Bank proposes tax on working from home

LONDON » White collar staff reaping the financial benefits of working from home should be taxed to help other workers who aren’t getting the same advantages, experts at Deutsche Bank said in a new report.

In its report on how to rebuild the economy af ter COVID- 19, the bank proposed a 5% daily tax on each employee that continues to work from home, which could raise tens of billions of dollars for governments.

The money could be used to help lower income workers who have taken on greater risk because their jobs can’t be done remotely, it said.

The bank noted that the global pandemic has turbocharged the shift to remote work, a trend that looks set to last for the long term with many workers expecting to spend at least a few days of their work week at home even after the pandemic ends.

These workers benefit from more convenience and f lexibility. They also save money directly because they don’t have to pay for commuting costs, takeout lunches, or buying and dry cleaning work clothes - but it means those businesses that have grown up to support of f ice workers won’t be able to recover and “the economic malaise will be extended,” the report said.