (including all backing schedules)
• Sign and date the tax return in box 22 on page TR8 (and also box 14 on page TR 6 if instructed in the tax return report)
• Send the tax return to HMRC at the following address:

Self Assessment
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AS

Sends the return by recorded delivery to ensure that you receive confirmation that HMRC have received the tax return.

IF YOU HAVE TO PAY ADDITIONAL TAX TO HMRC

If you have a liability to HMRC you can find instructions for payment on the home page of your GA Portal.

Alternatively, you can make the payment to HMRC online via the following website: (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payinghmrc/selfassessment.htm). Please note, when you click “Pay now”, you should choose the third option “Corporate credit card or debit card” to make the payment to HMRC. In this case you will not require a User ID or password for the HMRC site. However you will need your UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) which can be located at the top of your UK tax return, allowing you to make the payment more conveniently.

CONTACTING HMRC DIRECTLY

In order to update your address or request that a cheque should be send to an alternative address of the tax payer you can contact HMRC directly on 0300 200 3310 (+44 161 931 9070 if calling from outside the UK) .

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DENMARK – NORWAY

The tax return will be prepared by the tax agent Deloitte.  Information will be provided to them by SLB.

Contact details: 

Jie Si Chen

Senior Manager |Tax Operate (Global Employer Services)

Deloitte Advokatfirma AS
Dronning Eufemias gate 14, 0191 Oslo, Norway

Postal address: P.O. Box 221 Sentrum, 0103 Oslo, Norway 

+47 926 56 416 | jiechen@deloitte.no

www.deloitteadvokatfirma.no

They will send you the following information via e-mail so make sure you give them a valid email address (company/Private). Also make sure you have your banking info registered with the tax authorities and keep it open (even when you are re-assigned or leave the company)

1) Tax return

2) Selfassessment (if applicable)

3) Split computation (important) this shows how the return is build up and how much you will have to pay back to the fund (Overpayment) or how much you can claim back from the fund (Underpayment) Be advised that you will only have a limited time to claim back from the Fund!!

4) Claim form (if applicable)

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THE NETHERLANDS

Make sure that when you arrive in the Netherlands you register your bank account with the Dutch Tax office.  This will simplify the method of receiving any tax credits after end of the tax year.  The Dutch tax office will not be sending cheques, so it is your responsibility that you register your bank account with them asap.

When your assignment has ended, make sure you update your calender with your last address, private e-mail and banking info so that our tax agent can prepare your final tax return asap. The tax return will also be prepared by Deloitte.  Here it also applies that the annual tax return is prepared 1 year later, so if you have left the country you are STILL liable for finalizing the year.  So please register your personal email address with the tax agent or email  EMBO directly.

Deloitte will send you information via email (your SLB email or private email). You can access your fiscal information via  www.ga.deloitte.com using your username and password.

They will inform you via email what you need to do and what is required as additional information, in order to pay back to the fund (Overpayment) or how much you can claim back from the fund (Underpayment). Make sure your READ! the information provided. 

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Any other country.

Schlumberger will act as your tax agent and will communicate any issue directly with the fund. However, should you have any questions yourself you can always email us directly!

Based upon all the info above if you have any other questions please use the contact form on this site.