There is increasing pressure on the government to set a maximum ceiling within which the payment of expenses for telecommuting, without an invoice, is exempt from taxes and premiums. After the employers’ federations demanded it, the Bloco de Esquerda yesterday presented a proposal to amend the labor law that stipulates that “the government shall, within a period of 30 days, set the legal level up to which the compensation due to the employee for the additional costs in within the framework of teleworking are exempt from contributions and taxes, if stipulated in an individual contract or collective settlement instrument”.
In practice, the BE wants the compensation for the costs of remote work “to receive a tax treatment identical to that of the meal subsidy”, said the blockade deputy, José Soeiro, yesterday. Currently, this food aid is exempt up to EUR 5.20 per day, if paid by bank transfer; when using a card, the daily tax-free value rises to 8.32 euros. The measure is intended to address the IRS’ understanding that it is necessary to provide invoices to prove the increase in costs associated with remote work so that the respective compensation owed to the employee will not be taxed under the IRS , as reported by DN/DV in firsthand.
BE’s proposal was presented to the House of Representatives yesterday, but will not be voted on until February 1, PS deputy Fernando José, who coordinates the Agenda for Decent Work working group, told DN/DV. All that is needed is the agreement of the Socialists to pass the amendment, but the party with the absolute majority still considers the vote.
The Ministry of Finance is also reviewing the situation, as the DN/DN has pointed out, not least because Parliament has approved a proposal from the BE that provides for the valuation of additional expenditure in supply contracts of teleworking, where there is no evidence of the increase in energy or telecommunication costs, e.g. related to remote working. “The individual employment contract and the collective labor agreement must, when concluding the contract for the provision of telework, determine the amount of compensation due to the employee for additional costs,” says the blockists’ proposal. The DN/DV questioned the guardianship led by Fernando Medina and is still awaiting clarification on whether the compensation due to the employee for the increase in costs associated with remote work will have a tax framework that is identical to that of the meal subsidy.
There are 21,000 officials working remotely and there is no record of requests for compensation, said Presidency Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva.
Faced with the proposal of the Bloco de Esquerda, the Minister of the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, defended yesterday at a parliamentary hearing that “the ideal place for this issue is in collective bargaining”, but, she assured, that ” what the Assembly of the Republic approving the government will study how it will apply to the public sector”.
The minister added that “there are currently 21,000 civil servants who telework” and that “there is no record of requests for compensation”, that is, for the payment of compensation for the increase in costs associated with remote work.
Source: DN
