Bavaria's Finance Minister Füracker insists on a new home office regulation for cross-border commuters

Created: 08/10/2022, 20:36

By: Leonie Hudelmaier

Bavaria: More home office instead of unnecessary commuting.

© Angelika Warmuth

The world of work is changing, working from home is becoming the norm.

In the border area, this threatens a problem with the tax - Bavaria's finance minister is therefore insisting on new rules.

Munich – Home office instead of commuting to work: During the corona pandemic, this was common – even for commuters between two countries.

A tax agreement enabled cross-border commuters to work from home as often as they wanted.

But this regulation expired at the end of July and commuters are faced with a bureaucratic tour de force.

Bavaria's Finance Minister Albert Füracker knows about this problem.

With a letter to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), the CSU politician wants to help cross-border commuters.

Because of the rather complicated tax regulations that entail commuting between two countries, Germany and Austria have concluded an extra double taxation agreement.

Accordingly, a cross-border commuter must tax his wages in the state of residence - provided he crosses the border and does not stay at home for more than 45 days.

If this number is exceeded, taxes would be due in both countries.

There was one exception during Corona: Since April 2020, commuters have not had to pay double tax on their income, even if they only work from their place of residence.

But this rule no longer exists.

An old tax regulation in a modern working world

"Home office is now a central part of the modern working world," said Füracker of our newspaper.

Therefore, the tax regulations in the international area must also be adjusted.

Füracker demands a permanent solution for cross-border commuters in the home office.

Especially in Bavaria, the border with Austria is a big issue.

According to the Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research, Bavaria had the highest number of cross-border commuters in Germany, at 46,600 people in 2019 alone.

Since the regulation expired, commuters have had to pay attention to the number of days they work from home again.

"Many people who drive across the border to Austria to work have not been working from home since July, because otherwise they would lose their cross-border commuter status and have the bureaucratic effort of having to pay taxes in two countries," explains Füracker.

For the Bavarian Minister of Finance, however, this is “unacceptable”.

Füracker: Save energy by working from home and no longer driving back and forth pointlessly across the border

A regulation must also be found with a view to this winter – if not because of Corona, then for reasons of energy saving.

"We all have to save energy in the future - more home office is an effective measure," says Füracker with a view to a possible gas shortage.

"It shouldn't be that people don't work from home just for tax reasons and drive back and forth across the Austrian border almost pointlessly."

Füracker is now hoping for bilateral solutions "to adequately accompany the transformation of the modern working world," as he says in his letter to Lindner.