Should you pay higher taxes because you work from home?

The idea of higher taxes for people working from home was floated by a research team at Deutsche Bank (DB) which propose a tax on remote workers once the coronavirus is brought under control to support the economy.

It subsidies the wages of people in low-paid jobs who can't choose their place of work, reports CNN.

DB thematic Research Analyst, Luke Templeman proposed a work-from-home tax on 5 percent of wages. Employers would be responsible for the extra cost if they do not provide workers with permanent desks.

 If workers choose to spend part of the week at home, however, the tax would be deducted from their paychecks on a per-diem basis.

The cost would be roughly equivalent to expenses tied to going into work, such as commuting and lunch, Templeman said.

Governments could spend the money the tax raises on grants for low-paid workers who aren't able to do their jobs remotely, he added.

A DB survey found that after the Covid-19 crisis has passed, 60% of people who started working from home during the pandemic want to continue doing so for two or more days a week.

For them, the financial benefits of not commuting, buying lunch or dressing for the office, plus the flexibility and convenience, outweigh the stress of having to juggle family and work or cope with a makeshift desk.

"For the first time in history, a big chunk of people have disconnected themselves from the face-to-face world yet are still leading a full economic life," said in a new report.

"That means remote workers are contributing less to the infrastructure of the economy whilst still receiving its benefits," he added.

"Many of these people are those who assumed the health risks of working during the pandemic and are far more 'essential' than their wage level suggests," Templeman said.

He estimates that such a tax could raise $48 billion per year in the United States, along with £6.9 billion ($9.1 billion) in the United Kingdom and €15.9 billion ($18.8 billion) in Germany.