Increased tax for WFH

[echt]

Not an AIBU, but what is theses days?

Have a look at this proposal:

www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/11/staff-who-work-from-home-after-pandemic-should-pay-more-tax

I find the argument about WFH not contributing to the infrastructure interesting, as you could have a WFH employee who formerly cycled to work and brought packed lunch never contributed to the infrastructure as put forward here.

@Xenia

80% of workers are currently paid by the state.

Got a source for that one?

This is lazy stereotyping that everyone who now wfh previously used to commute to London (and yes, it is mainly London) and had a sufficiently highly paid job that they regularly went out for sandwich shop lunches, coffee shop coffee, and no doubt restaurants in the evening.

I live in a large town. I work for one of the largest employers in the town, and my husband works for another. Most of our colleagues are working from home. They have a huge range of salaries down to not particularly well paid basic admin/help desk type staff. The majority of staff (both companies) live within 5 miles of the office and many walk or cycle to work (as DH and I both did). The idea that everyone is saving shedloads by working at home just doesn't hold up at all for those who don't have huge commutes.

It's a report by Deutsche Bank and not going to happen.

Income tax will likely increase but there will not be a working from home tax.

@MandalaYogaTapestry

I think this is a shitty and unfair proposal, there are too many variables. Having said that, if my company suggested a choice between earning less and going back to the office 5 days a week I would take the pay cut in a heartbeat. My commute is 3 hrs daily.

Yes I'd take the pay cut and save on the £4K a year train season ticket! Given the season ticket comes out of taxed income, it would have to be a big pay cut before it adversely affected my take-home pay.

(I work from home anyway but read "my DH" where I've said "I" in my post above)

@Lily193

There are numerous threads on here about how much money people have saved while working from home - if they continue to WFH, those people need to contribute more instead of expecting someone else to.

DH has saved £4K on the commute but as I mentioned, we've bought a garden room, furnished it, also bought some extra equipment like a new printer, mouse etc so we've put money back into the economy, just not South Western Rail's coffers.

@Graciebobcat

It's a report by Deutsche Bank and not going to happen.

Income tax will likely increase but there will not be a working from home tax.

Unlikely a Tory gov will increase income tax - they will continue to shift the burden to the poorest by VAT and other rises and new stealth taxes like Insurance premium tax.

What they will never do is increase taxes that would directly affect the rich or tax-dodging multinationals.

There is no actual need to for taxes to rise though - it will be a political decision again.

@Lily193

There are numerous threads on here about how much money people have saved while working from home - if they continue to WFH, those people need to contribute more instead of expecting someone else to.

And equally lots of threads from people who are spending more working from home. You can't have a tax that says "we'll tax you if you're saving money by wfh; otherwise we won't".

This also assumes that people want to wfh. I'm doing it at the moment, because I have to, but if my office vanishes and I have to continue working at home and paying for the "privilege" of doing so, that would be a huge kick in the teeth (and yes, I would look for another job where I didn't have to wfh, but realistically I'm unlikely to get one straight away).

I've WFH one day week for the last 10 years. DH full time for 10 of the last 12 years.
I've never used public transport and bring my own lunch in when at the office so I'm rarely buying anything when in the office. Our dress code is such that I can wear the same in the office as I do at home too.

I suspect the govt will use the need to raise money as a reason to privatise loads of stuff personally.

Central govt have now got their fingers into tfl and I can see that being split up and sold off. Which will be a shame as it works really well at the moment imo

I think that maybe a lot of managers are rethinking wfh. They liked the prospect of saving on rent at first but 8 months later, they realized they hated the idea of paying the same city salaries for their employees to live in faraway. This is a way of depressing the wages of wfh employees.

Usually when faced with the prospect of suffering a wage loss, most people (unless they have childcare concerns or some other reasons). bite the bullet and go for the higher pay option, even if it means long commute and higher running costs.

NHS as well although they've already privatised a fair bit there (the profitable stuff obv).

Had a really enlightening conversation with a gynae a few years back about this- it was really shocking. Result was much worse experience for both women and HCPs.

Any way they will say covid needs must etc and flog it all of cheap. Mostly to their mates.

@NiceGerbil

Any way they will say covid needs must etc and flog it all of cheap. Mostly to their mates.

or USA companies in a trade deal

@Lily193

There are numerous threads on here about how much money people have saved while working from home - if they continue to WFH, those people need to contribute more instead of expecting someone else to.

But not everyone is saving money. If you walked or cycled to work and brought your lunch from home, it's likely to be costing you more to WFH (heating/lighting/electricity) than to go into the office.

Also my DH is still getting coffee from Nero. He is just getting coffee from Caffe Nero In East Finchley High Road, not the blackfriars branch.

Fine I will go into the office and save money! I cycle to work and take a packed lunch. I dont have to pay heating bills etc there.

Raid on CGT and CGT allowances
Corp Tax will get a smacking I believe
Removal of higher rate pension relief
IHT may get an overhaul
VAT Maybe?
Income tax will go up across the board by a % or 2

I would say all of these before a WFH tax. Ideas are great, but the real life applications are something else.

Managing, monitoring and collecting this tax would make it very undesirable by HMRC. People would just start to open PO boxes etc.

The above list, is taxed at source and far easier to collect.

JustBiden oh yes! I forgot about the USA saying they wanted the opportunity to buy parts of the NHS as part of a deal.

Wonderful just wonderful.

We're fucked really aren't we.

@fromdownwest anything to do with pensions would be very unpopular with a key support base of the tories- pensioners.

Corp tax- after brexit? No way? We are supposed to become a tax haven.

WFH tax would be negligible for high earners and many of them probably have to go in a lot after covid due to meetings. Even if they were wfh a lot, they would definitely have a permanent desk and would be classed as office staff.

@hopingforonlychild

Removal of higer rate tax relief would not impact pensioners? Only those still investing in pensions. Pensioners are taxed at highest marginal rate and do not recive income tax relief. So it would be ideal, as opposed to charing NI on pension payments, which as you say would alieante.

To be fair, I am not sure the Tory partry know who their key base is, after the recent car crash.

I can genuinley see Corp tax being notched up a few points.

I’m the stereotype that would be taxed on this one. Very expensive commute in to London, parking at the train station, breakfast and lunch every day in the City. My commute alone is over £400 a month which I am now saving. I am doing my bit my spending my money on local places when I can, buying coffee beans from local roasters and spending more in Sainsbury’s than I did previously.

I don’t think WFH should be taxed at all, the money is just no longer lining the pockets of the train operators shareholders.

I can't wait to get back to the office. And I love pret but that's by the by probably!

A better option might be to look at putting a cap on business rates, promoting the influx of new businesses into the void, cheap or affordable parking to promote growth.

Taxation is a very blunt tool to fix a very complex issue.

I like to think my contribution to saving the environment by not driving 70 miles a day 4 days a week should be more important.
Taxes versus environment , take your pick