Hear that? That is the sound of the spurs tinkling on the taxman’s cowboy boots. He’s mighty upset about losing all the tax revenue from them-there commuters travellin’ to and from work every day. The western taxman is armed and dangerous, and if you are a remote worker, he’s a-gunnin’ for you.
If you are telecommuting, you are working from home and according to tax collectors, you are not paying your fair share. When you were working in the office, you were paying gas tax, tolls, parking, lunches, and a host of other auxiliary expenses that had taxes built into them.
According to the IRS, if you are a remote worker, you are underpaying an average of $2,500 in taxes by teleworking. And the employers will be paying less in taxes as well, as they are cutting their commercial real estate usage back tremendously during the pandemic (and many are ready to let them go altogether).
This has politicians and taxmen shaking in their boots, and they are in the process of conspiring to figure outa way to mess up your good fortune, by taxing the “feel good” right out of your work from home scenario.
A research document from Deutsche Bank clearly suggests, “Employees who choose to work remotely should pay a tax to help those workers on low incomes who cannot.”
Many telecommuters are already facing double taxation if they live in one state and work for a company that is in another state. These unfortunate remote workers are taxed first by the state from which they are being paid, and again by the state where they reside.
Granted, tax credits are available for victims of this type of double-taxation.
I have trouble understanding tax-math. How about you?
Taxman Cometh for You
Nonetheless, the taxman cometh for you. We don’t exactly know what it will end up looking like, yet, but you can bet your favorite politicians and tax collectors are furiously anxious to get everything they can from you, and they will justify themselves all the way to the treasury.
They will say, “John Q. Taxpayer is saving all this money by no longer having to commute, so John won’t even miss it.”
The Deutsche Bank report suggests the employee should pay the tax unless the employer pays the tax for not providing the employee with a proper workspace environment.
Life is changing across the board thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, and for those jobs that have survived, many of them have shifted to remote work with employees working from home, and this work model is likely to survive the effects of COVID-19, post-pandemic.
It looks like telecommuting is here to stay, how the taxman will respond has yet to be seen, but rest assured he is flowing your taxpayer scent like a bloodhound.
Still, there are some members of the Senate who are resisting the efforts of the tax collectors to exploit your efforts if you are working from your house or apartment. So, all is not lost, yet.