§ Mr. Walter:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to implement tax incentives for companies who allow members of staff to work from home; and what assessment he has made of the impact this would have on traffic congestion. [131898]
§ Dawn Primarolo:Companies can usually claim any expenses wholly and exclusively incurred in respect of employees' home working as a deduction in working out their trading profits for tax purposes.
In addition, a number of measures have been introduced in recent years to help employers support home workers without them incurring a tax charge or liability to pay National Insurance contributions. These include:
- exemption for provided computer equipment;
- exemption for other provided equipment, services and supplies;
- exemption for reimbursed additional household costs.
Estimates of the effects these measures will have on reducing levels of traffic congestion are not available.