Cancel this credit

Re: Your $ 400 home office tax deduction, Dec. 16

I have a neighbour who works at a local hospital. She spends $50 a week (over $ 2,000 a year) on gas for her commute to and from work. She wears a mask all day at work. She lives in constant fear of contracting COVID-19.

I have another neighbour who is working from home due to COVID. His commuting cost — $0. His household expenses — no different than before COVID. His other expenses — less on lunches, less on clothes, hasn’t been to the dry cleaner in months. Does he need to wear a mask at work? No. Is he worried about contracting COVID? Not really.

I was shocked to learn that the federal government has decided that my neighbour who is working from home because of COVID deserves a $ 400 income tax credit for “home office expenses,” whereas my neighbour who works at a hospital does not deserve a tax credit for any of her work- related expenses.

This is an insult to the nurses, care home workers, grocery store cashiers and warehouse workers who spend thousands of dollars commuting to their often high- risk workplaces to do the essential work we all rely on while the rest of us work safely from our homes without having to spend so much as a penny commuting to our jobs.

This credit should be cancelled, or better still should be redirected to workers who are not able to work from home to compensate them for their “commuting expenses.”

Scott Heaslip, Stouffville, Ont.