To help both employees and employers limit the spread of the swine flu while sustaining business operations, Congress must pass H.R. 2600 - the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act. This bi-partisan bill would eliminate a significant obstacle to telework: the telecommuter tax.
Under a state tax rule known as the "convenience of the employer" rule, a state can tax nonresidents who choose to telecommute sometimes to their in-state employers, not just on the wages they earn on their in-state days, but also on the wages they earn on the days they work from home - in a different state. Because telecommuters' states of residence can also tax the income they earn at home, many Americans are double taxed for telecommuting. The threat of a second state tax bill is a compelling reason for an employee with only mild flu symptoms to reject the option of telecommuting as a precaution.
By enacting the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act and removing the tax deterrent to telecommuting, Congress and the President would strengthen our preparedness for a full-blown public health crisis. The time for Washington to act is now.
For more information on the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act and swine flu, please see "Ban the Telecommuter Tax," available at http://undress4success.com/ban-telecommuter-tax.
Thanks to H1N1, many organizations these days have a two-word policy for anyone feeling under the weather: stay home.
I just got an email from the folks at FreedomVOICE, provider of hosted Voice over IP services, which suggests one logical way to overcome concerns related to the spread of the H1N1 flu: telecommuting.
The ability to telecommute will help many employees who would otherwise be on the fence about whether or not to come into the office. This is assuming that the employee isn’t so wiped out by the flu that they can’t sit at their laptop and crank out reports, of course. But it sure beats watching daytime TV.
As Eric Thomas, CEO of FreedomVOICE systems, put it: “If an employee is feeling ill, they should be given the opportunity to work from home if they can still be productive. If the entire company is infected with the flu at the same time, it could be devastating.”
Sure, public relations agencies are paid big bucks to link their clients’ offerings to help remedy the crisis of the day. But this pitch makes plenty of sense. And just one more argument in the business case for an employment practice that makes sense for plenty of other reasons. Telecommuting helps the environment, reduces congestion, improves corporate recruiting, reduces real estate costs, and boosts productivity. And keeps some safe distance between people during pandemics. The hackers haven’t figured out yet how to spread biological viruses over computer networks. What’s not to like?
