How to get tax incentives in Georgia...

March 2nd, 2008 (2:00pm) Mike Gunderloy 4 Comments
A recent column in the Wall Street Journal pulls together a series of
reports on retrenchments in telecommuting policies: AT&T, Intel, HP,
and the federal government have all pulled some employees back into
the office from existing telework programs. Business consolidation,
security worries, and a desire for more face-to-face interaction all
played a part in these widely-publicized losses for telecommuting.

And yet, the telecommuting landscape is not entirely bleak. Last year,
135 employers in Georgia instituted new telework programs, helping to
cut down on traffic and pollution and improve the quality of life for
the affected employees.

The difference? Georgia has a cutting edge tax credit program[PDF] for
employers who move employees to telecommuting. Employers can get a tax
credit of up to $1200 per employee for expenses incurred in setting up
equipment, including computer hardware and software, internet
connectivity, installation and maintenance fees. There's a further
credit for the assessments needed to determine how telecommuting can
fit into a company's operations - an up-front cost that can be a
stumbling block.

In the face of economic pressures, especially with the threat of a
looming recession, businesses are naturally driven to evaluate their
operations strictly in terms of their own bottom line. From that point
of view, the savings to society generated by telework are easy to
ignore. The Georgia program recognizes these savings (employers in
heavily polluted areas can get larger credits) and shares them with
the employer: a fairly typical use of tax policy to influence
behavior. The success and spread of such policies could do a lot to
ensure a bright future for telecommuting.