Telework would help address some of the biggest problems currently plaguing the United States, including budget crises, environmental pollutants, and costly energy use.
8th September 2010
The government has begun to use teleworking, sometimes known as telecommuting or working from home, but expanding that effort would yield significant benefits. Moreover, government policies at the state level create an obstacle to this practice in the private sector, and require reform.
The government is creating an obstacle? Say it ain’t so!
Possibly the biggest barrier to telework are state tax laws. Many states implement some form of double taxation on out-of-state teleworkers. For example, New York applies a “convenience of the employer” doctrine on out-of-state teleworkers who work for a New York–based organization, which requires them to pay income tax to New York for telework days outside of the state. All work done outside of New York is subject to New York income tax, unless the work is done outside of New York out of necessity to the employer . In 2005, the New York State Court of Appeals upheld the “convenience of the employer” doctrine in Huckaby vs. New York State Division of Tax Appeals. Thomas Huckaby, a Tennessee resident, worked for a New York–based company, but teleworked 75 percent of the time. On his New York State nonresident tax returns, Huckaby allocated 25 percent of his income to New York, and 75 percent to Tennessee; however, the New York State tax department determined that Huckaby should have paid New York income tax on 100 percent of his income. The court sided with the New York State tax department, stating that the doctrine was constitutionally applied. As many as 35 states have some form of double taxation for teleworkers.
The eternal goal of the bureaucrat is to leave no potential revenue source untapped.