Telework Coalition Launches Petition to Support %u201CThe Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act of 2005 (News Release)   - 1,620 Views,

Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 15, 2005 — The Telework Coalition (TelCoa) is the only non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting virtual, mobile, and distributed work through education, technology, and legislation. TelCoa is now reinforcing, with a petition drive, its support for legislation that would put Federal muscle behind the effort to prevent States such as New York from double taxing interstate telecommuters or otherwise imposing unjust and financially burdensome taxes on them. The federal legislation TelCoa supports is Senate Bill S. 1097, proposed by Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and House Bill H.R. 2558, proposed by Representatives Chris Shays (R-CT), Tom Davis (R-VA), and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Both bills are titled “The Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act of 2005â€?.

“Connecticut workers help drive our economic growth. They shouldn’t have to pay an unfair ‘toll’ tax simply because they work from home,� said Dodd. “Telecommuters in our state play a big part in our economy and they shouldn’t be penalized for their work. This measure will help shield and protect them from unfair and unwarranted taxes and ensure that they can reap the benefits of telecommuting.�

“This bill is about fairness. It is simply unfair to tax Connecticut telecommuters twice.� Shays said. “We are promoting a policy that will help bring taxation in line with current realities of technology and promote telecommuting, which can improve gridlock and reduce environmental harm.�

Connecticut residents are not the only ones affected by New York’s tax policy – a policy known as the “convenience of the employerâ€? doctrine. Residents of Tennessee, Florida, New Hampshire, and other states have also been taxed by New York for work done in their home states.

Nicole Belson Goluboff, a lawyer specializing in the legal implications of telework and a member of the Advisory Board of The Telework Coalition, said: “The Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act will put an end to New York’s aggressive campaign to tax nonresident telecommuters on the income they earn while working outside New York, and it will prevent other states from adopting a policy like New York’s. This bi-partisan bill is essential to protect telecommuters nationwide.�

Chuck Wilsker, President and CEO of The Telework Coalition commented, “Getting buy-in from all parties involved in initiating and sustaining a telecommuting program in an organization is hard enough without putting an extra tax burden on many of the participants. Passage of this law will eliminate this burden.”

Interested parties have two ways to show their support for this legislation. In addition to signing the online petition available at www.TelCoa.org, they can link to a letter on the TelCoa site that they can send by email or regular mail to their Senators and Congressional Representatives.

TelCoa also seeks contact with any individuals who are currently affected by an unfair state tax on interstate telecommuters. Contact TelCoa at e-mail protected from spam bots.