Folks who work from home could be facing a new tax for the “privilege” of not having to go into a place of business.
Since the coronavirus “pandemic” began in March 2020, hundreds of thousands of people have switched from working in an office to working from home.
But regardless of whether working from home is by choice or necessity, I think you’ll agree that Deutsche Bank’s latest taxation idea is absolutely nuts.
So what new tax is Deutsche Bank pushing? To put it bluntly, they’re promoting a “work from home” tax that would take 5% of your gross earnings right off the top. Luke Templeton explains (and justifies!) the idea by saying:
A five per cent tax for each WFH day would leave the average person no worse off than if they worked in the office. It could raise $49bn per year in the US, €20bn in Germany, and £7bn in the UK.
Since you’re saving money by not commuting to an office, it appears The Powers That Be would somehow feel justified in confiscating your savings to redistribute as they wish.
They can take that 5%, which you used to spend on gas and car maintenance, and you wouldn’t be any worse off financially than you had been commuting to work daily. How generous of them!
And where would your money go? Luke claims the revenue generated from the “work from home” tax would go to people who can’t work from home. So the money you save by not commuting would be given to commuters through subsidy programs.
Deutsche Bank’s proposed penalty for working from home feels like something straight out of Communist Russia. Sovereign Man agrees: “This ‘research report’ seems more like something out of Communist student newspaper, not one of the world’s biggest financial institutions.”
Not only that, the passage of a work-from-home tax would set a dangerous precedent for future taxes. The government could, at any time, simply classify ordinary activities as “privileges” — and then tax you for engaging in that “privileged” activity!
Today, the work-from-home tax is just an idea. But if it were to catch the attention of the right politicians, watch out. Just about any Democratic Socialist would jump at the chance to extort more tax money from you.
Taxing Privileges: The New Normal?
Jim Reid, Global Head of Fundamental Credit Strategy and Thematic Research at Deutsche Bank, claims this new form of extortion should become part of the “new normal”:
Working from home will be part of the ‘new normal’ well after the pandemic has passed. We argue that remote workers should pay a tax for the privilege.
According to Jim, your decision to work remotely after the pandemic is over constitutes a “privilege” — a privilege you should pay for!
He thinks that the word “privilege” is a magic key that entitles him to propose silly public policies like this. Are vacations also a “privilege”? Should they be taxed too? I wouldn’t be surprised if DB tried to make that argument.
Of course, I wouldn’t be surprised if the creators of such a tax gave themselves some sort of loophole so that their work-from-home tax would not apply to them. “Rules for thee, but not for me” as the old saying goes.
Unfortunately, people like Luke and Jim are always thinking about how to get their hands on other people’s money through the power of the state. That’s why it’s so important to be proactive about protecting your income and your wealth.
The good news is, it’s easy to safeguard your finances against stupid policy proposals like the work-from-home tax…
How to Stay 2 Steps Ahead of the Tax Man
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Location Independent Entrepreneur
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