Came across this article proposing a 5% tax on people who work from home after the lockdowns. The only justification seems to be that it's a privilege so it should be taxed and since you're saving money though not paying transportation costs, you should give it to the gov't.
It seems to ignore that by working from home you use less resources, don't contribute to the city congestion, etc.
Where you've saved money in some ways, other things are costing you more. Paying for faster internet and possible overages in your usage. Office supplies (pens, paper, printer ink, etc) might now be coming out of your pocket. Electricity, Air condoning and heating costs are increased. Heck you're now paying for coffee and toilet paper.
You've also sacrificed parts of your home. For a while now, I've been saying I'm sick of eating on the couch and would love to have my dining room table back (it's been converted into a work space for Anne). When people selected their homes dedicating a chunk of their space for working 8-10 hours a day wasn't in the equation.
I'm not saying we don't need to help low income workers, but choosing this one segment of the population to do so seems wrong.
| Sean Reiser