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Telecommuter Must Pay NY Income Tax
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 17:14:04 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: Randall <rvh40 () insightbb com> Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 15:15:16 -0500 To: cyberia <CYBERIA-L () LISTSERV AOL COM> Cc: Dave <dave () farber net> Subject: Telecommuter Must Pay NY Income Tax [Note: The Court of Appeals /used to be/ New York's High Court. Surely someone here will inform me otherwise if that is no longer the case] http://tennessean.com/business/archives/05/03/67569995.shtml?Element_ID=6756 9995 Telecommuter must pay N.Y. income tax By KEITH RUSSELL Staff Writer A Nashville resident has lost a tax battle with the state of New York that some believe could have wider implications for the growing number of people who work by telecommuting from a home office. The New York Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that computer programmer Thomas Huckaby owes New York income tax for the entire salary he earned from a New York-based union. During the two years in question, Huckaby did about 75% of his work out of his home office in Nashville. He would travel to New York to work at the National Organization of Industrial Trade Unions' offices about one fourth of the time. He paid New York state income tax on just 25% of his earnings. The Court of Appeals decision relied on a New York law that says a worker's income is taxable if he or she chooses to live outside the state, as opposed to if they were transferred to another locale. ''New York has the right to tax 100% of a nonresident employee's income derived from New York sources,'' the court's 4-3 decision said. New York state officials lauded the decision. ''New York provides the job, New York provides the professional opportunity, and New York should be able to tax that income, even if the employee for his own convenience was working outside of New York State,'' said Marc Violette, spokesman for New York Assistant Solicitor General Julie Mereson. Huckaby's attorney, Peter Faber, said the law was intended to keep commuters in nearby states, such as New Jersey, from avoiding New York income tax. ''Tom's case was different,'' Faber argued. He said a decision hasn't been made on whether to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Messages left at Huckaby's Nashville home were not returned yesterday. Faber said the case is being watched closely by advocates of telecommuting. They fear that other states might follow New York's lead. Tennessee does not tax individual workers' salaries regardless of where they live. ''I've had calls from all over the country,'' Faber said. ''The implications are if a state wants to go after telecommuters and nail them for everything, they can.'' According to the International Telework Association and Council, 12.4 million people telecommuted daily in 2004, up from 8.8 million such workers in 2003. ''The fact of the matter is, in this day and age with the way people and especially knowledge workers are able to do business, it's important for an employer to allow an employee to live in the best location for them to do the work,'' said ITAC's Robert Smith. ''What concerns me about the (Huckaby) ruling is it potentially limits that flexibility.'' Information from the Associated Press was used in this story. ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- Telecommuter Must Pay NY Income Tax David Farber (Mar 30)