Earn
Should you pay 5 per cent tax to work from home?
Employees who continue to work from home after the pandemic should be taxed for the privilege, a major bank has stated.
Should you pay 5 per cent tax to work from home?
Employees who continue to work from home after the pandemic should be taxed for the privilege, a major bank has stated.
A report commissioned by Deutsche Bank suggests that those who can remain working from home should pay 5 per cent tax each day they choose to work remotely.
They argue it would leave the average employee no worse off due to saving money on commute, going to lunch and purchasing clothing, with the taxes being used to help lower-paid employees.
This is despite people working from home using their own electricity and other essentials when turning a home into an office.
The bank says a privilege tax could generate $49 billion to help the less fortunate.
“Working from home will be part of the ‘new normal’ well after the pandemic has passed. We argue that remote workers should pay a tax for the privilege,” global head of fundamental credit strategy and thematic research at Deutsche Bank Jim Reid said.
“Our calculations suggest the amounts raised could fund material income subsidies for low-income earners who are unable to work remotely and thus assume more ‘old economy’ and health risks.”
The report found that working from home is not a new phenomenon. However, COVID-19 has “turbocharged” the switch from the office to the home.
“During the pandemic, the proportion of Americans who worked from home increased tenfold to 56 per cent. In the UK, there was a sevenfold increase to 47 per cent,” the report said.
“Many of these people will continue to work remotely for some time. Indeed, two-thirds of organisations say that at least three-quarters of their staff can work from home effectively, according to S&P Global Markets.”
Based on Australian gross average annual full-time salary of $48,360, an Australian who chooses to work from home would be slugged $2,418 a year for the privilege.
RELATED ARTICLES
About the author
About the author
Salary
Despite losing top spot, Elon Musk rakes in $400,000 hourly
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur known for his involvement in a wide range of innovative and technological businesses, has recently been dethroned as the wealthiest individual in the world, with Bernard ...Read more
Salary
Rising unemployment and skill shortages prompt Australian businesses to look globally for talent
Australia has witnessed its unemployment rate surging above 4% for the first time in two years, revealed by the latest Labour Force data. Read more
Salary
New findings link job mobility hurdles to stagnant wage growth
Recent research from the e61 Institute has unearthed significant links between slow wage growth in Australia and obstacles to job mobility, including non-compete clauses, complicated occupational ...Read more
Salary
Employers scrambling to prevent workplace brain drain
As workplace managers face a swiftly evolving employment market that’s increasingly favouring the demands of white-collar employees and jobseekers, bosses are falling under mounting pressure to ...Read more
Salary
Unions back Albanese’s pledge to close gender pay gap
An electoral promise from Labor to make gender pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act has been hailed as a “watershed moment” from industry peak bodies who have traditionally advocated for ...Read more
Salary
Coles asked to disprove $115m in alleged wage theft
One of Australia’s biggest supermarkets faces allegations that it underpaid more than 7,500 employees a total of $115 million. Read more
Salary
Gen Z left behind in progress to gender equality
Women under 25 may emerge from the pandemic in a worse financial position than when it began, new research has shown. Read more
Salary
Show me the money: I deserve a COVID recognition payment, and so do you
Staff are currently in high demand. But they’re also mostly overworked, overtired, underplayed and underpaid. Read more
Salary
Despite losing top spot, Elon Musk rakes in $400,000 hourly
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur known for his involvement in a wide range of innovative and technological businesses, has recently been dethroned as the wealthiest individual in the world, with Bernard ...Read more
Salary
Rising unemployment and skill shortages prompt Australian businesses to look globally for talent
Australia has witnessed its unemployment rate surging above 4% for the first time in two years, revealed by the latest Labour Force data. Read more
Salary
New findings link job mobility hurdles to stagnant wage growth
Recent research from the e61 Institute has unearthed significant links between slow wage growth in Australia and obstacles to job mobility, including non-compete clauses, complicated occupational ...Read more
Salary
Employers scrambling to prevent workplace brain drain
As workplace managers face a swiftly evolving employment market that’s increasingly favouring the demands of white-collar employees and jobseekers, bosses are falling under mounting pressure to ...Read more
Salary
Unions back Albanese’s pledge to close gender pay gap
An electoral promise from Labor to make gender pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act has been hailed as a “watershed moment” from industry peak bodies who have traditionally advocated for ...Read more
Salary
Coles asked to disprove $115m in alleged wage theft
One of Australia’s biggest supermarkets faces allegations that it underpaid more than 7,500 employees a total of $115 million. Read more
Salary
Gen Z left behind in progress to gender equality
Women under 25 may emerge from the pandemic in a worse financial position than when it began, new research has shown. Read more
Salary
Show me the money: I deserve a COVID recognition payment, and so do you
Staff are currently in high demand. But they’re also mostly overworked, overtired, underplayed and underpaid. Read more
