Tax Home Workers to Help Pay Those Who Cannot

Deutsche Bank: Tax Home Workers to Help Pay Those Who Cannot.
Working from home should be taxed to help support workers whose jobs are under threat, according to a new report.

According to the BBC News Service, economists at Deutsche Bank suggest a tax of 5% of a worker’s salary if they choose to work from home. The tax would be paid for by employers and the income generated would be paid to people who can’t do their jobs from home. This could earn $48bn (£36bn) if introduced in the US and would help redress the balance, the bank says.

It argues this is only fair, as those who work from home are saving money and not paying into the system like those who go out to work.

In the UK, Deutsche Bank calculates the tax would generate a pot of £6.9bn a year, which could pay out grants of £2,000 a year to low-income workers and those under threat of redundancy

“For years we have needed a tax on remote workers,” wrote Deutsche Bank strategist Luke Templeman. “Covid has just made it obvious.” “Quite simply, our economic system is not set up to cope with people who can disconnect themselves from face-to-face society.

Deutsche Bank Research predicts that workers in the US will now spend 4.6bn days a year at home rather than in the office.

A 5% work-from-home (WFH) tax on an average $55,000 salary works out at about $10 a day in the US. For the UK, the tax equates to about £7, based on a salary of £35,000.

“Those who can WFH receive direct and indirect financial benefits and they should be taxed in order to smooth the transition process for those who have been suddenly displaced.”

Millions of people have shifted to working from home as employers closed offices to contain the spread of Covid-19. Many big employers have said they will allow some staff to permanently work from home either full-time or part-time after the pandemic is over.