The Leading News & Information Service For The Facilities, Workplace & Built Environment Community

Deutsche Bank Research Suggests Home Workers Should Pay More Tax

Deutsche Bank Research Suggests Home Workers Should Pay More Tax
12 November 2020
 

Strategists at Deutsche Bank say that those that choose to work from home should face additional taxes, in order to support lower-paid workers. 

They are proposing a five per cent extra tax of home workers’ salaries, which would then be given to those who cannot work from home.

In the document first reported by Bloomberg, the team argues that: "for years we have needed a tax on remote workers. 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.

"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."

Deutsche Bank also calculated that such a tax could generate £6.9bn a year, which could pay out grants of £2,000 a year to those whose jobs are at risk.

 

Is Working From Home a Privilege?

 

Whilst some will have enjoyed working from home perks such as the lack of commute, opportunity to ditch traditional officewear and closer proximity to their family, Angela Love, Director at Active Workplace Solutions commented that home working can’t always be viewed as a privilege:

“There is simply no logic to Deutsche Bank’s proposal to tax people working from home between lockdowns. Where were these suggestions when people were working remotely pre-pandemic? 

Home workers are not makeshift units to be taxed, they are real people who have gone through an awful lot of upheaval in 2020. I completely support searching for measures to help vulnerable jobs but taxing home workers is not the way.”

Love also suggests that it’s important to consider the individual reasons why some people are working from home:

“Some will have their own health reasons, others may share a property with someone who is vulnerable therefore won’t risk the commute. 

Whilst we can’t deny that some workers and demographics have wonderful settings in their home working environment in order to work productively, others do not. Yet, despite that, they will continue to work from home to keep them and others safe. And that’s admirable. Taxing them for making that call is wrong. 

“Even after COVID-19, some people will still work from home, regardless of whether they actually want to or not. Punishing them for it will only deepen the wound financially and emotionally and this will result in other major long-term effects.”

Picture: a photograph of a person working from their kitchen table

 

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 12 November 2020

Share



Related Articles

Studies Show Home Workers Suffer Higher Rates of Back Pain

An independent study of over a thousand workers shows that the rate of chronic sufferers of back pain is highest among those working from home full-time. Conducted by...

 Read Full Article
Back Care Awareness Week – Risks to Home Workers

Most of us have probably been guilty of working in unusual places over the last eighteen months, but is your sofa desk contributing to your back pain? In 2019-20...

 Read Full Article
One Fifth of Workers Feel Working Remotely Means Less Recognition

20 per cent of UK office workers feel their work is at risk of going unnoticed because of working from home. Working remotely has increased productivity and the number...

 Read Full Article
Musculoskeletal Injuries in UK Employees on the Rise

Working from beds and dining tables is contributing to a rise in work-related musculoskeletal cases. In 2020, there were 37.7 per cent work-related musculoskeletal...

 Read Full Article
When Will Offices Reopen in 2021?

It’s been almost a whole year of working from home for many of us, and some are predicting when offices will reopen. 54 per cent of us are apparently happy to...

 Read Full Article
Is Home Working Really Suitable For Everyone? 

Leesman has released details on what they consider to be the “acute factors” impacting employees’ ability to work remotely.  A major study...

 Read Full Article
Staff Miss Out on £4,785 a Year From Extra Hours Worked From Home

New data has revealed that UK employees could be missing out on £4,785.30 a year due to working extra hours at home. According to a survey carried out by...

 Read Full Article
Five Tech Companies Embracing Their Office Space

Despite 2020’s working from home revolution, five of the biggest tech giants are still demonstrating confidence in their physical office space. Recent research...

 Read Full Article
Empty Offices Could Cost London Businesses Almost £13bn

Unused office space after coronavirus could prove costly for companies, as research predicts over 70 per cent of all office rent paid by businesses in London will be...

 Read Full Article
Winter Lockdown – Keeping Warm Whilst Working From Home

With colder days ahead and lockdown forcing many to work from home, energy costs will increase to keep the house warm and comfortable. Unless employees are offered an...

 Read Full Article