CCBS at the European Commission

The Centre was delighted to accept an invitation to speak at the European Commission conference Vibrant Cross-Border Labour Markets held in Brussels on 18-19 January.

Annmarie O’Kane, Manager of the Centre’s Border People project, presented at one of the breakout sessions on Day 1.  The session discussed the taxation challenges encountered by cross-border workers, especially those wishing to work from home.

Annmarie’s presentation focused on the experience of frontier workers in the border region of Ireland / Northern Ireland. She explained the support provided by the Border People project, the significant cross-border collaboration that sits behind the project, and the types of enquiries received from workers in the region.

She noted that, as in many other border regions, the increase in working from home and flexible working patterns has created complications for workers and their employer with regards to taxation, social insurance and employment law.

To reduce or remove these and other obstacles to cross-border mobility, she commented on the need for

• Government-led information and supports for cross-border workers and employers
• Regionally relevant policy making that meets the needs of border communities, workers and employers
• A holistic approach across policy development i.e. Government Departments and jurisdictions working in collaboration to fully consider the cross-border implications of taxation, social security coordination and employment law.

The event provided an excellent platform to learn about the experiences of other border regions, taxation experts and of European Commission officials.

Tweets of the event can be found at https://twitter.com/hashtag/EUBorderRegions

Recordings of the plenary sessions and breakout sessions can be found here

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