Tax Treatment of Employer Commuting Support: An International Review

Abstract

The tax treatment of employer commuting support: an international review his item ws sumitted to voughorough niversity9s snstitutionl epository y theGn uthorF Citation: yiD F FFF et lD PHHTF he tx tretment of employer ommutE ing supportX n interntionl reviewF rnsport reviewsD PT @PAD ppF PPIEPQU Additional Information:• his is journl rtileF st ws pulished in the journlD rnsport reviews ylor 8 prnisF he definitive version is ville tX httpXGGwwwFinformworldFomGsmppGtitle£ ontentatUIQUTTWQU AbstractCorrectly pricing transport behaviour to take account of the 'external' costs such as congestion, and emissions imposed on society by excessive car use has long been a tenet of effective Transportation Demand Management. But while policy makers have striven to increase public transport subsidies, raise petrol taxes, and introduce road user charging schemes to properly price the real costs of car travel, in most cases correcting the wider influences of the personal tax regime has begun only relatively recently. This paper is based on work undertaken for the Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions, and the Inland Revenue of the United Kingdom Government, which is currently working on addressing this very issue. In addition to reporting the British situation, it also uses a series of case studies to outline how this same process has been approached in the United States, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and Norway, and at how successful they have been thus far with respect to TDM objectives. It then draws conclusions as to which direction policy makers should be aiming for in the future. * Corresponding author.Potter, Enoch, Rye, Black and Ubbels 2 Tax and Transport PolicyIn recent years there have been increasingly strong linkages between national fiscal systems and environmental and transport objectives. This initially involved the 'eco-reform' of existing tax instruments, but the policy agenda has since moved on towards additional and replacement tax measures. Such policy developments are most advanced in Europe and some Pacific Rim nations, but have yet to have a serious impact in the Americas. Within the European Union (EU) the policy of the European Commission (EC) has been outlined in documents such as 'Towards Fair and Efficient Pricing' (CEC, 1995), and 'Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use' (CEC, 1998), which broadly advocate that transport infrastructure charges should normally reflect the marginal social costs at the point of use. These marginal social costs should include not only marginal wear and tear costs on infrastructure, but also 'external' costs imposed on society, the environment and the wider economy through accidents, pollution, emission of climate change gasses, congestion etc.. While regulatory and physical design mechanisms are also recognized as having an important role to play, in the long run it is tax and charging instruments that the EC sees as being most effective at encouraging efficient and sustainable transport systems. This economic argument is well known, bu...

Commuter Mode Choice and Free Car Parking, Public Transportation Benefits, Showers/Lockers, and Bike Parking at Work: Evidence from the Washington, DC Region

“…Another important policy tool to achieve TDM objectives has been the creation and expansion of commuter benefits-although the types and levels of these benefits has varied across both modes and time (Potter et al 2006;TCRP 2003;EPA 2007; IRS 2013). Free car parking, however, generally continues to be the most prevalent type of benefit offered to commuters; only about 5 percent of auto commuters pay for parking in the U.S., and commuters, on average, avoid direct payment of the majority of actual parking costs (Wachs 1990;Shoup 2005;TCRP 2005; FHWA 2012a).…”

Déplacements domicile-travail : état des lieux et perspectives d’action pour les entreprises

“…Une voiture de société est souvent proposée aux travailleurs en tant que partie de leur salaire et non parce qu'ils en ont réellement besoin pour des raisons professionnelles. De plus, beaucoup d'entreprises permettent à leurs employés de déduire une partie de leurs dépenses automobiles pour leurs déplacements domicile-travail, encourageant par là l'usage de la voiture et la possibilité de vivre plus loin du lieu de travail [Potter et al, 2006]. D'après le Conseil Central de l'Économie, 30 % des travailleurs parcourant plus de 56 km reçoivent une indemnité voiture pour leurs déplacements domicile-travail [CCE, 2016].…”

Woon-werkverplaatsingen: stand van zaken en actieperspectieven voor de bedrijven

“…Zodoende worden ze ertoe aangemoedigd de wagen te gebruiken en kunnen ze verderaf van hun tewerkstellingsplaats gaan wonen [Potter et al, 2006]. Volgens de Centrale Raad voor het Bedrijfsleven krijgt 30% van de werknemers die meer dan 56 km afleggen, een wagenvergoeding voor hun woon-werkverplaatsingen [CRB, 2016].…”