[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 20 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      TELECOMMUTING TAX CREDIT ACT

                                 ______


                            HON. BILL BAKER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 1, 1994

  Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Telecommuting Tax 
Credit Act, legislation to provide tax credits to businesses which 
permit their employees to telecommute.
  Telecommuting means reducing or eliminating the daily commute to work 
by using information technology to work from home or a telecommuting 
center. Given the tremendous strides in telecommunications technology 
and the increasing congestion tying up commuters in traffic, 
telecommuting is the wave of the future.
  The Telecommuting Tax Credit Act would provide up to a $500 tax 
credit to businesses for each employee who telecommutes full-time from 
home. A $250 tax credit would be available if the employee works from a 
telecommuting center. The tax credits would be prorated according to 
the percentage of time each employee spends in telecommuting 
employment.
  Telecommuting is profamily by creating options for families. As 
parents are torn between the demands of career and family, 
telecommuting provides a way to creatively bridge the chasm. 
Furthermore, tax credits provide incentives to experiment with 
telecommuting without burdening business with another costly unfunded 
mandate which destroys jobs and depresses wages.
  Telecommuting is protransportation. It reduces traffic congestion, 
eliminates wasted time and lost wages, reduces fuel consumption, and 
saves money on highway construction. During the 1984 Olympics in Los 
Angeles, just 7 percent reduction in traffic produced a 60-percent 
reduction in congestion.
  Telecommuting is proenvironment. Annually, each California 
telecommuter reduces the amount of carbon monoxide produced by about 
250 pounds per car, and saves about 4,500 kilowatt-hours--enough energy 
to run the average American household for at least 2 months.
  My bill will do the following: It provides employers with a $500 tax 
credit for each employee who telecommutes 40 hours per week from home. 
The credit is prorated according to the percentage of time spent 
telecommuting, for example, 20 hours per week of telecommuting 
qualifies an employer for a $250 annual tax credit.
  It provides employers with a $250 tax credit for each employee who 
telecommutes 40 hours per week at a telecommuting center.--The same 
prorating applies. The bill defines ``telecommuting center'' as: First, 
being closer to the employee's residence than the central worksite of 
the employer; second, a facility where employees of two or more 
employers or separate business units of the same employer perform 
services; and, third separate from the central workers of the 
respective employers. Furthermore, the bill caps the tax credits any 
one employer may receive to no more than 50 percent of normal tax 
liability.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to advancing the concept of telecommuting 
as this Congress proceeds.

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