Telework should be taxed, Deutsche Bank report suggests

Working from home should be taxed to help support workers whose jobs are under threat, a report published by Greman Deutsche Bank has suggested, according to the BBC.

Deutsche Bank Research suggests a tax of 5% of a worker’s salary if workers choose to work from home when they are not forced to by the current pandemic.

The tax would be paid for by employers and the income generated would be paid to people who cannot work from home.

This could earn $48bn (£36bn) if introduced in the US and would help redress the balance, the bank says.

It argues this is only fair, as those who work from home are saving money and not paying into the system like those who go out to work.

In the UK, Deutsche Bank calculates the tax would generate a pot of £6.9bn a year, which could pay out grants of £2,000 a year to low-income workers and those under threat of redundancy

“For years we have needed a tax on remote workers,” wrote Deutsche Bank strategist Luke Templeman. “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.

source: bbc.com