Claire Thompson

Head of Cross-Border Tax and Compliance

Claire has 14+ years in international tax planning and cross-border benefits structuring. Previously at PwC Global Mobility Tax and Mercer, she specialises in employer tax obligations, permanent establishment risk, and co-employment tax implications.

UK, USA, Germany... 3 languages 14+ years experience

14+

Years experience

Countries covered

Areas of expertise

Articles on Peorient

About Claire

Claire leads cross-border tax and compliance at Peorient. She spent eight years at PwC's Global Mobility Tax practice in London advising FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 clients on permanent establishment exposure, dual-residency tax, and assignee compensation packages across 40+ jurisdictions. She then moved to Mercer as a Principal in international benefits design, structuring health, pension, and equity arrangements that survive both US and EU regulatory scrutiny. Her writing for Peorient focuses on the layer most EOR comparison content skips: the tax mechanics that determine whether a hiring structure actually shields the parent company. She writes plainly because she is genuinely tired of clients arriving with $40,000 PE assessments that a 30-minute conversation a year earlier would have prevented.

Areas of expertise

Permanent Establishment risk diagnosis Cross-border payroll tax mechanics (PAYE, TDS, Lohnsteuer, IRPF, INSS) Worker classification (1099/W-2, IR35, B2B, CLT, AÜG) International benefits design and equity tax Co-employment legality by jurisdiction

Education

M.Sc. Taxation, London School of Economics
BA (Hons) Economics and Law, University of Bristol

Credentials & certifications

Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA), Chartered Institute of Taxation
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialist), International Foundation

Speaking & publishing

Tax Journal contributor (2020 to present)
CIOT Annual Tax Conference panellist, 2023 and 2024
Global Payroll Association EMEA Summit, 2025

Professional memberships

Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)
ACCA
International Fiscal Association (IFA)

Editorial disclosure: Claire contributes to Peorient as part of the editorial advisory team. Peorient is an independent advisory platform that earns referral commissions when companies engage providers through the site. Claire's editorial recommendations are made independently of commercial relationships, and providers do not have approval rights over coverage.

Also written by Claire

All articles and reviews on Peorient authored by Claire Thompson. List auto-updates from the data block at the bottom of this page.