Real Estate NewsWhere"s The Bail Out For Home-based Businesses?
Isn"t it time for a big fat tax credit for home-based businesses?
They"ve paid their dues.
Home-based business owners typically don"t qualify for unemployment benefits, they can"t buy job-loss insurance, they a greater share of Social Security and Medicare taxes than salaried workers and the demise of "stated-income" mortgages has priced many of them out of the home-buying market,
Yet they are old-school planet savers who drive less, reducing both traffic congestion and pollution.
A study commissioned by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) "The Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impact of Telecommuting and e-Commerce"found that the estimated 3.9 million U.S. telecommuters reduced gasoline consumption by about 840 million gallons, while curbing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by nearly 14 million tons. That"s equal to removing 2 million vehicles from the road every year.
Give home-based businesses a break, a tax break -- if not more.
• The so-called "Cash for Clunkers" gave qualified car buyers $4,000 in tax credits for trading in old cars, for newer fuel-efficient models -- an approach to greening the highways.
• The new and improved $8,000 first-time home buyers tax credit and $6,500 tax credit for other home buyers is helping pull the housing industry out of a nose dive in the name of economic stability.
• And the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act comes with a relatively little-used tax credit of up to $1,500 on energy-saving products for the home.
The American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance is lobbying for a $2,000 tax credit for technology expenses used in teleworking (hardware, software, broadband access, cell phones, etc) that would go to whomever purchased the products/services (business owner, telecommuter, employer), among other long overdue benefits for those who work at home.
The effort is a part of AHGA"s recent appeal to the Federal Communication Commission for a variety of incentives to promote "teleworking," home-based businesses or telecommuting with a heavy reliance upon modern technology.
"With the dramatic growth in two income families, time-starved parents find that teleworking helps them cope with the many responsibilities of child-rearing. As commuting distances and times lengthen due to suburban sprawl, teleworking also provides a way to recapture precious hours lost to traffic jams," said Bruce Hahn, AHGA president.
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine said when 2,286 federal and private sector employees as well as 1,765 state employees participated in Telework Day in Virginia on Aug. 3, they saved the state approximately $113,000 by not driving and reducing pollutants.
That could amount to a savings of $807 million in commuting costs it all eligible employees teleworked one day per week for a year.
A survey of Virginia"s steelworkers also showed that 69 percent felt they accomplished more than a typical day at the office and 91 percent said that they would be more likely to telework again as a result of their experience.
To stimulate telework businesses, help the environment, and reduce state and local transportation infrastructure costs AHGA is also lobbying for
• Sales tax exemption on Internet buys because they reduce transportation costs associated with in-store shopping.
• Shortening the depreciation periods for technology products to two years to encourage teleworkers to maintain technological competitiveness.
• Greater broadband access, especially to unserved and underserved markets to maximize the number of homes that can receive broadband.
"Surveys consistently show that telecommuting programs are among the most popular employee benefits. A recent survey of members of the American Institute of Architects revealed that home offices are the most popular special function room of new home buyers for the third year in a row," said Hahn.