On Business

Biz Traveler

Leslie Fiorentino
Position Tax partner, Ernst & Young
On the Road 150 or more days a year

HOW DO YOU STAY UP-TO-THE-MINUTE ON BREAKING NEWS AND EMERGING TRENDS IMPORTANT TO YOUR INDUSTRY?
Ernst & Young has a global knowledge network, and as tax law changes come out, we receive them through e-mailed tax alerts, which can be as often as daily.

WHAT SUPPLEMENTAL READING DO YOU DO?
When I’m traveling I usually bring along magazines and newspapers. I read The Wall Street Journal. I live in Boston, so I read The Boston Globe. I read Business Week and Fortune. Although they don’t go into a lot of tax [subjects], they go into a lot of issues that are happening around the world. I like to read about those challenges. What’s happening with my clients, what new products they may have, or read about their new CFO.

HOW MANY CLIENTS DO YOU WORK WITH PERSONALLY?
On a regular basis, 15 maybe.

AND YOU PUT IN FOR ALERTS FOR ALL OF THOSE COMPANIES?
Yes.

THE WORD “GLOBAL” ALMOST SEEMS GLUED TO THE WORD “BUSINESS” THESE DAYS. WHAT PERCENTAGE OF FORTUNE 500 EXECUTIVES DO YOU THINK TRAVELS ABROAD ON BUSINESS EACH YEAR?
In the companies I know, I believe it’s somewhere north of 70 percent for executives. This world is global, and people are traveling.

AND SOME SO-CALLED ACCIDENTAL EXPATRIATES, WE UNDERSTAND, MAY BE IN FOR A BIG TAX SURPRISE?
“Accidental expat” is a relatively new term for an issue that is getting more and more visibility, because there’s a big focus globally on the taxation of cross-border individuals. It’s generally a business traveler or an individual going on a project who triggers taxation or immigration requirements unexpectedly.

ARE THERE HORROR STORIES OUT THERE?
There are definitely horror stories. Companies have paid millions of dollars because of individuals working in countries where they have either a tax or an immigration liability and there wasn’t that knowledge. And not only is there a tax bill that has to be paid, but there’s also generally interest due, because the tax is paid late. And there’s generally a penalty. And in some instances there may be reputational harm—Company X portrayed unfavorably in the newspaper.

IN AS FEW AS HOW MANY DAYS CAN THIS HAPPEN?
It can be as little as a day, depending on the country. But every country has its own domestic tax laws. The United States says if you’re here more than 90 days or earn more than $3,000, you’re subject to taxation. It’s important to know the country’s laws when you are traveling on business. We do have these wonderful things called income tax treaties that help protect individuals from paying tax, but each treaty is very different.

AND IT DOESN’T EVEN HAVE TO BE CONSECUTIVE DAYS?
No. It can be cumulative stays over a calendar year. Some countries use a rolling 12-month period. It could be March to March. Every country is different. We have seen several instances where people who have been flagged have not been allowed in countries. They’ve been told, “You need to go back home.”

WHEN YOU GO ON A TRIP, WHAT CAN’T YOU LEAVE HOME WITHOUT?
My favorite T-shirt. And my flip-flops. Both are always in my suitcase. When I come back to my hotel room after a day of work, the first thing I do is a put on this big old T-shirt. It’s soft and comfortable. It’s my piece of home. And I love flip-flops. I’m in heels all day and running around. The minute I can get my shoes off and my flip-flops on, I’m happy.—

—J.G.

The Percentage

of white-collar computer gamers admit to logging game time at work. Eighty-four percent of guilty gamers told PopCap Games they spend up to an hour a day on puzzles like Chuzzle or Bejeweled, and said that a quick game helps lower stress and re-energize. Don’t be too quick to point fingers at the 20-somethings—most of the respondents (65%) were over 30 and earning at least $50K. And it is not just the 9-to-5ers who can’t shake the addiction. Thirty-five percent of top executives fess up to being regular offenders—including CEOs.

—C.K.

Gadget on the Go

When Asus started hyping its Eee PC 2G Surf for $298 (eeepc.asus.com), it seemed too good to be true: “Bumps and shocks are no longer issues with a dependable solid-state disk . . . rapid start-up time . . . built-in Wi-Fi . . . upload photos and videos and share them instantly on Flickr or YouTube.” Plus, the company touted a complete suite of software, including word processor, presentation, spreadsheet, music and photo. All for less than three bills? C’mon. Then I got one and became a believer. If you don’t believe me, read the other reviews of Eee laptops. “Pound for pound, the best value-priced notebook on the planet,” raved www.laptopmag.com about the $399 model.

—David Bailey

Road Read

So write Russ Alan Prince and Lewis Schiff in The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing America (Currency/Doubleday/$23.95). This fascinating book is like a zoom-able satellite image on what it dubs “the influence of affluence.” The high view appears in the keen statistical insight gleaned from the authors’ detailed surveys. The ground-level view, of suburban teardowns for McMansions, concierge medicine and $30,000 college admission counselors, comes with virtually every turn of the page.

—John Grossmann

Info Byte

That’s the average value of information stored in a laptop. Broadband provider iBAHN estimates that the business traveler can easily accumulate $525,000 of corporate data and $330,000 of personal data on his or her hard drive. And all that information is vulnerable over unsecured Internet connections. Gregory Hodges, president of iBAHN, recommends looking for port-to-port security on wired connections, and encryption on wireless in hotels. “The traveler needs to have a better understanding of what can happen,” says Hodges.

—Caitlin Kenney

Trend Alert

Getting Personal
Honestly! If you can’t be trusted to answer the questions on personality tests truthfully, then what’s the point of using them for job interviews? Precisely, says Robert L. Dipboye of the University of Central Florida, who argues that not only do people fill in fake answers on personality tests, but the tests simply are not useful as indicators of job-performance potential. Still, for the past 15 years, personality tests have been widely used for both hiring and promoting. They probably shouldn’t be: “The problem with personality tests is that as predictors of job performance, their validity is disappointingly low,” says Pennsylvania State University’s Kevin R. Murphy, who co-authored an article on the subject with Dipboye and Frederick P. Morgeson of Michigan State University. “There’s a lot of good science being done that offers better ways to predict job performance, including work samples, cognitive ability tests and structured interviews,” says Morgeson.

—Sophia Dembling

Local Flavor

The wind blows like Scotland’s at the new Chambers Bay course (6320 Grandview Drive West, University Place, Washington; 877-295-4657; www.chambersbaygolf.com), an hour from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Undulating greens, fiendish bunkering, mighty dunes: It’s enough to bring a tear to the eye. (Or is it the wind?) Greens fees begin at $74 for nonresidents.

The golf world’s elite will fight for the sport’s hottest fashion accessory, the green jacket, during the Masters Golf Tournament April 7–13 in Augusta, Georgia. A ticket to the Masters is the proverbial holy grail of the golf faithful. The event always sells out well in advance, and the waiting list for Tournament passes has been closed since 2000. But if you’re not one of the lucky ones, don’t despair: Unleash your inner Tiger Woods at one of Augusta’s many public courses in the vicinity. Try Goshen Planation Golf Course or Pointe South Golf Club, each less than a 15-minute drive from the airport.

Going to Frankfurt—or anywhere else in Germany? If you’re iPod- or MP3-enabled, consider picking up McGraw-Hill’s new iSpeak German ($12.95; www.mhprofessional.com). Your personal music player becomes your portable translator, with 1,500 phrases that you—or someone who nicht gut Englisch sprecht—can either hear or see on the screen. Available also in French, Italian, Spanish and English.

Spring is in the air, as are the smooth melodies of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival April 11–13 (www.jaxjazzfest.com), a weekend of concerts at Metropolitan Park. Included in the $10 ticket is admission to both the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and Art at the Met, an art show and sale. Going to miss the fest? The nearby Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville are home to the city’s minor league baseball team, the Double-A Jacksonville Suns (www.jaxsuns.com), an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Suns begin their season on April 3 and play 11 games at home this month.

Corporate Shout-Out

Hope Through Hotel Stays
Rezidor Hotel Group (www.rezidor.com) is extending its hospitality beyond the check-in desk. The Belgium-based parent company for chain hotels such as Radisson SAS, Regent, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites has formed a partnership with the World Childhood Foundation, which offers a helping hand to those who need it most: vulnerable children, many of whom have been sexually abused or exploited. Participating hotels in Europe, Africa and the Middle East will raise money for the organization, now involved in 107 projects in 14 countries. Rooms and restaurant meals will be auctioned off; a portion of the rates for special “Childhood” suites will also go to the charity. Sponsored walks, cycles, swims, triathlons, rowing races, mini-marathons and blood donations will be part of the campaign as well.

—Christopher Percy Collier

The Indulgence

Say more with the new Sound ID SM100 Ear Module Bluetooth Headset ($129.99; www.soundid.com). This lightweight headset features three “PersonalSound” modes to ensure crisp, clear calls. Seamlessly transition from the bustling baggage claim area to the breezy taxi queue as the built-in NoiseNavigation minimizes sounds of wind and background clamor. Touting up to eight hours of talk time and private two-way talk with other SM100 users, this headset is for serious communicators. And since it’s free of blinking lights, you and those around you may even forget you’re wearing it.

—Kelly Mock