Work from Home tax

[AVB]

What’s peoples’ view on this? Proposal for employers to pay an extra tax for employees who work from home to support those who can’t work from home. Mental in my opinion. Just seems illogical. 
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54876526

 

[Demonic69]

Pretty sure my gas and electric has gone up enough to cover it!

[12gauge82]

33 minutes ago, AVB said:

What’s peoples’ view on this? Proposal for employers to pay an extra tax for employees who work from home to support those who can’t work from home. Mental in my opinion. Just seems illogical. 
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54876526

 

I'm with you, all that will do is make more job losses likely in a time business needs help to keep the economy running. 

[discobob]

there are other complications - what if it was a deal that was struck offsetting a pay rise (something that I and a lot of other people won't have had this year). People with disabilities that have difficulty getting to the office and on and on!!!

[manthing]

1 hour ago, Demonic69 said:

Pretty sure my gas and electric has gone up enough to cover it!

Interested to know if your savings on travel cover the cost of extra on services.

The cost of commuting into London can be thousands, I realise people don't all pay that but id be genuinely interested to see what some differences where.

[Lloyd90]

The real savings are not the money that employees used to spend on travel, the BIG savings are going to be when companies don’t need to have offices. Don’t need to pay rent, don’t need to pay maintenance, don’t need to pay admin or cleaners or security guards. 
 

Companies that are able to transfer their business entirely into a virtual space will be away. 
 

The headline on that news article is a bit misleading. It says tax workers an additional 5%, but then says it would be paid by the employer. Which is it? 
 

I am expecting that everyone would have to have a tax rise from the Government considering the amount of money that has been thrown around.

[AVB]

2 hours ago, Demonic69 said:

Pretty sure my gas and electric has gone up enough to cover it!

Don’t forget you can claim £6/week tax relief for a home office to offset this. 

 

32 minutes ago, manthing said:

Interested to know if your savings on travel cover the cost of extra on services.

The cost of commuting into London can be thousands, I realise people don't all pay that but id be genuinely interested to see what some differences where.

When I used to commute into London I paid anywhere between £4,500 and £12,000 per annum on train season tickets. All post tax so I had to earn £9-24k to pay for it. Whilst wfh would have meant mean big savings for me I am not a big fan of wfh. 

[enfieldspares]

2 hours ago, Demonic69 said:

Pretty sure my gas and electric has gone up enough to cover it!

This. What he says. 

[12gauge82]

7 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

The real savings are not the money that employees used to spend on travel, the BIG savings are going to be when companies don’t need to have offices. Don’t need to pay rent, don’t need to pay maintenance, don’t need to pay admin or cleaners or security guards. 
 

Companies that are able to transfer their business entirely into a virtual space will be away. 
 

The headline on that news article is a bit misleading. It says tax workers an additional 5%, but then says it would be paid by the employer. Which is it? 
 

I am expecting that everyone would have to have a tax rise from the Government considering the amount of money that has been thrown around.

Very good point, I admit I skimmed over the article and missed that. 

[AVB]

13 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

The real savings are not the money that employees used to spend on travel, the BIG savings are going to be when companies don’t need to have offices. Don’t need to pay rent, don’t need to pay maintenance, don’t need to pay admin or cleaners or security guards. 
 

Companies that are able to transfer their business entirely into a virtual space will be away. 

And it doesn’t mean people working from home in the U.K. more companies are realising that they can offshore roles that they previously thought needed to be in the office. 
 

Saying that I know a few CEO’s who don’t want to continue with people working from home. They might not go public about it as it isn’t politically correct to question people’s work ethic, but many quote examples of productivity falling. 

[oowee]

Least of our concerns given the likely tax hikes we will have to pay for this government's exuberance with the public purse.  

[ShootingEgg]

24 minutes ago, oowee said:

Least of our concerns given the likely tax hikes we will have to pay for this government's exuberance with the public purse.  

Not like other ones before this have spent silly though is it... Hmmm

[Deker]

2 hours ago, Demonic69 said:

Pretty sure my gas and electric has gone up enough to cover it!

you can claim for that against your tax

[Fatcatsplat]

Personally I'm quids in working from home - No suits, no train fare, no overpriced Pret A Manger and Starbucks coffee. I do miss a good boozy lunch though😥

[Scully]

2 minutes ago, Fatcatsplat said:

Personally I'm quids in working from home - No suits, no train fare, no overpriced Pret A Manger and Starbucks coffee. I do miss a good boozy lunch though😥

😂

I love working from home.
A near neighbour who is a solicitor told me during first lockdown, that his company had always had the technology to converse with clients online via various means, but they’d never used it, with both him and clients travelling to the office to conduct business.

They’d used it during lockdown and it saved him oodles of fuel and time accrued in a round trip of over 60 miles each day. It’s a no brainier really. 

[Demonic69]

Just now, Deker said:

you can claim for that against your tax

Yeah, in certain circumstances, Covid being one of them. I'll have my claim in in May, alongside my annual fuel claim (next to nowt this year), don't you worry

1 hour ago, manthing said:

Interested to know if your savings on travel cover the cost of extra on services.

The cost of commuting into London can be thousands, I realise people don't all pay that but id be genuinely interested to see what some differences where.

If I were commuting regularly I'd save my fuel at the least. I know some people have ditched their cars (second cars usually) as WFH has reduced that reliance, plus public transport becomes more viable in some areas. I've saved on clothes, no point buying a new suit/shirts when I spend most of my days on my own. Food can be cheaper, having the time and facilities to make something instead of buying.

I'm powering 2 laptops and 2 screens, plus lighting and kettle. When it's cold enough I'll need to heat the house (when icicles are forming off my nostrils). I've had to fork out for additional equipment to allow me to work safely and comfortably. I can't get rid of my car, I need to travel when I'm told to and not all clients are within reasonable travelling time for public transport.

All in I reckon I'm making a saving, though I've been WFH mostly for about 8 years. When I travel it's usually paid for. The Mrs is now WFH, so some of the expenses will be shared.

[oowee]

7 minutes ago, ShootingEgg said:

Not like other ones before this have spent silly though is it... Hmmm

Not sure what that has to do with the price of fish? To put it into context this Govt has spent more than all Labour govt's added together since 1945 ( even allowing for inflation) and has the highest debt to gdp ratio since 1960. The debt pile is over 100% of National income. Luckily we have the Brexit dividend of £350m a week to put towards the nearly £1bn a week we are borrowing. Oooops sorry I forgot that is now predicted to be a deficit of £30bn a year deficit. A mere bagatelle. 

My point being that the tax hikes we face are unprecedented.

 

 

[Mickeydredd]

1 hour ago, manthing said:

Interested to know if your savings on travel cover the cost of extra on services.

The cost of commuting into London can be thousands, I realise people don't all pay that but id be genuinely interested to see what some differences where.

I live in the Midlands and work in London and have been working from home since March.

Saving around £1,200 pcm on travel, plus probably £250 on food and other stuff.

Main benefit for me however, is that I don't have to get up at 5.15am and not get home sometimes until after 9pm every day - too old for that nonsense.

My costs WFH are a bit of kit, logs for the burner and some electricity for power and light in the mancave.  I do of course pay a bit more tax as less expenses going through the books.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Mickeydredd

[RockySpears]

"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"

  So nothing about giving it to workers in the Office?  Which makes the headline a nonsense.

The £6 a week can be claimed by any one working from home, not just Covid related.

What if you like working in the office and it is 5 mins walk away, should you get a payrise for a personal preference?

Not really thought this one through DB, but then, Banks never think about the consequence of their actions.

 

RS

[JTaylor91]

Working from home too. Used to have a 60 mile commute each way so the saving on fuel alone is a fair bit.

[AVB]

Whilst it might feel good that we are all saving money it isn't good for the economy. Money needs to circulate for the economy to grow. Get out there and buy things. If in doubt buy more guns. 

[Demonic69]

1 hour ago, AVB said:

Whilst it might feel good that we are all saving money it isn't good for the economy. Money needs to circulate for the economy to grow. Get out there and buy things. If in doubt buy more guns. 

Who's saving it though? It might not be getting spent on sarnies, buses and the odd cheeky lunchtime pint, but it is getting spent on DIY, home improvements, new houses, fireworks (according to the 3 week festival we've had around here), gardening, maccies, clothing, Amazon-tat etc. Even shooting when we're allowed

[Scully]

2 hours ago, Demonic69 said:

Yeah, in certain circumstances, Covid being one of them. I'll have my claim in in May, alongside my annual fuel claim (next to nowt this year), don't you worry

If I were commuting regularly I'd save my fuel at the least. I know some people have ditched their cars (second cars usually) as WFH has reduced that reliance, plus public transport becomes more viable in some areas. I've saved on clothes, no point buying a new suit/shirts when I spend most of my days on my own. Food can be cheaper, having the time and facilities to make something instead of buying.

I'm powering 2 laptops and 2 screens, plus lighting and kettle. When it's cold enough I'll need to heat the house (when icicles are forming off my nostrils). I've had to fork out for additional equipment to allow me to work safely and comfortably. I can't get rid of my car, I need to travel when I'm told to and not all clients are within reasonable travelling time for public transport.

All in I reckon I'm making a saving, though I've been WFH mostly for about 8 years. When I travel it's usually paid for. The Mrs is now WFH, so some of the expenses will be shared.

👍 I think this year will see quite an increase in people claiming for ‘office space’ and all things pertaining to running that office. I’ve been doing it for years. 

2 hours ago, oowee said:

Not sure what that has to do with the price of fish? To put it into context this Govt has spent more than all Labour govt's added together since 1945 ( even allowing for inflation) and has the highest debt to gdp ratio since 1960. The debt pile is over 100% of National income. Luckily we have the Brexit dividend of £350m a week to put towards the nearly £1bn a week we are borrowing. Oooops sorry I forgot that is now predicted to be a deficit of £30bn a year deficit. A mere bagatelle. 

My point being that the tax hikes we face are unprecedented.

 

 

I’m starting to suspect there are some on here in need of therapy; a lot of their posts end up being about Brexit......they just can’t seem to let it go. 😀

[Demonic69]

24 minutes ago, Scully said:

👍 I think this year will see quite an increase in people claiming for ‘office space’ and all things pertaining to running that office. I’ve been doing it for years. 

I got a letter in May saying I couldn't claim this year as I'd have to prove i HAD to work from home, not that I chose to. I did wonder if this was normal

[Scully]

32 minutes ago, Demonic69 said:

I got a letter in May saying I couldn't claim this year as I'd have to prove i HAD to work from home, not that I chose to. I did wonder if this was normal

Seems rather strange given Covid requirements stating those who could work from home should do so. 🤔

In truth mine is a studio rather than an office, and when I’m not working in other peoples houses I’m in there. It’s purpose built and fully equipped for my needs so I have no problems claiming for it.