Should working from home be taxed?

[Klaralven]

Should remote workers be taxed?

Those who work from home are getting a free ride, argues a new analysis from Deutsche Bank, and the economic ills that have been exposed by the sudden migration of roughly half the workforce to their living rooms rather than offices should be partially offset by a tax.

“The sudden shift to WFH means that, for the first time in history, a big chunk of people have disconnected themselves from the face-to-face world yet are still leading a full economic life,” wrote strategist Luke Templeman. “That means remote workers are contributing less to the infrastructure of the economy whilst still receiving its benefits.”

We’re all familiar with the “infrastructure” Templeman refers to. Huge swathes of downtown office real estate sit empty, along with their computer networks and utility hook-ups. Transportation systems designed with double the farebox revenue in mind are in serious financial distress.

On the other hand, the benefits to those workers able to do their jobs from home are quite large, Templeman argues.

“WFH offers direct financial savings on expenses such as travel, lunch, clothes, and cleaning”, he said. “Add to these the indirect savings via forgone socializing and other expenses that would have been incurred had a worker been in the office. Then there are the intangible benefits of working from home, such as greater job security, convenience, and flexibility. There is also the benefit of additional safety.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-working-from-home-be-taxed-11605027448

Actually, no. This is just the normal "creative destruction" of a free market economy. How quickly they abandon their principles.

And was "socializing" in anybody's job description?

[Hugin]

1. This is rich!

“That means remote workers are contributing less to the infrastructure of the economy whilst still receiving its benefits.”

They're only upset the little people are cutting into their gig.

[MineralMan]

2. We are already taxed, for Pete's sake.

We pay income tax on our earnings, just like everyone else, but we have far fewer business expenses we can deduct, so more of our gross income goes out in taxes. Also, we pay the self-employment tax, which comes to over 18%. That includes the Social Security and Medicare taxes, part of which is paid by employers for those who are not self-employed.

Our heating and other utility bills are also higher, since we are home and must pay for them full-time. We must also pay 100% of our health insurance costs, rather than having part of it paid by employers. That is a big hit, I can tell you.

This is ridiculous.

[mr_lebowski]

15. I think this kind of meant for those of us who work for someone else but now work from home

Like, you work for IBM and would've normally gone to work at an office 5 days a week but now you don't anymore.

[MineralMan]

18. OK. They're still paying taxes, too, just like always.

That was a bogus whine, however you look at it.

[mr_lebowski]

20. Not disagreeing with the sentiment, just clarifying :) nt

[tinrobot]

3. Will I also be reimbursed for the "office space" my empoyer gets to use for free?

I thought not.

But hey, we're not doing dry cleaning anymore, so tax the hell out of us.

[lastlib]

23. I damn near got fired once for asking....

When my company asked a bunch of us to work from home, I asked the manager how much the company would be paying me for renting my home office space. Manager got annoyed at the question, and when I pressed it, he told me I may not have a job if I kept asking and didn't "play ball".

[getagrip_already]

4. Is this a joke? This is like making families pay for the bullits used to execute a loved one......

If ANYTHING, workers should get a forced stipend when they work at home.

I've worked remotely for 10 plus years, my wife for 30 plus years (in high tech as a consultant, not craft work). If anything, I've shouldered costs that my employer no longer has to pay for.

I pay my own heat, electricity, and internet. I buy my own networking gear. and office equipment. I dedicate a room in my house to work so I'm not disturbed.

Sure, I can take a tax deduction, but only people who itemize can do that.

This is appalling. Deutche bank has a lot to answer for. Hopefully they will simply cease to exist for their crimes.

[BSdetect]

5. What about less pollution from driving, freeing up crushing freeways, reducing repairs to infrastruc

The benefits to the economy outweigh any imagined negatives.

How about taxing the super rich to "balance the budget".

[Just_Vote_Dem]

6. Deutsche Bank? LOL

Do a little Googling on the adventures of Deutsche Bank and see what you find

[Raster]

16. You mean like financing Auschwitz for the nazis and paying half a BILLION in fines...

...for Russian* money laundering? That #DoucheBank*?

[flibbitygiblets]

7. Hey Douchebank, turn over trump's records

Or fuck off.

[Laelth]

8. Why not give them a tax break, instead?

They’re not using the infrastructure any longer, so there’s an argument to be made that they should not have to pay for its maintenance. I am not particularly fond of this argument, but it makes more sense than arguing that they should be taxed MORE just because they’re NOT using the infrastructure.



-Laelth

[genxlib]

17. Most transportation funding is through gas taxes and tolls

So they are already calibrated to level of use. They are already getting a tax break on those things.

[Mike 03]

9. IMO you should get tax breaks for working at home.

It's better for the environment, removes wear and tear from the roads, helps with traffic congestion. It might even be good socially, for parent/child relationships. People working at home might eat out less. Pets are happier when their mommies and daddies are home.

If this becomes common, maybe people won't need to buy cars every few years.

(I'm not a tax expert, just brainstorming).

[dv421]

13. Remember

the orange menace's tax bill removed the home office deduction.

[Happy Hoosier]

10. FFS...

Between my wife and I we have two whole rooms in our house dedicated as work spaces. Our power bill is higher. I have to provide my own office furniture. WTF does the vampires want?

[Hotler]

11. I pay my taxes every quarter. I have to, I work as a 1099 sucontractor

Businesses I work for report what they pay me. Freedom isn't free. Pay your taxes.

[bluecollar2]

12. Banks and insurance companies

Will do anything to extract money from the working class.

I hope we can find a way to finally rein in their abuses.

[genxlib]

14. Um...no

That is an idiotic take.

There are pros and cons to WFH (as he dubs it) but people saving money is a pro.

To the degree that it affects private business like commercial landlords, restaurants and dry cleaners, that is an unfortunate side effect that would not be changed by taxes.

To the degree that it affects the Government, losses in transit fares and gas taxes is a pittance compared to the losses of those same people not being able to work at all. Over time, those reductions in gas taxes will get reflected in the actual need for maintenance and expansion of the roads. Not to mention, the benefits to the environment.

I am in favor of getting people back into the work place when safe because I think this model sucks for human interaction, mentoring, interviewing, etc. But taxes? no.

[mr_lebowski]

19. Golly I wonder how much money Deutshe has invested in commercial real estate and infrastructure

related to people traveling to, and working out of, workplaces that are not their own home ... and hence how badly they are getting hit in the pocketbook by WFH?

One might wonder what their motives might be in causing people to be disinclined towards the whole WFH thing.

Let me also add one could easily see this matter eventually becoming a socially divisive issue. Not the taxes part they're talking about, but it's another 'haves vs have-nots' wedge that can be driven among the population.

[Klaralven]

24. Yes, too many risky tranches of Commercial Mortgage Backed Loans.

City center office towers and retail space won't recover anytime soon.

Warehouse space for online shopping goods distribution and data center space for the cloud is at a premium.

[Spazito]

21. When did the Onion change it's name to Marketwatch?

This has GOT to be satire!

[Takket]

22. No and I'm stunned someone proposing such a thing wasn't fired immediately

For gross incompetence.